Thursday, March 4, 2010

Can You Help this Mom? Figure Skating Music That's NOT for Princesses

As always the readers are very generous with their music ideas. Check out the comments for great suggestions!
 
I cracked up in my cubicle when I received this plea:
[I need] age-appropriate music and costumes that aren’t Disney!



[Dear daughter] is 7, turning 8 next year, and competing in Canada at a fairly low level [...] The time has come to choreograph a new program and DD’s [dear daughter's] coach ( who we love ) loves Disney.

I cannot do Disney any more. And at every competition there are several girls skating to various Disney Princess songs. Ugh.


I would love other suggestions because if I don’t up with one, she’s going to be skating to Disney. Again.
I suggested that DD skate to a Disney villain, because I think that Cruella deVil on the medal stand with Snow White and the Little Mermaid would crack me up. Man, I need more coffee. Or less.

Can you help this mom? If you have music suggestions, please put them in the comments. And, for the love of Pete, not The Candy Man or Puff the Magic Dragon. We can't have everyone at the rink try to break the kid's CD. She'll cry.

Do you have a question for Ice Mom or the Advisory Board? Do you have an idea for a post? Better yet, are you an expert at something - like airbrushing dresses (hint, hint)? Why not write a guest post? E-mail me at icemom.diane@gmail.com

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45 comments:

  1. How about musicals? e.g Annie, Oliver Twist, Bugsy Malone..? Also listen to film soundtracks that she likes. All you need is music that is quite light, but not overly cutesy. Try some of the lesser known concertos etc..?

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  2. My daughter is 7 and this year she is skating to the Addams Family theme song. No little princess costumes for her this year :)

    We like film soundtracks and you can usually find them in instrumentals by searching around.

    My daughter LOVES Josh Groban and next year will be skating to one of his songs that we have found in an instrumental.

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  3. My 9 year old skated to several cuts from the Cat in the Hat Soundtrack this past year.

    Her coach and I have one rule - Nothing that we have heard numerous times at a competition.

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  4. What about something from Ratatouille? I love French music and it's really upbeat and happy. Good for a kid, but not FOR kids. Now, I realize that it doesn't give you a costume idea, but you could just wear a simple dress I guess.

    I totally don't know what I'm talking about though!

    Oh and there is a band or group that makes popular songs into instrumental ones. You can find them on iTunes. I'll try and remember their name.

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  5. Brahms, Hungarian dance number 1.
    Grieg, The morning.

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  6. how about from Despereux or Chicken Run?

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  7. Well, I don't have any music ideas, but here's a little antidote for Disney princesses (since DD is an actual real-life ice skating DP in Disney on Ice, we need a daily dose of these)

    http://humor.gunaxin.com/twisted-disney-princesses/16011

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  8. Disney music is my biggest issue with the ISI. Apparently this is what happens when you allow music with words for competition. Last year at our rink everyone aged 5 to 14 skated to the Tinkerbell song with the remaining girls skating to Candle on the Water.
    Competition music is an excellent oppotunity to educate your child about music. Look at Broadway musicals or orchestras recording popular classics like Mantovani and his Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops, Andre Rieu, Richard Hayman and his Symphony Orchestra etc. You can also listen to Bond, Vanessa Mae, David Garrett or Maksim, although these four have been used a lot recently.
    A kid older then 5 really doesn't need words to hang on to in his/her one-minute-program.
    Please understand that coaches simply don't have time to focus on this issue, so they use what everyone else uses simply because it is widely availible.
    Sorry for whining but this really is my pet peeve.

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  9. Pirates of the Caribbean. I especially like the song Up Is Down. (Sorry if this is one of those over done pieces, I'm not actually in the figure skating world...)

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  10. There are worse things than Disney {Gasp} The umbrella song comes to mind, or inappropriate songs like the theme from Grease {yikes}, what were they thinking?!

