Latin dance music has bridged the gap between the traditional and the new, incorporating modern forms of music from reggae to electronica. What about Standard? Any suggestions?

Hey Yvonne!!

Even though I don't dance standard (as you know!), I have to agree with you about the music. As much as I love the song, if I hear Somewhere Beyond the Sea one more time....

Nothin, but love...
LisaL

It's not too hard to find modern music for QS, but here are a couple of "modern" songs for the remaining Standard dances: (Some of them are Christmas songs though...)

EW:
C?line Dion - Brahm's Lullaby
Vanessa Williams - I Wonder As I Wander
Des'ree - I'm Kissing You (Romeo & Juliet OST)
Simply Red - If You Don't Know Me By Now
Lionel Richie - Three Times A Lady

SF:
Elton John - But Not For Me
Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Sinead O' Conner - I Want To Be Loved By You / Love Letters / Secret Love
S Club 7 - Never Had A Dream Come True
Christina Aguilera - These Are The Special Times

Tango:
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Lara Fabian - 'Till I Get Over You
Anastacia - I'm Outta Love
Cher - Believe (Tango Remix)

VW:
Bon Jovi - I Wish Every Day Could Be
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
Seal - Kiss From A Rose
Mariah Carey - O Holy Night
Tom Jones - What's New Pussycat

Hope this helped...

But why stop with the music? The most dated aspect of standard is the costuming. On what social occation would you ever see men in "white tie and tails?" To me, it seems strange to dance to Aerosmith in tails.

Blair

While I do like the look of white tie and tails I guess an updated look for the guys wouldn't be a bad idea if we're going to change the music. What do you suggest?

I'been looking around for new standard music, too, but not a great deal of success. (A few Natalie Cole and Anita Baker pieces are exceptions, but even they are updates of old tunes like "Unforgettable" and "Body and Soul".)

The problem appears to be that popular ballroom music always derives from popular social dance music. Latin dancing is hugely popular, standard is not. If you could dance standard to hip hop, we'd have it made. So we're kind stuck.

Is the problem that people don't want to give up the older music or is it that there just isn't that much new music suitable for ballroom dancing? I get the impression that it's the latter. I think other comments are right, too, that if the style of dancing is more popular, you'll tend to have more songs written for it. Standard isn't exactly sweeping the nation. I'm sure there is some suitable, more modern, music for standard; I know I've heard a few Harry Connick, Jr. songs played as foxtrots. But for the most part, a lot of songs written now just don't have the same ballroom feel as older music. I think that's why we still use it, it's the most suitable music available. At least here, I hear a Strauss (or at least similar style) waltz played for Viennese waltz now and then and how old is that music? You play what works. If there's no good, modern music written that you can dance standard to, people aren't going to play it. They'll go back to the older music that works for standard. I don't know if there's any easy solution to the problem, but I do think that we have it because people aren't writing many ballroom suitable songs now.