It seemed to start around 2000, with tracks like "Sing It Back" by
Moloko and "Lady" by some guys I can't remember. Sort of like taking
four bars from a 70's disco or funk track and repeating them
continuously for 3-5 minutes, occasionally stuck through a moog filter
or something. Occasionally you hear a nice little melody, then the
realisation dawns that it's simply been sampled from a lesser known
disco track.

Is there a way to offer you suggestions for your blog directly?

In the form of comments yes, if you post a comment under one of the playlists and I agree that the songs do work, i will add them. I do have the comments moderated, I don't want it to turn into youtube with all kinds of smut posted, but relevant and helpful posts I always allow through.

Craig. All of the instructional videos on this site have the correct footwork, posture, alignments dancing in time and so on. So what are you doing here. I would say this is a strictly Ballroom Dance Site where dancers do not want to do heels when they should be toes, and toes when they should be heels. I must add that I am very impressed with the instructions that I have just been viewing. They are first class.

Quickstep7
If this is directed to me (my name is Terri not Craig)I wasn't being critical of the site. In fact I think it is wonderful and I have learned a lot from this site. Maybe you could show me where it says you have to be a perfect dancer to learn from this site. I am saying that not everyone has access to perfect music when they go out and that it is helpful to have some idea as to what song/music could be danced to as an alternate choice for the places that are available to dancers in different areas. Like I stated before the majority of music played around my little hick town is country. I would have to drive over an hour to maybe be able to find the "proper music". The dance studio I attend does offer 2 dance parties a month which I do attend and do get to improve my skills with "proper music" but they also play a few of more modern music. Atr these parties all of the instructors are present and give assistance and training in the ballroom dances.

Again though I am here to learn and have FUN!

I agree. Not everyone learns to dance to enter competitions and some people just want to be able to get around a floor and have fun, I do! One of the biggest gripes in our dance group is the "old fashioned" music played at dances and I constantly look out for modern music, with lyrics that can be danced to so the Blog is a great source of inspiration. Many people learn to dance so they can dance at social occasions such as weddings and you are much more likely to hear some Lady Gaga than a strict tempo instrumental Cha Cha by someone who was last in the charts in the 40's!

I would also add that Lyrics give another layer to the dance and allow you to get more feeling into your dancing.

Suggestion - could you have a blog within your blog for suggestions for music to be added?

I agree, a lot of people do dance and learn to dance so they can dance at social occassions. Not everybody is dancing so they can enter a competition etc. As a professional I do prefer the stricter tempo music's because it is how the dance is supposed to be danced.

However, socially and for a performance I think it is lovely to have some modern music included. This adds an extra element to the dancing and sometimes lets you engage with your audience. When teaching I routinely use modern music, and music my students want to use as this gets them excited. I can't force them to dance to traditional/old stuff if they don't want to. And they won't enjoy the dance as a result.

There are 2 sides to this argument. The old music is great, but we mustn't knock the importance of the modern music as well.

Your blog is fantastic and will help teachers and students in selecting appropriate music. Thank you for your blog!

Thank you :) I am very glad it has been found to be helpful. I do agree the traditional songs are just as important. I posted on my blog a few of my favorites I believe, but on my personal dance ipod I do keep plenty traditional as well. My reasoning behind this blog was to offer something new, and you can google traditional Cha-Cha music and have no problem finding thousands of hits. I saw no purpose in including a ton of those because the information is already readily available. I should be updating again in the next few days, so feel free to check back. I found a ton of really cool Bollywood style music and some Greek artists that work fantastic for salsa, samba, and zouk in particular.

Honestly, I'm far from a computer wiz. I chose google blogger because I wanted this to be an easy way to share my stuff. I don't really know how to add a blog inside the blog, though if you leaves me comments on the blog I can easily add your suggestions. I want to ensure the integrity of what I'm doing and double check all songs before I put them up. That's actually why I've been a bit stalled lately. I like to check even the ones I use with my partner, just for another opinion.

I see you have added Christina Aguilera's Hurt as a Foxtrot, but I would say this works better as a Rumba. Would you not agree??