    Some of the songs I hear going for the little ones that don't drive the other skaters crazy day in and day out are Mary Poppins, Zippity Do Dah. I agree with the comment about musicals, maybe the Wizard of Oz--somewhere over the rainbow, Singing in the Rain, Newsies, Hello Dolly, Easter Parade (The farm in Michigan comes to mind). Look to the tunes that the symphony play for the little ones in their concerts Peter and the Wolf.

    Movie sound tracks are great as well. You can find tracks that haven't been over played from many favorite shows.

    Some of the Christmas stuff that isn't only seasonal, you can find some really energetic songs in Manheim Steam Roller and the like.

    Main thing is that your little skater should love it! An occasional Disney Princess isn't too bad if you can balance it out with other things. ;)

    Happy hunting!

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  11. We have used Disney songs remade by a different artist than the soundtrack artist. Disney puts compilations of their songs with a current artist recording their interpretation. Also classic TV themes such as 'I dream of Jeannie" or "Bewitched" can be cute for a young skater.

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  12. Wow, my daughter is 7 and will be 8 in a month. Maybe she's a little mature, maybe NYC is progressive; but, she will be doing her first competition in June. The coach who is well respected told me to let my daughter pick her music. It definitely wasn't what I wanted. I thought Reflections from Mulan; however, the coach said as long as it represents the child’s personality and is skatable we should go with it. It would also make it easier to learn the choreography.

    My daughter picked her song from going to see Disney on Ice and it was a Pop Song; but, Mille Cyrus, “Party in the USA” was in the running. I’m glad she didn’t choose it; but, I've heard Santana, The Theme from Annie and “Halo” by Beyoncé. Some of her friends, who are 7, 8, and 9 skate to show tunes, a few others, Disney songs; but, more skate to pop songs. I realize I was the one who wanted to veto her song for the Princess image. The coach told me more and more little girls pick pop songs. But, they do make suggestions if the Mom doesn’t like the song.

    Why don’t you talk to the coach, maybe, she’ll be open to something different?

    Good Luck.

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  13. This really depends on your daughter's personality and maturity level. Here's a list of things anyway:
    -Zoosters breakout, from Madascar. Or any of the other songs- I simply love this specific one. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch#!videos=1kPN14ir1vc&v=VAjqUfYvgsc
    -Instrumental pieces of her favorite songs. You can find these on youtube. Have you ever heard of the Vitamin String Quartet? They do popular songs on the violin, and are worth looking into.
    -Several good soundtracks include things from the movies Pirates of the caribbean, August Rush, the sound of music, star wars....the list goes on and on. I suggest picking some of her [non disney] favorite movies, and looking up their soundtracks somewhere. [youtube, once again.:)]
    -The nutcracker is always popular.
    -I'm not sure if this would be good for her now, or if it ever would, but groups such as Bond seem to have good skating music.
    I hope this helps. :) Good luck!!

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  14. Jan A.P. Kaczmarek's "Finding Neverland" Soundtrack has some delicate piano pieces that would be nice for a young skater.

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  15. Our Ice Coach has come up with some fabulous cuts of jazz music including The Brian Setzer Orchestra. She refuses to do music with vocals for freestyle programs, even at an ISI event. She tries to find things that will challenge the kids, yet fits their style, but also not overused. There is nothing worse than going to a competition and 70% of the kids have the same song. In 2.5 years of competing we have not heard our song used by anyone else at the same competition. I'm sure your Ice Coach can be more creative than a Princess song!

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  16. if she wants to do a popish song..(is that a word...?) then perhaps suggest some oldies that have more fun lyrics( rock around the clock, splish splash, lollipop) hope that helps!

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  17. I'd suggest something from a ballet. They're usually well known without being annoyingly cutsey and cliche. When I was younger, I used the mazurka from 'Copellia'. It's fun and cute, but not Disney or too cliche. Here's a sample from youtube.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMVcbKIvqJU

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  18. My daughter has skated to some karaoke or instrumental versions of Beatles songs, but there are a lot of pop songs out there with karaoke versions that are a bit more "musical" sounding and dance friendly than their full-on pop radio versions.

