Trick or Treat Tracks for Halloween

I love holidays in the dance studio and Halloween can be especially fun. Below is a list of songs and albums that may inspire you to get a little ghoulish in your classes this year. The categories just give an idea of which groups the songs could be used for, however, feel free to mix and match or go on your own little witch hunt for music – many popular Halloween tunes have been covered by multiple artists. If you have a song or album you’re just dying to share, let us know about it in the comments below!

Creepy Kid Stuff

• Monster Boogie – Laurie Berkner
• Spooky – Lazy Town
• Clownfoot – Jo Jo’s Circus
• Witch Doctor – Alvin & The Chipmunks Soundtrack
• Purple People Eater – Sheb Wooley (original)
• Doin’ The Zombie – Chubby Checker

Mickey’s Monster Bash – DisneyIncludes a Disney Monster Mash, This Is Halloween, and Sound Effect/Instrumental tracks	Boo Cackle Trick or Treat – Sue SchnitzerSome sweet, original tunes for young children
Halloween Songs and Sounds Pooh, Tigger, and other Disney friends get scary

For More Grown-Up Ghouls

• Thriller – Michael Jackson
• Spooky – Dusty Springfield, or try Imogen Heap
• I Want Candy – Bow Wow Wow, or try Melanie C
• Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
• Witchy Woman - The Eagles, or try Kristen Chenoweth (from Bewitched soundtrack)
• Black Magic Woman – Santana, or try Fleetwood Mac
• I Put A Spell on You – Creedence Clearwater, Fame Soundtrack, Marilyn Manson, etc.
• I’m Your Boogie Man – KC and the Sunshine Band, or try White Zombie (still has the disco beat!)
• The Boogie Monster – Gnarls Barkley
• This is the Night or Do the Hippogriff or Magic Works – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (the “Weird Sisters” band in the movie include members of Pulp and Radiohead)

Nightmare Revisited – Various Artists (including Marilyn Manson’s version of This Is Halloween)

Hair-raising Hip-Hop

• Addam’s Groove – MC Hammer
• Halloween – Arsonists
• Every Halloween – Insane Clown Posse
• Scary Story – Will Smith
• A Nightmare on my Street – DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Bone-chilling Ballet

• Great Pumpkin Waltz – Vince Guaraldi Trio
• Resurrection Waltz – Hellraiser Soundtrack
• Estasi Dell Anima – Zombieland Soundtrack
• Tubular Bells (Theme from The Exorcist) – Mike Oldfield
• O Fortuna/Carmina Burana – Carl Orff
• Theme from Halloween - John Carpenter
• Toccata and Fugue in D Minor – Johann Sebastian Bach

	Sleepy Hollow Soundtrack
	Dracula – Philip Feeney
	Dracula – Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet

Alarming Alternatives

• Raining Blood – Tori Amos
• Halloween – Dave Matthews
• Halloween or Spellbound – Siouxie and the Banshees
• Halloween – Misfits

In Sleep a King — Farewell to Michael Jackson

For those who are too young to remember him at the very height of his career, I’m sorry. There’s no questioning Michael Jackson’s influence on our current pop music and dance culture. His life was somewhat of a tragedy but his talent was a gift. So, in honor of this icon, I’m taking a moment to celebrate that gift.

A few videos.

First a collection of footage that clearly demonstrates the icon’s signature movement style and its relationship to today’s popular dance.

Second, one of my favorite Jackson tunes. It is impossible not to move when you hear a Michael Jackson song. That is the legacy within his body of work and the part of his life and career that will outlive everything else.

This song’s original music video is on YouTube and worth a watch. It is not embeddable. However, you can find it here.

UPDATE!

“Jackson was constantly nodding to the people before him while breaking ground ahead of him. I think this is the reason why all dancers have a special love for him. He was a dancer to be loved and a lover of dance himself.”

DanceNOWChicago has compiled an excellent series of YouTube videos that illustrate Jackson’s ties to the past. Visit the article NOW! You won’t regret it.

“Thy self thou gavest, thy own worth then not knowing,

Or me, to whom thou gavest it, else mistaking;

So thy great gift, upon misprision growing,

Comes home again, on better judgment making.

Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter,

In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.” – William Shakespeare; Sonnet 87

Farewell, Michael!