A little history here… there is no single “real music.” In the 1930’s and 1940’s — a time when social ice dance was the backbone of most FS clubs — Skating Magazine published various lists of commercially available (78 rpm) records recommended for each dance. Some but not all of those recordings are now available on YouTube. For example, the Cassion Song was recommended for the Fourteenstep during / around the time of WWII. It was a sign of the times.
Throughout the 20th century there have been MANY songs used for ice dance as needed. There’s an entire sub-genre of ice dance music played on organ, I believe because many rinks at the time had an organ but not a recorded sound system. Big Band is also well represented. Glenn Miller’s Moonlight is a classic for the Blues. The ice dance music I am familiar with spans the breadth of 20th century American popular music.
More recently, I believe in the 1980’s or 1990’s, I believe the ISU and/or USFSA commissioned recordings specifically for use with ice dance. I believe they worked with Ray Anthony & His Orchestra, who were known for producing music for (ballroom) dance competition to super-steady beats. The Starlight Ice Dance Club of Twin Cities, I believe, has some “official” music. But no, I cannot find anything on the ISU or USFSA websites. And not enough care has been taken to preserving or even documenting the musical legacy of 20th century social ice dance, nor have ANY ice dance tracks I’ve found given any info on the composition or performers involved.
Honestly, it is my opinion that the “official” ice dance music insults the listener’s / dancer’s intelligence, and is part of the reason for the downfall / disappearance of social ice dance. Ice dance is a cultural legacy; and the people running the show were apparently more concerned that the beat was steady and recognizable and “fair,” than musical. The music feels sterile and robotic.
If you go to YouTube / Spotify today you will find suggested playlists for various ice dances. The only “official” requirement is a certain bpm (can fall within a range) and meter (3/4, 4/4, etc). People today test ice dances with all kinds of music. Much of it I feel is inappropriate: there is a REAL difference between a waltz, tango, march and foxtrot other than bpm. Each kind of dance has its history and musical conventions that go way beyond figure skating. You can’t (or shouldn’t) dance, say, a tango to any old pop song. The music needs to be actual tango music. But if you look through those playlists carefully, you can find some really good picks! That’s how I found 4 tango tracks that I’m currently using for the Silver Tango. They are all real music, each one has a different “accent,” but they are all real tangos, and fun to dance to.
So in a way, things have come full circle back to the 1930’s, before USFSA or ISU had any “official” tracks. Happy dancing!!!