    And I agree...check out the musical scores from children's movies and stage shows. There's a lot of great stuff out there.

    We've also used World Music from some of the Putumayo CDs.

    I have noticed that the boys' programs seem to have more depth and breadth to the music choices and sometimes more sense of humor. Not sure if they are making those choices to stay as far away from princess music as possible, but a lot of fun stuff from Mario Brothers music to Pac Man songs and music from cartoons. If you have a girl skater who - like I do - still has a way to go when it comes to looking elegant and "floaty" on the ice, then something more energetic and with a bit of a wink might be a good fit. Our last piece was Ruslana's Wild Dances (we found it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Viu7U8_IhD4)

    It was a super charged program and came out gangbusters after eight other girls skating to Classical Gas.

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  19. Oh, Anony! She's skating to the Aadams Family! I love you!

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  20. Jozet: That's some seriously cool music and those gals are flexible beyond belief. Now my back hurts, just from watching it. :)

    Ice Mom

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  21. Xan: That art is wonderfully wrong. That's why I like you so much.

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  22. Ice Girl skated to "Laura's Zest," a song from the reality show Project Runway. I think it's ageless and very, very cool. All the places to download it don't have it, though. However, you can watch it (with runway models) on YouTube.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrn6Cwru9ZM

    Ice Mom

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  23. Hi, Kate!

    I love the French music from Ratatouille!

    Dress: Blue and white striped bodice, red skirt, red neck scarf.

    Too costumy? Not sure.

    Ice Mom

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  24. Sk8nLane:

    Her coach and I have one rule - Nothing that we have heard numerous times at a competition.

    Thank you. Your thoughtfulness will keep me from poking out my ear drums.

    Ice Mom

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  25. Hey, Anony.

    That link to the Madagascar music is terrific!

    That reminds me: one of my favorite skaters at our club skated to the theme to The Incredibles. I was sad when she switched music.

    Ice Mom

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  26. Let's try this again, minus the typos ...

    My daughter is 6 and into dance, not skating, but it is all Michael and now Janet Jackson.

    There are probably too many numbers of Michael Jackson's on the ice these days, as Ice Mom predicted earlier.

    But in Mexico, there is no such thing as too much Michael Jackson.

    Some of my favorite pieces of music (and very quirky choices - I'll give you that) are the Linus and Lucy theme, unless that has been done too much. Always loved the National Geographic song, but that is probably better for an older skater, and a personal recent favorite is the theme song from the PBS TV show GlobeTrekker. Their CDs have great world music that can't have been overdone yet.

    I like all of these suggestions above, and could add the kid's band Ralph's World that has a couple of skateable tunes.

    Good luck with the choice ...

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  27. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uZ-zTk3EsU :)One of my favourites

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  28. OMG! Anony - Amelie! That's Ice Girl's music. Well, part of it, anyway. I tried to convince Ice Coach that some accordion from the soundtrack would be good, too, but she's not a big accordion fan.

    I love that movie, don't you? When I hear that piano part (L'Homme de Verre's theme song) I always think about the swimming babies and smile.

    Ice Mom

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  29. @ Ice Mom
    Yes, I'm in love with this movie. And when I hear the music, it always makes me dance. Unfortunately my Ice coach didn't like it. And now I'm skating on "Por una cabeza"
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCLpu9Pe54
    (Iam a tango dancer actually :) )

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  30. The Wizard of Oz, the Sound of Music, the Nutcracker, and Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang are all good selections. Maybe even West-Side Story??

    Also, in correlation with "Ice Charades" MJ Music is used quite often now (Especially among synchro teams... we heard at least 5 - some the same song - at Midwestern and Pacific Coast Synchro Sectionals) Not a bad choice... but definetely very popular.

    Atreveté

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  31. I would ask your skater what their favorite movie or television show is and listen to the soundtracks from those movies.

    Also When my daughter is stuck trying to pick music she will first pick a theme for the character she would like to portray in her program. You want music that the skater can relate to during their performance.

