Why do dancers count off 5, 6, 7, 8 instead of 1, 2, 3, 4? Is it because they want to be different than musicians
Dance choreography is typically done in 8 count intervals where the most common musical time signature is done in 4 counts. As to the why, I couldn’t tell you.
If the intro is called properly*, they’ll get the beat and will be able to step off on the right foot, so to speak.
*I’ve seen countless times where someone starts off a routine with
five…six…FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT!
And the dancers are left to their own wits to find the rythm.
This is the right answer. 5,6,7,8 is called because the next count is 1, and that’s where the routine will start.
As for why dancers count by 8 rather than 4, I’d guess that it’s because many of the standard steps take 8 counts to return to the same position. It’s certainly true for Swing (lindy/west coast, not east coast), Tango, Cha-cha, Rumba, Salsa, and probably more that I’m not thinking of right now.
Music tends to be phrased in sets of 8 (at least music in 4/4 time). However, often that refers to how many measures in a phrase (rather than how many beats).
As a musician and a dancer, I’d guess that the count-off probably came about because many songs have 8 beat intros – and the dance starts on the downbeat of the first main phrase (rather than during the intro). This isn’t true of all of them. I’ve danced to songs with 16 beat intros, but it wouldn’t flow off the tongue as nicely to count off the start of the dance, “thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen!”
Schlemiel! Schlemazl! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!
…and/or:
“who do we appreciate?”
Uno…Dos…One, Two, Tres, Quatro!
Let’s not be L7. Come and learn to dance.
Important dance tip here: The lady starts on her right foot, because the lady is always right.
Catorce!
Only if you’re Bono.
I’ve heard that. Isn’t it just like when a drummer calls out “1… 2… 1, 2, 3, 4!” Where the first “1” and “2” are supposed to take up exactly two beats, and the rest take up exactly four? I don’t see anything confusing about that. You now have eight steady beats to work with in order to find the rhythm and start off.
Why people do this? I dunno.
-FrL-
Incidentally, in a recording studio, a common method of giving a count-in is for the drummer to tap out (hitting stick against stick): “1… 2… 1, 2 …”. You fill in the “3,4” part in your head.
There are two advantages to this - firstly, the drummer then has time to get ready to play the first beat of the recording. Secondly, it’s much easier for the engineer to clean up the count-in when there’s a completely silent gap - bear in mind that the drummer’s stick-clicks might be picked up by nearby mics that are attached to echo/reverb devices, and also that some people might be deliberately anticipating that first beat.
It’s actually surprisingly easy to provide your own “3,4” and come in very accurately. I just wish someone had told me about the method before I first encountered it - I nearly missed that downbeat.
Damn you, thats been in my head all morning.
Not the whole song mind you, just that part.
That would depend on the type of dance. That’s generally the case for many ballroom dances, but is not universal.
I was thinking more along the lines of choreography, rather than ballroom dancing.