''Dance for the Sun'', ''Yoga Songs for Kids'', is the self-released 2006 debut album by
Kira Willey.
Background
Willey initially began writing music in the forms of
lullabies to her daughter. After a few years passed, she started playing the guitar, writing more often, and had begun teaching
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
classes in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to children. The songs for ''Dance for the Sun'' were written with her class in mind, and after building up a collection, Willey began using these songs as a musical guide to complement her class, and received positive feedback from both her daughter and her class.
When recording the album, Willey enlisted the help of her brother for bass vocals, her cousin for percussion and production, and several of the children in her class to provide vocals, nicknamed the "OmGirls".
[ ''Dance for the Sun'' was released on December 1, 2006, in ]Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
The album is primarily 15 tracks, the ones which appear first. The remainder are bonus tracks, which are of live recordings in her Yoga class that include children singing along and participating. The booklet contains educational illustrations of Yoga positions and poses that coincide with the bonus tracks.[
The song "Colors" was popularized by its use in a ]Dell computers
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
commercial,laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
model, which featured casing in a variety of colors, presumably to match an aspect of the owner or their personality. This was part of a campaign that Dell ran, which asked consumers "What's your color?".
Review
Among critics of children's music, ''Dance for the Sun'' has received positive reviews,[ but it is said to be enjoyable by listeners of any age,][ and in the August 2007, Cookie Magazine said that ''Dance for the Sun'' was "joyful, upbeat, and eminently danceable. Willey’s vocals have a breezy coffeehouse quality that will appeal to listeners young and old alike."][
''Dance for the Sun'' has won several awards; an Independent Music Award for Best Children's Album,]
Track listing
:''Information on track listing.''
Personnel
*Kira Willey - lead vocals, guitar and violin
*Beau Lisy - drums and percussion
*Matthew Charboneau - bass
*Christopher Burge - saxes & flute
:''Information on personnel.''
Awards
Album
Songs
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*Fireflies Yoga
Official Website
of Kira Willey
*Del
Commercial
featuring "Colors"
{{Authority control
2006 debut albums