For choreographer Raja Feather Kelly, music is simple: "There's good music and there's bad music and I love good music and I love to hate bad music."
But, true to form, Kelly—whose past few months have included choreographing the Skittles Super Bowl musical and earning one of our first-ever Harkness Promise Awards—had some surprises up his sleeve when he made us a playlist he describes as "for moody Geminis who work over 12 hours a day and need a playlist that can shuffle and never disappoint."
Though the playlist has some whiplash-inducing twists and turns—from Coheed and Cambria to Carly Rae Jepsen to Missy Elliott to Schubert—there is a through-line: "Music that makes you feel like you're in your own movie. I love walking through the street feeling like I'm on a runway, living my best life."
At our cover shoot for the November issue, Bobbi Jene Smith curated one of the best lineups of YouTube music videos that I've heard in a long time. From Bob Dylan to Tom Waits, they felt like such perfect choices for her earthy, visceral movement and soulful approach to dance.
Keigwin's playlist will have you grooving. Photo via keigwinandcompany.com
If you've ever seen Larry Keigwin's work, you probably guessed that he's a fun guy. His choreography is cheeky and humorous; unexpected and electrifying. And though his aesthetic is decidedly contemporary, there's a touch of that classic modern dance style that makes his partnerships with troupes like Paul Taylor Dance Company and Martha Graham Dance Company so fitting.
His musical taste is pretty similar: eclectic feel-good bops from the contemporary (Justin Bieber) to the classic (Dionne Warwick.) He made us a playlist of the songs that make him move, whether in the studio or in his bedroom:
What we're saying is that we'll have some of whatever it is he's having. And it turns out that a hype playlist is part of the secret to his endless energy. Lucky for us, Wong shared his go-to warm up songs:
