Northern Champs - playlist and thoughts

"It is the Music that matters" - Herbert von Karajan

Chris Uren has been kind enough to offer this blog his annotated play list from Ceroc Northern Champs. I know the Scottish Champs playlist is regularly published but here we have Chris' words about why he choose what he chose and I think this is useful for two reasons for competition dancers. First if you can't dance to this type of music you are missing a great joy and your liable to be left floundering - most people obviously give it their best shot but the other reason for looking at it is that it my give you some options for practice.

So many thanks Chris - it is a corker of a playlist.

"Northern Champs Music 2014

I have made some comments on tunes as I go along and are purly my observations in watching the competition dancers or my DJ thinking on why a tune was chosen. I consider myself to be a moderate Intermediate as a dancer so complexity was sort of based around what I thought I could do.

Lucky Dip

Mr Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan

Sexy Lady - Jessie J

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) [Radio Edit] -

In My Head - Jason derulo

Maybe - Radio Edit - Jay Sean

The Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Junior Walker & The All Stars

Bad Boys (feat. Flo Rida) - Alexandra Burke

Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne) - Clean Bandit

As you might expect nothing too dramatic of difficult, but for the Final ” Rather Be” has some interesting changes to keep finalists on their toes.

Intermediates

The format of each couple dancing to all 6 songs and in 2 seperate heats makes choices interesting as tunes are (hopefully) matched in each round for BPM and basic style..

Love Generation - Bob Sinclar

Movin' - Brass Construction

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5

Take That To The Bank - Shalamar

I'm a Love You - Frank Goldwasser

Im the one for you - Taj Jackson

Hide and Seek - Big joe Turner

Find a Way - Bayje

This Is Hip - John Lee Hooker & Ry Cooder

I'm a Freak (feat. Pitbull) - Enrique Iglesias

Am I Wrong - Keb' Mo'

Come Alive - Chromeo

The intermediates featured a lot of first time couples and I thought they did brilliantly.

The next 2 catagories were the only ones where tracks were discussed. In Ceroc X the first 3 tracks are Pre Determined and cast “In Tablets of Stone”so I discussed with Jamie what to use for track 4. Jamie helped me with choices for Double Trouble as I would be the first to say is not something I dance with any degree of success.

Ceroc X

Cuckoo - Adam Lambert

Just One Dance - Caro Emerald

Viva la Vida - Coldplay

SING - Ed Sheeran (this is a real challenge and I would happily have used it for any catagory)

Double Trouble

Time After Time - INOJ

Ready for Your Love (feat. MNEK) - Gorgon City

Over 45s (again 6 dances for all couples)

Waves (Robin Schulz Remix Radio Edit) - Mr. Probz

You Make Me Feel Mighty Real - Sylvester

Summer - Calvin Harris

Shake It - Latin Soul Syndicate

Walking On Sunshine - Jazzystics

New York City Boy - Pet Shop Boys

(A tune I wanted to describe rather cryptically as “Geenwich Village pop”, but as Jamie quite rightly said “Gay Pop”. And a challenge it proved to be to the dancers for their last tune.)

Back to Basics

Troublemaker (Wideboys Radio Edit) [feat. Flo Rida] - Olly Murs

The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson

I Don´t Care Who Knows - Koko Taylor

(Chosen because it’s not well known but has great predicatable Blues Breaks. Many just ignored them!!)

Cash Money - Dootage

(Got some pretty good changes and breaks and proved difficult for some to interperate a great funky backline - Wicked comp tune)

Pro Am

F For You ft. Mary J. Blige - Disclosure

Criollo Sol - Julio Iglesias (Enrique Iglesias’s dad)

'Problem' feat Iggy Azalea  - Ariana Grande

(A great R&B tune that has some great stops and musical changes. It caught some of the dancers out “Big Style”)

It just won’t do - Tim Delux

Advanced

Another catagory with 6 tunes for all dancers

Timber (feat. Ke$ha) - Pitbull

( A well known tune that all the competitors would have danced to before. Surprising how many just didn’t nail it. I have to be honest and say that I was getting worried if I had chosen the right tunes for the advanced dancers)

Whatever Lola Wants - Sarah Vaughan

( A well known jive tune, but ithe version caught more out and took them a while to get into it. Now i was getting really worried)

Three Thirty Three - The Drifters

Liar Liar - Cris Cab

Confessin' the Blues - Jay McShann

(Chosen simply for it’s classic blues breaks and most nailed this one)

Hideaway - Kiesza

(Challenging beginning for the last song for advanced and I thought they all did very well to this)

Top Cats

in my opinion the most complex round to choose tunes for.The catagory always has a real mix of talents in the early rounds with, as expected, cream rising at the end. Also 2 groups in the early stages so music to match.

Footprints (All Over The World) - Tiesto

The Way You Look Tonight - Maroon 5

Red Lights - Tiesto

How Do You Like Your Eggs In The Morning? (With Helen O'Connell) - Dean Martin

Good Rhymes (Blockster Delight Remix) - Da Click

Mister Five By Five - Lily Wilde and her Jumpin' Jubilee Orchestra

Fuego En El Fuego - Eros Ramazzoti

My Baby's Hot - Rick Vito

( truly wicked beginning and classic blues changes. Nail it or die)

In These Shoes? - Kirsty MacColl

Let's Walk - Austin de Lone

(Matched to the blues above. Another wicked but predictable tune)

Bad Boy Good Man - Tape Five

I Don't Need It - Jamie Foxx

(You had to dance funky to this gem)

A Sky Full of Stars - Coldplay

Somebody Else’s Guy (Radio Edit) - Jocelyn Brown

(You all know it, but it was picked as the last tune to really sort out the best)

Opens.

another 6 tunes catagory and it features the song that would end competition dancing for the day.

I Wanna Feel (Radio Edit) - Secondcity

Shack Up - Banbarra

(Funk is not easy to dance to and proved a real challenge)

Love Potion No 9 - Hansel Martinez

(somebody commented that I had picked a well known and easy tune.for opens. Ask the competitors who failed to nail all of the breaks in this classic tune)

Patient Man - Jimmy LaFave

(Classic piece of blues with extend breaks and some great changes. Again to be the top you had to get them all)

Love Roller Coaster - Big Joe Turner

(Second to last tune of the competition section. You have probably danced in several catagories and your getting a bit weary. 161 BPM. 1 min 57 seconds and still some swing moves to nail and breaks to hit)

John Lee Huber - Tosca

(The last tune was picked for 2 reasons. First. IMPACT. Second its musical content of breaks and a nasty Non ending.)

I had a lot of fun picking these. Would I do anything differently? Not telling you in case I get to do it next year. I am going to leave you with something said to me by a very experienced competition dancer “God I wish I had spent more time listening and dancing to the tunes at my local club and freestyles. I would have danced a whole lot better”

More reflections from Chris and other Champs folk soon.