Performer · Innovator · Popularizer
Lindsey Stirling
The Dancing Violinist
“You can be anything you want to be. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Why They Matter
She shattered the boundary between musician and dancer, building a global following by fusing classical violin with contemporary dance, aerial acrobatics, and visually stunning live performances.
Known For
Watch
Crystallize
Her 2012 breakthrough — an original dubstep-influenced violin track filmed in an ice-castle landscape, where traveling steps and accented gestures make the electronic pulse visible.
The Arena (feat. Derek Hough)
A narrative partnered dance-duet with Derek Hough — challenge, confrontation, and resilience carried through movement and cinematic action.
Underground
A dystopian ensemble piece of isolations and upward-reaching formations, developed in part from her Dancing with the Stars freestyle.
Artemis
The mythic hunter-ensemble that anchors her Artemis era — contemporary, theatrical choreography built around a story world.
Master of Tides
A public-space performance that scales her solo iconography into communal, flash-mob-style spectacle.
Between Twilight (feat. Derek Hough)
A sweeping, waltz-time romantic duet with Derek Hough (2020), danced in a Viennese-waltz character — one of her most elegant partnered pieces.
Dancing with the Stars — Season 25 (with Mark Ballas)
The official playlist of her full run to runner-up on season 25 — from assigned ballroom routines to the violin-and-dance freestyle.
Biography
Lindsey Stirling was born on September 21, 1986, in Santa Ana, California, and grew up in Gilbert, Arizona. As a child she faced a choice between dance lessons and violin lessons and chose the violin, studying it seriously from a young age — but the pull toward movement never left. As a teenager she played in the rock band Stomp on Melvin and developed a violin-rock solo act, an early convergence of classical technique, popular rhythm, character, and stage presence that would define her later work.
She created the YouTube channel that became her creative home in 2007, using it to test ideas that fit no traditional label category: violin covers, original electronic tracks, costumes, fantasy settings, and choreography. In 2010 she reached the quarterfinals of America's Got Talent (season 5) billed as a 'hip-hop violinist.' When a judge dismissed the idea that she could dance and play at the same time, she treated the criticism as a brief rather than a verdict — returning to YouTube and methodically improving the very combination that had been questioned.
Her breakthrough came on February 23, 2012, with 'Crystallize': an original dubstep-influenced violin track filmed in an ice-castle landscape, where her traveling steps and accented gestures made the electronic pulse visible. It became one of YouTube's most-watched videos of the year. Her self-titled debut album followed in September 2012 and topped Billboard's Dance/Electronic and Classical album charts, and in 2013 her Pentatonix collaboration 'Radioactive' won Response of the Year at the first YouTube Music Awards — a reminder that collaboration and visual interpretation, not solo virtuosity alone, drove her rise.
From there she deliberately deepened her dance and scaled her live show. She competed on the web series Dance Showdown with professional dancer-choreographer Anže Škrube in 2013, and her second album, 'Shatter Me' (2014), debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and won the 2015 Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Album. Videos like 'Master of Tides' and 'Roundtable Rival' grew her movement world from solo icon to ensemble spectacle, built with named dancers and choreographers rather than anonymous backup. In 2016 she published a candid memoir, 'The Only Pirate at the Party.'
'The Arena' (2016), a narrative dance-duet with Derek Hough, remains one of the clearest showcases of her partnered movement, and 'Brave Enough' (2016) earned a second Billboard Music Award in 2017. That year she also entered Dancing with the Stars (season 25) with Mark Ballas, working through assigned ballroom and theatrical routines under professional coaching and finishing runner-up — direct evidence of developed dance capacity, without rewriting her history as a lifetime of conservatory dance training. Her finale freestyle brought her signature question — can full choreography and live violin share one routine? — onto a mainstream dance stage.
Her later work turned albums into story worlds — 'Artemis' (2019), 'Snow Waltz' (2022), and 'Duality' (2024) — and expanded her live vocabulary into aerial apparatus, including silks and the suspended hoop (lyra), alongside flying-harness sequences. Her compositions increasingly function as movement material for others: Olympic champion Sunisa Lee chose 'Eye of the Untold Her' for her floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Games. She founded The Upside Fund, a philanthropy focused on medical-debt relief, mental-health access, and food justice, and continues to tour arenas. Her enduring contribution is precise: she made full-body movement compatible with a credible live violin performance, and turned that constraint into a signature — a dancer, choreographed movement artist, and dancing violinist whose bow and body share the same time.