    For example, my daughters name is India and at that age she wanted to skate to "Indian" music from the country India. She loved the movie "The Little Princess" (1990 version not the shirlie temple version) and I remembered that the soundtrack from that movie had "Indian" music in it because the young girl in the movie lived in India before she was taken to the boarding school by her father after her mother died. The music from that soundtrack was awesome and my daughter loved performing that program. I have to say that was one of the most fun and best freeskate programs my daughter has skated in 12 years of skating and competing.

    We also love the music from the movie "Series of Unfortunate events" and "The Corpse Bride".

    Hope this is helpful, Skater mom for 12 years and adult skater, Season Williams

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  32. And what about the Pink Panther Theme, by Henry Mancini ?

    It's groovy AND fun (=suites for a 7 y.o skater :))

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  33. How about spongebob theme?? orr the alice in wonderland theme.. wouldn't it be nice?

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  34. Hi, aileen!

    I haven't heard the new Alice in Wonderland theme. The movie looks amazing, though.

    Thanks for the comment!

    Ice Mom

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  35. I'm watching the Oscars and I had an idea! What about the music from Up? Some of it is great!

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  36. When my daughter was five she insisted to skating to music from Carmen.

    It was AWESOME!

    I was concerned at first because she really does the best with the cutesy music, however, she really pulled it off, plus, it was very different from everyone else in her group.

    I found a few CDs with theme songs from old television shows. These have some really fun pieces on them and the added bonus is that many of them are exactly one minute long so they don't need to be cut. Some of the music includes the themes from Bewitched, I dream of Jeanie, The Jetsons, plus a whole section from old cartoons.
    I'm pretty sure you could find these on itunes.

    I think my favorite music that my daughter skated to was "Breakfast Machine" from Pee Wee's Big adventure. It's written by Danny Elfman. (I also used it for one of my students for her Intermediate short program, because it fit her bubbly personality)

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  37. One of the above comments reminded me that my son skated to some music from Spongebob. It was off of "the yellow album" and it was called Stadium Rave.

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  38. Hey, Kate!

    Music from Up! Great idea!

    Ice Mom

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  39. Now I'm on roll.........

    Tequila
    Music from Austin Powers
    Root Beer Rag (Billy Joel)
    Big band music.....Sing sing sing, Boogie Woogie Bugle boy, In the mood
    Music box dancer
    Music from "Happy feet"

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  40. Thanks, Jill!

    I really like that boogie woogie stuff. I think it's fun to listen to at the rink because not everyone has it.

    Ice Mom

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  41. Try finding guy music for 7 year olds that isn't Elvis, or Batman or James Bond. Coaches get some preconceived ideas about what is appropriate and I've seen some terribly costumey things.

    My problem with Disney, and our old coach LOVED Disney (never grew up I think) is that unless you're totally into the movies they all sound alike, and when you say "Mulan?" you get corrected by a real-life diva princess who says "No, it's Pocahontas". Ooops. Then you run the risk of being too costumey in order to emphasize one princess over another and the routine is only 90 seconds long. The judges just don't pay attention that closely.

    Anyway, we have had great success, boys and girls by looking at some common composers who do a lot of TV and movie sountracks. Danny Elfman (Edward Scissorhands), Ennio Morricone (The Mission, horribly overused but there's lots of other stuff he's done), Patrick Doyle and Michael Kamen.

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  42. maybe you could skate to the theme song of 'matrix'?

    dear ice mom:

    can you do a review on Chloe Noel skate sports wear? i'm bying some in april '10.

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  43. ice mom:

    can you please leave a review about Chloe Noel skate sports wear? i'm getting some in april '10 and i could use some advice on why (or if) i should buy it.

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  44. Hey m1234567.

    Matrix sounds v. cool.

    Yep. I can do a Chloe Noel review. Short one: Ice Girl likes hers. She has jacket and pants. They're cottony and kind of warm. Comfy.

    Ice Mom

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