How Smart678 came to be

In 2009, I didn’t know anything about the dance world.

Then a tap teacher/choreographer gave me a front-row seat to dance studio life. The choreography, the costumes, the hair, the makeup. The friendships. The dramas. Rehearsing the same eight counts over and over to get them clean and stage-ready. The competitions - multiple Regionals that go all weekend for 18 hours each day, and week-long Nationals. The recitals, including multiple shows per day. And the search for the perfect music for next season’s routines. I had no idea how much time, work, and investment went into every routine, and I was floored.

One day I asked a simple question: where does your studio get its music made? I assumed it came from a big-city recording studio, because every detail of these routines was that polished.

She told me she did it herself.

And she was good at it. Better than most. But the more I listened to the music used in recital and competition routines, the more I realized that for a large number of routines, the music did not live up to the work and detail that was going into the visual aspects. I learned that most dance teachers have never had the training or the tools to make their music as good as everything else they work so hard to perfect before putting it onto a stage.

After learning how much work goes into every routine, I came to believe, passionately, that every dancer deserves to perform with music worthy of them. Not “just okay enough” music, but bold, strong, unique music that measures up to the passion they have for dance. That’s the whole reason Squirrel Trench Audio exists.

Morriss Partee, founder of Squirrel Trench Audio

Why would a professional audio editor help you do it yourself? Because after thousands of professional edits, we know the techniques to make great music for your choreo. Smart678 puts those tools in your hands.

Every dancer deserves to perform with music as hard-working as they are.