Career Highlights
Launches the YouTube channel that becomes her creative home
Quarterfinalist on America's Got Talent (season 5) as a 'hip-hop violinist'
'Crystallize' (Feb 23) becomes one of YouTube's most-watched videos of the year; self-titled debut tops Billboard's Dance/Electronic and Classical charts
'Radioactive' with Pentatonix wins Response of the Year at the first YouTube Music Awards
'Shatter Me' debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200
Wins the Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Album (Shatter Me); named to Forbes 30 Under 30 source
Publishes the memoir 'The Only Pirate at the Party'; releases 'The Arena' with Derek Hough
Second Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Album (Brave Enough); runner-up on Dancing with the Stars season 25 with Mark Ballas watch the DWTS playlist
Releases 'Artemis'; performs at NASA's Kennedy Space Center the following spring
Releases 'Duality'; Olympic champion Sunisa Lee uses 'Eye of the Untold Her' for her Paris floor routine watch Suni Lee’s routine
Gallery
Lindsey on Dancing with the Stars
Lindsey competed on Dancing with the Stars season 25 in 2017 with professional partner Mark Ballas, finishing runner-up of 13 couples behind Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold.
- 1Cha ChaDon’t Worry · Madcon feat. Ray Dalton22/30
- 2QuickstepBallroom NightSwing Set · Jurassic 521/30
- 3SalsaLatin NightMani Picao · Ricky Campanelli24/30
- 4JiveWake Me Up Before You Go-Go · Wham!27/30
- 5Viennese WaltzAnchor · Mindy GledhillDanced in memory of her father.26/30
- 6FoxtrotWhen You Wish Upon a Star · Ray Chew28/30
- 7Argentine TangoHuman · SevdalizaHer first perfect score.40/40
- 8Paso DobleRoundtable Rival ↓ · Lindsey StirlingDanced to her own recording.27/30
- 9FreestyleTeam danceMonster Mash · Atwater Men’s ClubWith Team Monster Mash.24/30
- 10SambaMorning Drums · Gregor Salto26/30
- 11JazzTrioLet’s Face the Music and Dance · Seth MacFarlaneWith Kristi Yamaguchi.28/30
- 12ContemporaryHead High · Alexander Jean29/30
- 13TangoFeel So Close · Calvin Harris28/30
- 14QuickstepFinalBarflies at the Beach · Royal Crown Revue40/40
- 15FreestyleFinalPalladio · Escala40/40
- 16JiveFinalWake Me Up Before You Go-Go · Wham!30/30
- 17Cha Cha and Tango fusionFinalHot2Touch · Felix Jaehn feat. Hight & Alex Aiono30/30
Routines on the show are choreographed for television, not to a competitive syllabus. The style links below go to the dance each routine was named for, which is where the figures, timing and history live — not a claim that the routine was danced to that syllabus.
Sources: Dancing with the Stars, season 25 ↗ · Lindsey Stirling ↗
Dancing to Lindsey’s Music
209 songs, each classified by the dance styles it suits. 85 have an official video and 49 have footage of people dancing to them — both play here without leaving the page.
Tempo and style are our reading of the music. The dance footage is evidence: real dancers, on video, dancing this recording. Search these in the music library →
Showing 209 songs
| Watch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Years (acoustic) (recorded at Spotify Studios NYC)Spotify Singles (2016) | 2016 | 116 | ↗↗↗↗↗↗↗ | — |
| ActivateBrave Enough — retailer bonus (2016) | 2016 | — | ↗ | — |
| AfterglowBrave Enough — deluxe (2016)◍ album | 2016 | — | ↗ | — |
| All I Want for ChristmasWarmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)♪ sheet music◍ album | 2018 | 75 | ↗ | — |
| All of MeLindsey Stirling: Live from London (2015)♪ sheet music | 2015 | — | ↗ | |
| All of Me (Violin Remix)with John LegendJohn Legend x Lindsey Stirling: The Violin Remixes (2020) | 2020 | — | ↗ | — |
| Angels We Have Heard on HighWarmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)♪ sheet music◍ album | 2018 | 109 | ↗↗↗↗↗ | — |
| Anti GravityLindsey Stirling (2012)♪ sheet music◍ album | 2012 | 129 | ↗↗↗↗ | — |
| ArtemisArtemis (2019)♪ sheet music (2)◍ album | 2019 | 96 | ↗↗↗↗↗ | |
| AscendanceShatter Me (2014)♪ sheet music◍ vinyl (sold out) | 2014 | 128 | ↗↗↗↗↗↗↗ | — |
| Assassin’s Creed III ThemeOfficial YouTube cover (2012)♪ sheet music | 2012 | — | ↗ | — |
| AuroraArtemis (2019)♪ sheet music (2)◍ album | 2019 | 123 | ↗↗↗↗↗↗ | — |
