I’m not a natural dancer. The only time I dance is when I go with my husband to a posh frock dinner dance, and then, I’m only comfortable dancing with him, so please make allowances for me if this seems a stupid question:
Why is it that when dancers are counting themselves in they always say 5,6,7,8.and then start to dance? Why not 1,2,3,4?
Apologies in advance to all the serious posters on here who get irritated by trivial posts.

If they were dancing the Waltz, they would have to count themselves in 1, 2, 3.

Can't say I've noticed the 5, 6, 7, 8

I'm not an expert, but i'd say because 7 has two sylables. Sometimes you hear "1, 2, 3 and 4."

Am I right??! That was a complete guess!

I'm not a dancer but i would only think because of the bars of 8 in music it would be 5678....start. If you were to go 1234...you would continue to 5678. Just 8 is the end of the bar

In Len's masterclass on the rumba he said it was 1234 with the emphasis on 2. Been trying it. Bloody difficult

I've been trying that in my head. Would that be the same for the Paso as well.

I don't know. Doesn't seem to have much regular rhythm but I'm sure someone will know

Firstly, most dances (not waltz) are marked in groups of 8, so the basic idea for counting is 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, 1,2,3, ... In other words, there's a 5,6,7,8 before the next 1.

But if you want to start dancing on the 1 (or possibly 2 as someone else commented - it depends on the dance), you need to get ready to dance before that, so you count in on the 5,6,7,8. It's like in races where you have a "on your marks" before the actual starting pistol. The 5,6,7,8 don't really have that much significance - you could count "Ready, Steady, Lets, Go" if you wanted!

In the Rhumba and Cha Cha you transfer your weight from your left foot to your right foot on 1 - then step forward with your left foot on 2.

Unless................ you are dancing a sequence dance where you would step forward with your left foot on 1.

Confused??????????????????

For Rumba Fist step is on 2. But to get you to step on 2 you take a side step on 1 . this then gets you on to the right step on 2.
Unless you are a sequence dancer and the take the first step on 1. Confused, you will be.
All make sense when you can dance. Make it make sense. Get dancing. Enjoy the learning. the Frustration and the joy.

Many thanks to everyone, particularly Dave. For the first time in years it actually makes sense. I've noticed that it's mainly Americans who count themselves in this way, strange that.

I don't know mcuh about ballroom and latin, but in tap dancing there are some steps that start on 8 for instance the time step ( although at advanced level some timesteps start on 1 just to make it confusing)

I must add at this point because of the timing in Latin sequence I get lost and stop. Anyway it is so boring when we all do the same step at the same time, it is more fun when it is different more chance of bumping into sorry meeting people.

Hello,

Teachers use 5 6 7 8 as a teaching method. Bars are not counted in 8 but steps are often counted in phrases of 8 - this is because a group of 8 counts worth of steps is easier to dance/teach than to keep repeating the smaller groups of 4. It is easier to keep track of the phrase. I have to be honest though I haven't heard it mentioned too much in SCD and I don't use it myself in Ballroom dancing mostly it is for other dance subjects - particularly stage/tap. This is due to the rhythm of the Ballroom Dances.

Waltz is in 3/4 time which means 3 crotchet value beats per bar. You would count this 1 2 3, 2 2 3, 3 2 3, 4 2 3 etc.

Tango is in 2/4 time i.e. 2 crotchets per bar 1 2, 2 2, 3 2, 4 2. However this dance is usually counted in Slows and Quicks. Slow beats being whole beats, quicks being & beats.

Foxtrot is in 4/4 time i.e. 4 crotchets per bar. 1 2 3 4 2 2 3 4. Again this tends to be counted in slows and quicks for teaching.

Quickstep is in 4/4 time or 2/2 time sometimes. Again it is the slows and quicks that are counted.

Viennese Waltz is a quick 3/4 time.

The rhythm of Latin dances is more complex - not because of the time signature but because of the rhythm that you dance.

Rumba and Cha Cha are in 4/4 time. Just like ivor and g.wass mentioned above.. you transfer your weight on count 1 so that the first main step is on count 2. The rhythm for Rumba is 2, 3, 4-1 (pausing on ct1). For Cha Cha it is 2, 3, 4&1 (the 4&1 is the cha cha cha rhythm).

Samba is in 2/4 time and the basic rhythm is 1a2, 2a2 etc.

Paso Doble is also in 2/4 time and it's basic rhythm is 1 2, 2 2.

Jive is in 4/4 time BUT you actually dance in phrases which equal 6 counts or 1 1/2 bars. 1 2 3a4 5a6. This is the same as Rock n Roll rhythm.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks to Peach UK for the detailed explanation. Entirely right. The only thing I would add is that it also have to do with the phrasing of the music.

QS is usually written and phrased in two bar groups, which gives you the 1234 5678. The choreography will subtly reflect that if they are dancing 'on phrase' in terms of where the rise and fall is, which beat the scatter chasse starts on etc.

Same principle of phrasing would apply to the other dances. Waltz is often in 123 456 - but its still about phrasing. Viennese is phrased in phrases of 8 bars of 123, 223, 323 etc. You need proper VW music - not the stuff they try on SCD.

Only thing confused me Peach UK was the jive. I would have thought it was 1a2 3a4 5 6??? If it is 4/4 then it is over a bar and a half (which is what I think it is) or 2/2 would be three bars?

Hope this helps.
Lol

The jive rhythm is a bar and a half in length. In step terms it is Rock step, chasse, chasse 1 2 3a4 5a6. But the actual music is played as 4/4 time. So 3 bars of music equals two patterns of basic jive steps. It's complicated!

Can I just add that this is why a strong sense of rhythym helps so much. If you have it, then you'll "hear" all of this instinctively without actually needing to count.

Absolutely correct. When I first learnt ballroom (back in the 1950s ... hmmm!) it was getting the "style" and "feel" of the dance that was important. We were drilled with the very basics of the four main dances (waltz,qs,fox and tango) until it became second nature. You just "knew" when to start and kept your mind on the beat automatically after a while.

Some of the music used on SCD is very poorly chosen, in my opinion - especially the Latin stuff. Why? when there is such a vast collection of "pure" ballroom and Latin music from which to choose ??

I wonder about that too. If the music and choreography fit well together and the music is right for the dance, when the dancers have learnt the routine the music will help them to remember the sequence of moves by "telling" them what step comes next. There've been a few times this series when that combination hasn't been very evident.

yes I agree... some of the music choices have been awful!

I got the "Strictly Come Dancing" album sometime last year... and you can't dance the proper dances to hardly any of the tracks. The tempos on some are attrocious.

some people are definately have more musicality more natural feeling for the music and therefore are very good at impro (helpful when you forget the dance!) others have to count the music and generally take longer to learn routines