Hear & Feel the Music

Music and Dance have so much in common. Dancers move to music, whether the music is provided by an orchestra or a show band, or created through the rhythmic pounding of sticks on a hollow tree trunk. The most important element in Dance is the relationship between the Dancer and the Music. The dancer is part of the music -- a musician in the band and his "instrument" is his body.
The dancer interprets the music, using the body's capabilities to enhance the music further, just as the singer uses his voice, and other musicians use the piano, violin and drums to complete the musical arrangement. The dancer is the visible part of music. As part of the music, the dancer thus has to hear, feel and move to the music.
With the exception of Waltz, most dance music today is written in 4/4 meter -- that is, each measure of music has 4 beats. It is to these 4 beats of music that we dance to.

On a music sheet, these 4 beats in one measure are represented by 4 quarter notes on the staff and marked by a bar at the end.

Sometimes we just feel the beat. What we actually hear as the beat may come from the bass or the beat of the drum. But whether we actually hear or just feel the beat, the dancer should realize that those beats of music are taking place.
In between these 4 beats per measure are underlying or minor beats, which prominently define some types of music. Cha Cha Cha music, for example, emphasizes a half-beat (or 1/8 music note) between the 3rd and 4th beats of the measure. Samba music, on the other hand, includes a 1/4 of a beat (1/16 music note) before beats 2 and 4 of the music measure.

By discovering, hearing and recognizing these underlying beats, the dancer will be able to dance the various rhythms that make up each dance.

RHYTHM and PULSE
One measure of 4 beats of music is composed of two pairs of 2 beats each. Each pair of 2 beats is further composed of 1 down-beat and 1 up-beat.
Thus one music measure in 4/4 time contains 1 down-beat and 1 up-beat, followed by another down-beat and another up-beat. From this recurring pattern of two pairs of down-beat and up-beat, musical rhythm is established for all music in 4/4 time.


BEATS		DOWN UP beat beat	DOWN UP beat beat

      Dancers do not dance to measures of music, otherwise we would just have to read sheet music and dance to it. Dancers move to dance rhythm units which are established by the number of weight changes from one foot to the other in 2 beats of music. Each dance rhythm unit is composed of 2 beats of music with 1 down-beat and 1 up-beat.
      Professional dancers pulse to the music, that is, they stress or accent the up-beat of each two beats of music.
      Imagine a parade of marching people. As they march, a group of people will be marching very evenly, with no particular emphasis on count 1 or count 2. They are marching in time, but their marching lacks character or definition. Another group of people are marching to the same music, but emphasize the up-beat (the second beat of the unit). The group will show more character and feeling, because they were pulsing to the music.
      By pulsing on the up-beat, (the recurring stress or accent) of each 2-beat dance unit, the dancer is able to add character and feeling to the dance. The dancer then connects and becomes one with the music. In pulsing to the music, the body feels that each rhythm unit of 2 beats has ended and that another unit is about to start.
      All dance movement emanates and starts from the dancer's Center Point of Balance, located at the solar plexus. Consciousness of the music's pulse means connecting the dancer's center to the music, enabling the dancer to balance and relax fully, which in turn is projected in the dance.
      This interplay of the dancer's Center with the beat of the music, is what brings an audience to its feet and runs chills up the spine of the dancer.

THE MAGIC COUNT
       No matter how many times we play the music, it does not change. The phrasing, the sound and the count are always constant. They do not change.
      The only valid count for a dancer therefore is to count the actual beats of the music. Hundreds of people could dance to the same piece of music, and each could be dancing a different set of weight changes in any given pattern. But if they counted to the actual beats of music, they would all still be dancing in time.
      The dance is not a constant thing, which makes it illogical to simply count the number of steps or weight changes, and ignore the beats of music.
      The music is constant; the rhythms of each dance change with each pattern.

