The ones your students will beg you to repeat
I've taught lyrical for eleven years, and the single biggest mistake I see dancers make isn't bad technique or weak turns. It's picking a song because it's popular, not because it actually fits. You can't pour emotion into a track that doesn't give you anything back.
So here's what I've learned works — songs that hand you movement on a silver platter.
"Halo" — Beyoncé
A kid in my advanced class cried the first time we ran her solo to this. Not because she was sad — because the song gave her permission to stop holding back. That's what Beyoncé does. The way "Halo" climbs from that quiet opening verse into that massive chorus, it pulls your body with it. You don't choreograph to it so much as you let it choreograph you.
"Gravity" — Sara Bareilles
Barely there. That's the word I'd use. The piano sits underneath Sara Bareilles' voice like water under a bridge, and the whole thing just... hovers. I've used this one for improv workshops specifically because it forces dancers to be small. Not every lyrical piece needs big extensions and death drops. Sometimes the audience leans in when you pull back.
"Fix You" — Coldplay
Okay, yes, it's been used a thousand times. But there's a reason for that, and I'm not going to pretend it's overrated just to seem cool. That organ swell at the bridge? I've watched entire audiences hold their breath through it. One of my students choreographed a duet to this where the two dancers literally never touched until the climax — the whole room was sobbing. If you pick the right moment in the song and build toward it, "Fix You" still delivers.
"Skinny Love" — Birdy
Skip Bon Iver's version for choreography. I know that's sacrilege, but Birdy's cover strips the song down to bone and nerve. There's so much empty space in it — gaps between the notes where a dancer can breathe, pause, fall. I had a 14-year-old perform this at a regional competition and the judge told her afterward that her stillness was more powerful than her movement. That's the kind of feedback this song earns.
"Clarity" — Zedd ft. Foxes
Here's a left-field pick for a lyrical playlist. The electronic production might seem wrong, but Foxes' vocal floats above all that bass like it doesn't even know it's there. Dancers who come from contemporary or jazz tend to love this one because the beat gives them something to play against. You can use the drops for sharp, punctuated movement and then melt through the verses. It's less traditional, sure, but some of the most interesting lyrical work I've seen lately uses songs that don't sound like "typical lyrical."
"The Scientist" — Coldplay
What makes this one different from "Fix You" is the regret. "Fix You" is about comfort; "The Scientist" is about wishing you could undo everything. The lyrics literally say "nobody said it was easy" — and the melody makes you believe it. I once saw a choreographer set a piece to this where the dancer walked backward for the entire first verse, retracing her steps. Simple concept, devastating execution. That's the kind of movement idea this song hands you for free.
"Say Something" — A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera
This is the one I save for advanced dancers, because it demands restraint. The temptation with "Say Something" is to go full dramatic — arms everywhere, big falls, the works. But the song is actually about silence. About the words you can't say. My best performance to this track was a dancer who barely moved above the waist for two full minutes. Just her hands and her face. People were wrecked.
Picking the right one
Don't just queue up a song and start making eight-counts. Sit with it first. Drive around with it playing. Let it bother you. The songs that make you uncomfortable — the ones that remind you of something you'd rather not think about — those are usually the ones that produce the best choreography.
Your dancers will feel the difference. So will the audience.
Your body already knows what the music wants. Trust it.
