![]() singer-songwriter PinkPantheress had one of the year’s most delirious pop releases in debut LP To Hell With It, a 10-song set clocking in at under 19 minutes. Here are Billboard‘s picks for the 40 best dance/electronic songs of 2021, presented in alphabetical order by artist.Ī university-age TikTok sensation with an apparent fondness for dance hits released just before she was born, U.K. While the function of dance music in 2021 was largely personal, the freedom and catharsis inherent to this genre remained available, even if we were dancing on our own. In 2021, this question was answered in a thousand ways: the energetic lift you felt when blasting a new track through your headphones, the sense of joy inherent in playing music really loud in your car, the connection you felt when passing a song to your friends, those moments during your work-from-home day when you realized you were nodding your head to the beat. For many in the dance scene, the question remained: what was music intended to make large groups of people dance together really for, when that music cannot be played in its natural habitat? Despite this return of live music, the fact remained that during much of 2021, gathering en masse was still often taboo - an existential challenge that persists as we once again survey shutdowns with the rise of COVID-19 infection rates. Find an off-Broadway show, or go old school and find something that we haven’t heard in a while.For the second year in a row, the shutdown and stop/start reopening of the global dance scene made us consider the function of dance music itself.Ĭertainly the genre’s most traditional mode of consumption is through massive speakers at clubs and festivals, and - finally - that did type of consumption did happen this year, as venues cautiously welcomed back fans after going dark during the pandemic. Innovate! Don't regurgitate what another choreographer already did.” It’s okay-in fact, welcomed-to use songs from new or lesser-known musicals. He finishes by encouraging choreographers to “listen to music and pick songs from musicals that are NOT DANCE SHOWS. He reminds us that we don’t have to “rely on Tangled and Bathing Beauties for every petite number.” Joey agrees and suggests that choreographers shy away from songs that are known to be iconic dance numbers because these songs create expectations in terms of vocabulary, performance, and style. There are so many music sources out there, and judge Colin Shea Denniston emphasizes the importance of doing research, especially to find kid-friendly musical theater songs. Judges, many of whom are veterans of well-known musicals, are sick of hearing the same songs over and over. It also takes a very sophisticated ear to be able to work those nuances and we don’t always find that at the competitive level.” Similarly, NYC-based dancer and teacher, Kelly DiConzo, warns, “This trend can work for some advanced tappers who have an extensive knowledge of music theory and a trained ear for rhythm however, to set your dancers up for success, find a song with some percussion so they can work with the existing sounds and use them as a guide for timing and rhythms.”Īnother genre-specific pet peeve relates to Musical Theater. Tap is all about rhythm and it’s somewhat difficult to really work all the dynamics that tap requires, when tapping to lyrical. ![]() Joey explains that he no longer finds it innovative or interesting, and Jacqueline echoes these sentiments, explaining, “I’ve never been a huge fan of tapping to lyrical music. ![]() While exciting and innovative in 2014, this choice has now evolved to be a norm and many judges are bored and frustrated. ![]() The most notable example is tap dances to lyrical songs or ballads. ![]() Over the past few years, a trend has evolved wherein choreographers utilize what might be considered music suited to a different genre of dance. Appropriateness goes beyond age and thematic content, however. ![]()
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