Dancing up a storm

It is now only 93 days to go until Christmas Day. Life is not ideal and we can all use more peace and love in this world of ours. But war and disasters be damned. The idea of having something important to celebrate is sure to put the ever-smiling and eternally optimistic Pinoy in a merrymaking mode. And when the Pinoy wants to make merry, he sings his heart out with karaoke or better yet he dances. Here then are some sounds that will surely give twinkle toes to even the most retiring wallflower.

Foremost among these is Step Up by Various Artists. The remarkable success of the teeny-bopper flick High School Musical proved that there’s still hope for those movies where the actors sing and dance. So the time might indeed be ripe for another picture where music and dancing are woven into the story. Taking that step is Step Up, which I like to think is geared towards older kids who might find High School Musical too juvenile. Hopefully, the movie will also take this generation’s appreciation of the musical film to another level.

Step Up is about the war of the classes since time immemorial. It stars Channing Tatum as the street dancer who comes from the rough side of town and Jenna Dewan as the budding ballerina from the privileged class. They meet in art school and after the initial reluctance about liking each other and the kind of dancing each one does, they end up in love and dancing together with some truly spectacular moves in the culminating Senior Showcase. Take note, the lovers sing in High School Musical. They dance in Step Up.

The dance war though is not in any way reflected in the soundtrack album. What listeners get instead are some of the coolest R ’n B acts performing some of the funkiest hip-hop tunes ever. Best among these heartily recommended no-fail dance songs are ‘Til the Dawn by Drew Sidora, which cleverly samples Earth, Wind & Fire, Kellis with 80’s Joint and Made by Jamie Scott. If you like slow grooving, there are Lovely by Deep Inside and U Must Be by Gina Rene. You might also enjoy Youngbloodz’s Imma Shine; Dear Life by Anthony Hamilton; Show Me the Money by Petey Pablo and the title track by Samantha Jade.

Getting into the hip-hop mode

If you want to keep up the hip-hop mode, then you might want to try out your own moves with Hip Hop IV The Collection. The two-CD set is an all-star compilation that includes some of the biggest names in hip-hop today plus a few that you will be surprised to find out you can also hip hop along with the best of them. Among the big names are The Black Eyed Peas with My Humps; Mariah Carey with It’s Like That; Mary J. Blige with Family Affair; Gwen Stefani with Hollaback Girl; the Pussycat Dolls with Don’t Cha and Snoop Dogg with Let’s Get Blown. Among the surprises are Elton John with the late 2Pac in Ghetto Gospel and Warren G in a unique take on I Shot the Sheriff.

Latin and traditional

Time now for something Latin and traditional like The Best of Perez Prado. This is what you get if you want to make out like those strong and graceful competitive contestants in the dance shows on TV. I do not know if Prado, a very important icon of Latin music, invented the mambo dance step but he sure came up with the best sounds to go with it. So check out the album to get into the mambo mood. Topping the bill is the original three congress version of Prado’s Mambo No. 5. Then there are also Skokiaan; Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White; Quizas, Quizas, Quizas; Quien Sera; Frenesi; Que Rico Mambo; Perfidia; Patricia; Caballero Negro and others.

I know that Pinoys enjoy recapping the year’s dance floor favorites during their Christmas parties. For this, I offer The Go Girls who dance up a storm in their self-titled album. This is the kind that even kids will love dancing to. Included are Gasolina; Ging Gang Golly in the Summer Time; Kuryente; Oh Babe; Mapuoka; Limbo Dance; Johniye and La Banana.

And then not to forget, let us all wait for what sort of nonstop Christmas medley albums will be coming out within the next few weeks.