Dance Today

Anything is possible in 21st-century clubland — with music's archives stretching back into a seemingly bottomless past, every track ripe for a remix, and technology offering the keys to endless original mutations, today's beat-masters and mash-meisters are on a roll. Celebrate the best of them here, as Dutch DJ Sidney Samson threads a spoken Tupac Shakur sample from the movie Juice into the chunky, rolling bounce of "Riverside (Let's Go!)", Wiley celebrates a four-album deal with Island Records by collaborating with Brooklyn's Chew Fu on the head-fryin' slam-down, "Take That", and Paloma Faith's "Do You Want The Truth Or Do You Want Something Beautiful?" gets a stellar Joe & Will Ask remix.

Example dips his toes in the Mediterranean, and Cheryl Cole gets feisty, in Next Steps.

The beat goes on with Taio Cruz, who took the synth-strobed, ego-driven "Break Your Heart" — here in its Cassette Club Remix guise — to the top of charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 2009. The track was the first release from his second studio album, Rokstarr and was originally written for Cheryl Cole, whose "Fight For This Love (Cahill Club Mix)" pulls in a bendy bassline, a gorgeous semi-classical string riff, and a dash of disco to stunning effect. Rapper Example takes his adventures in dance steaming towards the Balearics with the "Watch The Sun Come Up (Moam Remix)" one of the finest, feel-good cuts of 2009: sink into its bright, greet-the-day piano run, buy into the love-life lyric ("I wanna 'nother day with you"), and you'll believe anything is possible.

David Guetta plus Estelle equals dancefloor domination, in Deep Cuts.

French house superstar DJ David Guetta has made a habit of flooding dancefloors with good vibes — that's why the Black Eyed Peas asked him to chip in with his production expertise on "I Gotta Feeling" — and this extended version of "One Love", underscored by a disco-ballin' handclap and driven skywards by an insanely rich vocal from Estelle, spreads his genius over seven fabulous minutes. Madonna, in cahoots with remixer supreme Paul Oakenfold, takes us to the heart of the party with "Celebration", a track that carries a Madge-sanctioned excuse to get freaky ("If it makes you feel good, then I say do it"), while Jordin Sparks reinvents a Shannon classic with "S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)".

Clubland today is a realm of infinite possibility — the old is new again, familiar sounds are smashed to smithereens then reassembled in a slightly different order, fresh sounds are discovered, better beats are invented and sonic DNA is unravelled so that we may know its secrets . . . all of which has sent us careening towards a brave new future, feet ablaze, heads spinning. Our overview of the hottest current dance confections features diva/DJ collabs, grown-up grime stars retooling their rap with big beats, stunning guest vocalists stealing the limelight, Balearic aces stealing the moonlight, remixes that blow originals out of the water, remixers remixed by other remixers . . . and much more besides. You want to get fresh, funky and freaky? These Dance Today Essentials will see you through to tomorrow, and beyond.