Lindsey Stirling’s holiday mood
Lessons learned from ‘ Dancing’ augment Lindsey Stirling’s concerts
Every year, “Dancing With The Stars” reveals a most eclectic list of competitors for the hit ABC show, all vying for the coveted mirrorball trophy. This past season included a WWE star, Paralympic athlete and the inimitable Lindsey Stirling who came in as runnerup when the show wrapped its grand finale on November 21.
Stirling is no stranger to the show or to the art of dance — the “dubstep violinist,” whose shows present an unexpected combination of classical instrumentation and rave music accompanied by her own dance moves, has performed as a live musical artist on the show several times in its 12- year history. It’s how she first met her dancing partner Mark Ballas and formed a bond that led to the undeniable chemistry that led them to tango until the season’s very end, something Stirling had been hoping to accomplish for a number of years.
“I’ve talked with the [ producers] for several seasons; here and there they have asked me to do the show, but it never worked out because I was on tour or just busy doing other things, but I’ve always wanted to do it,” admits 31- year- old Stirling who battled a serious injury to her ribs and endured daily 8- hour rehearsals during the season. “It was so intense balancing everything, but I’d do it all again.”
“Dancing” was in fact Stirling’s second run on a reality show competition, after a notoriously crushing blow on “America’s Got Talent” in 2010 where judges like Piers Morgan told her, in so many words, that the world didn’t need an electronic violinist.
“I really think I went on that show prematurely,” she says. “I was a baby performer and didn’t have any experience. I just wasn’t prepared for it at all. And it was devastating. It felt like it was my one chance to make it and when I got kicked off I was like, ‘ Is that it?’”
The experience made Stirling second think if she ever wanted to even be on a stage again, she admits. “I did take a back step and go I don’t know if I can do this. But after I put on some small brakes, I decided that music was still calling me, and there was something inside me that wouldn’t let me give it up. … I thought maybe I just wasn’t good enough yet but I knew I could get there if I practiced harder and further discovered my sound.”
Stirling did so, and soon became the poster child of hybridization and modernization, taking the elite world of baroque and turning it on its head with EDM techniques that became a beacon to ex- orchestra kids that gave up and left behind their bows and a young crop of fans that live for her heavy beats. To date, Stirling has become the highest earner on YouTube ( where she started to gain fame after “America’s Got Talent”) with the Daily Mail reporting she earns an estimated $ 6 million a year for her popular videos like that for the song “Crystallize,” which has garnered 184 million views.
“I grew up playing violin and realized I didn’t really love performing classical music,” she says of honing in on her unique brand. “It was beautiful but it didn’t make me think I was expressing myself. So I started to venture out and figure out all these different sounds and what I liked about different styles of music and realized that the violin, unlike what history has told us, can do many different things and can meld into different styles.”
Stirling has released four albums since her self- titled debut in 2012, including her brandnew holiday album, “Warmer In the Winter,” featuring a mix of original tunes and classics like “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” ( with a guest appearance from up- and- coming pop star Sabrina Carpenter), “Carol of the Bells,” “What Child Is This” and “Jingle Bell Rock,” all done in Stirling’s signature style.
“I really wanted a different feel than other holiday albums, so I picked a couple that could be good for a cornucopia of sounds,” she says. “I was really selective about what songs sounded good and could make the violin sing. I’m also very religious, which is why I wanted songs like ‘ Angles We Have Heard on High’ and ‘ Silent Night’ included.”
As Stirling heads out on tour, also expect to see a whole new range of movement in concert. “I danced for eight hours a day for three months so of course it made me a better dancer, rather than just being up there on stage jumping around. It’s been cool to see how the ballroom now translates into my live show.” Selena Fragassi is a local freelance writer.