      Recall that dance rhythm is composed of the number of weight changes in 2 beats of music. This is referred to as the basic dance rhythm unit.
      Dance rhythm units may have as little as no weight changes and as many as four or five weight changes in 2 beats of music. (More weight changes in 2 beats will require tremendously swift footwork, which very few people can do.)
      Two-beat dance rhythm units are then combined to produce dance rhythm patterns. Dance rhythm patterns are further combined to produce a series of patterns or amalgamations.
      To determine the Magic Count for any given dance pattern, one simply has to start counting the beats of music and then adjust the count to fit the weight changes, by adding an "&" and/or "a" count before or after a number count. An "&" is equal to 1/2 of a beat. An "a" is equal to 1/2 of "&" or 1/4 of a beat. To illustrate a 3-unit rhythm:

Unit	first	second	third

Count	1 2	3 & 4	5 a 6
Beat Value	1 1	� � 1	� � 1

This means that on the first dance rhythm unit (counts "1 2"), there may be 2, 1 or no weight changes.

Using the same example, let's consider the second unit (counts "3&4"). This unit may have 3, 2 or 1 changes of weight.

Notice from the example that we counted in 2-beat increments (each unit had 2 beats.) But we counted from 1 to 6 because that imaginary pattern was composed of 6 beats. Similarly if a dance pattern is completed in 4 or 8 beats, then the counting should be up to 4 and 8, respectively. However, do not count beyond 8, to maintain the timing and phrasing to the music.
The magic count, just as the other Rules of Music, is not a matter of choice or preference. It is not a manufactured discipline. It is the discovery that makes the professional dancer look professional. The trick is to fit the dance pattern into a musical count divisible by two, since the most basic dance unit is 2 beats of music.

QUICKS AND SLOWS
      Many teachers here and abroad (including those from the established and well-known dance schools) count steps or weight changes using a verbal call of "quick" and "slow". While this works for simple patterns, it is impossible to use for advanced patterns and syncopations.
      This type of counting can not be consistent if other music time signatures are used such as 2/4. It is not applicable to 3/4 time.
      A "slow" count in Foxtrot, Quickstep, and Rumba, for instance, is equal to 2 beats of music. The "quick" is 1 beat. In Cha Cha Cha however, the "slow" is equal to 1 beat, and the "quick" to 1/2 beat.
      In the Samba, the same teachers would count one of the dance's four basic rhythms as "slow, and, slow". The value of the first slow is 3/4 beat, the "and" is valued at 1/4 beat, and the second "slow" as 1 beat. It turns out that within this Samba pattern, the "slow" has two values, depending on when it was used.
      Obviously, the use of the word "slow" is inaccurate and does not reflect a consistent counting of beats or their values. How then will a dancer know if the step is 1 beat or 2 beats of 3/4 beat long?
      The use of "quicks" and "slows" for counting are mere tools to teach rhythm, and not rules. Tools change with each dance and style. Rules do not.

TIMING AND PHRASING
      Hearing the beat is as important as knowing the dance. Listening to 4/4 time dance music, we need to become aware of the little "mini-phrase" or "sets of 8" beats of music. It is easier to recognize the "sets of 8" beats if we listen and focus carefully to the bass and the drum. Vocals may sometimes be confusing because the singer sometimes stylizes the song.
       All songs have their own phrasing. There is no such thing as a song that does not phrase. The phrase is the skeleton of a song. Many songs have Basic Phrasing that contain 4 sets of 8. Some however have Blues Phrasing, with 6 sets of 8.
       Good dancers time their patterns and variations with the phrases of music. Even if the dance pattern is only 6 beats, he can still phrase this by combining patterns into sequences to be danced perfectly in 4 or 6 sets of 8. He could fit or extend a 6-beat dance pattern in a set of 8 by syncopating with a two-beat 'anchor' on the last two beats (as in West Coast Swing).
      This skill though requires a good knowledge of various dance patterns and dance music. The key is to make sure that all the dance patterns are in 2-beat increments (the basic unit of dance).