| Beautiful Timeswith Owl CityOwl City release (2014) | 2014 | — | ↗ | — |
| Beauty and the BeastOfficial YouTube cover (2017)♪ sheet music (2) | 2017 | — | ↗ | |
| Between TwilightArtemis (2019)♪ sheet music (2)◍ album | 2019 | 1383/4 | ↗↗ | |
| Beyond the VeilShatter Me (2014)♪ sheet music◍ vinyl (sold out) | 2014 | — | ↗ | |
| Brave Enoughwith Christina PerriBrave Enough — deluxe (2016)♪ sheet music◍ album | 2016 | 94 | ↗ | — |
| Breathe with Mewith Lacey SturmLacey Sturm release (2023) | 2023 | — | ↗ | — |
| Brightwith EchosmithOfficial YouTube collaboration (2015) | 2015 | — | ↗ | — |
| By No Meanswith EppicEppic feat. Lindsey Stirling (2011) | 2011 | — | ↗ | |
| Carol Of The BellsWarmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)♪ sheet music (3)◍ album | 2018 | 1683/4 | ◆↗ ◆ (slowed)↗↗ | |
| Carol of the Bells (Live from Summer Tour 2023)Live from Summer Tour 2023 (2023) | 2023 | — | ↗ | — |
| Celtic CarolOfficial YouTube cover (2011)♪ sheet music | 2011 | — | ↗ | |
| Christmas C’monwith Becky GWarmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)♪ sheet music◍ album | 2018 | 158 | ↗↗ | |
| Christmas Time with Youwith FrawleySnow Waltz — deluxe (2022)♪ sheet music◍ vinyl | 2022 | — | ↗ | — |
- 7 Years (acoustic) (recorded at Spotify Studios NYC)116 bpm
Spotify Singles (2016)
— - Activateno tempo
Brave Enough — retailer bonus (2016)
— - Afterglowno tempo
Brave Enough — deluxe (2016)
—◍ album - All I Want for Christmas75 bpm
Warmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)
—♪ sheet music◍ album - All of Meno tempo
Lindsey Stirling: Live from London (2015)
♪ sheet music - All of Me (Violin Remix)no tempo
with John Legend
John Legend x Lindsey Stirling: The Violin Remixes (2020)
— - Angels We Have Heard on High109 bpm
Warmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)
—♪ sheet music◍ album - Anti Gravity129 bpm
Lindsey Stirling (2012)
—♪ sheet music◍ album - Artemis96 bpm
Artemis (2019)
♪ sheet music (2)◍ album - Ascendance128 bpm
Shatter Me (2014)
—♪ sheet music◍ vinyl (sold out) - Assassin’s Creed III Themeno tempo
Official YouTube cover (2012)
—♪ sheet music - Aurora123 bpm
Artemis (2019)
—♪ sheet music (2)◍ album - Beautiful Timesno tempo
with Owl City
Owl City release (2014)
— - Beauty and the Beastno tempo
Official YouTube cover (2017)
♪ sheet music (2) - Between Twilight138 bpm · 3/4
Artemis (2019)
♪ sheet music (2)◍ album - Beyond the Veilno tempo
Shatter Me (2014)
♪ sheet music◍ vinyl (sold out) - Brave Enough94 bpm
with Christina Perri
Brave Enough — deluxe (2016)
—♪ sheet music◍ album - Breathe with Meno tempo
with Lacey Sturm
Lacey Sturm release (2023)
— - Brightno tempo
with Echosmith
Official YouTube collaboration (2015)
— - By No Meansno tempo
with Eppic
Eppic feat. Lindsey Stirling (2011)
- Carol Of The Bells168 bpm · 3/4
Warmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)
♪ sheet music (3)◍ album - Carol of the Bells (Live from Summer Tour 2023)no tempo
Live from Summer Tour 2023 (2023)
— - Celtic Carolno tempo
Official YouTube cover (2011)
♪ sheet music - Christmas C’mon158 bpm
with Becky G
Warmer in the Winter — deluxe (2018)
♪ sheet music◍ album - Christmas Time with Youno tempo
with Frawley
Snow Waltz — deluxe (2022)
—♪ sheet music◍ vinyl
Buy the music
130 of these songs have sheet music you can buy — look for the score link on the row. Lindsey Stirling’s own stores:
External links to the artist’s own stores. LODance takes no commission and receives nothing if you buy.
Books & Reading
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Legacy & Impact
Lindsey Stirling collapsed the boundary between musician and dancer, proving that a violinist could also be a choreographer and aerialist — and that a performer could build a world-spanning career on YouTube and the live stage rather than radio. Her fusion of classical violin, electronic production, contemporary dance, and aerial acrobatics reframed what a live instrumental show can be. Just as important, her music has become movement material for others, from touring dancers to an Olympic floor routine, opening a lane for a generation of movement-driven instrumentalists.
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