Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

There are some tunes on my humble iPod Shuffle I'd really like to see used as floor music. I don't really care who by, I'd just love to see them done. Please excuse any lyrics/vocals present, I'm thinking more about the instrumental parts.

1. Anything by The Counterfeit Gypsies (particularly Man's Dance or Bulgar from the Wonky Donkey album).

Best suited for: Lauren Mitchell, Melanie Jones. I had the pleasure of seeing this Aussie instrumental group perform in the Treasury Gardens last year. Think Czardas with a twist! They got the crowd up and swirling and twirling and shaking and prancing in wild gypsy abandon. They're fantastic. I got their Wonkey Donkey album for Christmas last year and cannot stop playing it. They channel wild Eastern European/Balkan gypsy fiddle music that accelerates and whips you into a jovial frenzy, where a few tracks are milder and slower. Listen to some catchy audio samples here. You can't help but move about to them... you have been warned.

2. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - The Dropkick Murphys

Best Suited For: Chloe Sims, Georgia Bonora, Lauren Mitchell. For those who like brash floor music that conjures up images of a bar-room brawl :P Think The Pogues meet Green Day (and then smash beer bottles in their faces). This piece was used in the Academy Award-winning film The Departed. There's nothing wrong with something akin to a Triple-J-Hottest-100-list song being used in this genteel sport of ours; look at Emilie Lepennec's 2005 Worlds floor routine. It reminded me of that Spinal Tapp moment where the midgets are dancing around a teeny tiny model of Stonehenge...

3. Alborada del Gracioso - Ravel (composer)

Best Suited For: Ashleigh Brennan, Emma Dennis, Victoria Williams. Love that bassoon action. This track was from a random Best of Ravel CD we had at the bottom of our cd rack... am unsure if there is another title for the movement or anything like that. I love the explosion of sound after the early diminuendo (See? I was a muso once, albeit briefly, I can talk the talk!) It does call to mind matadors dancing around an unpredictable bull. Think big bold movements around the floor in the louder bars contrasted with evocative arm choreography and light steps in the softer 'plucking' bars.