Music for Dance Class: High School Musical
July 27, 2010

Students at Bellaire High School, in Bellaire, Texas, know a thing or two about dance—thanks to their teacher, Sanja Korman, who was recognized as the National Dance Association’s 2008 K–12 Educator of the Year. “As a high school teacher, my music repertoire needs to be diverse and very appealing to teenagers,” says Korman. “I try to let my students dance to something that they enjoy listening to, because it helps them relate to the music, which will further enable them to pursue their love for dance.” Korman recommends offering some non-U.S. artists to help broaden advanced students’ knowledge. “For my performing classes, I try to offer an array of artists to expand students’ horizons in a multicultural sense.” Check out a few of Korman’s favorites here.  DT

Artist: Leona Lewis

Song: “Bleeding Love”

“This is such a versatile song. It’s ideal for a hip-hop class, but lately I’m using it for lyrical hip hop. There are two different rhythms throughout the whole song. It’s really great to help students learn to dance by following the lyrics.”

Artist: Jordin Sparks (duet with Chris Brown)

Song: “No Air”

“A beautiful song when you are teaching partnering and lifting! It allows you to teach your students to express themselves through their motions, while also enhancing the skills needed to perform with another person.”

Artist: Madonna 

Song: “Die Another Day”

“Madonna’s music is appealing to my students. When I am working on progressions or across the floor warm-up exercises, I use Madonna’s or Britney Spears’ upbeat songs!”

Artist: Taylor Swift 

Song: “Love Story”

“I use this song for my freshman classes. It has everything necessary for beginning dance students: a steady beat, nice lyrics and great sound!”

Artist: Björk

Song: “Jóga”

“My modern dance company did a dance to this song. It is very eclectic and allows for more abstract choreography. It sounds very different but is beautiful in its own way.”

Artist: Elisa 

Album: Dancing

“The whole album is great! I love her voice and lyrics. ‘Dancing’ is a great song as well—it’s beautiful to choreograph a contemporary piece to. This is another example of those songs that can offer two rhythms at the same time. My performing modern dance class is making a contemporary routine to this song, and every day we are discovering another dance sequence that works for it.”

Artist: Goran Bregovic 

Albums: Ederlezi and Tales and Songs from Weddings and Funerals

“I often use these songs to expose my students to other cultures and new sounds. The songs are very unusual, with atypical rhythms on both albums. I like to tell students a story about the particular song’s roots, folk background tales, traditions and customs before they listen, which makes it even more interesting.”

Subscribe to our newsletters

Sign up for any or all of these newsletters

You have Successfully Subscribed!