When should the dancer begin to bring his partner to his six- or eight-count footwork once the swing music begins? The answer is that he should start guiding her through any of the heavy beats of the song; that is, in account “1”, account “3”, account “5” or account “7”. These “basic rhythms” are the backbone or pulse of a song! You don’t have to be a trained musician to understand the tempo (or time) of a song, just listen to music and choose the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, or piano).

To take the beat of the song and determine its number of beats per minute (BPM), count these strong beats for fifteen seconds and then multiply by four. Very slow swing songs are around 70 BPM and very fast swing songs are over 200 BPM. The swing songs that I personally enjoy dancing to the most average around 125 BPM, which coincidentally approximates my optimal cardio training heart rate when I exercise. Note that these strong times differ from the positive times that occur on account “2”, account “4”, account “6”, or account “8”. In the East Coast Swing style of St. Louis Imperial, we begin to tread on any of the strong beats of the music; however, this is not true for all dance styles. In Cha-Cha, for example, the dancers begin to walk after any of the upbeat rhythms of the music.

Beats per minute became a common terminology in popular music during the disco era due to its usefulness to DJs; And it is still important in dance music today because both our dance style and our footwork rhythm are determined by the tempo of the music! The original or classic style of Imperial Swing, which is danced “round”, is performed to music at a faster tempo (130-185 BPM) using primarily the slower rhythms of single and double steps. The current contemporary Imperial Swing style, which is danced within a groove, is a combination of East Coast Swing (135-175 BPM) and West Coast Swing (75-115 BPM). Dancers perform this popular “slot-bop” hybrid with music at a slower tempo (100-135 BPM), primarily using the faster three-step footwork rhythms. Remember, the terms are music timing (or tempo) and footwork rhythms (or steps), but not the other way around!

The “time signatures” of different musical styles tell dancers how many beats are in a measure and what note that rhythm represents. Swing music uses a 4/4 timing; that is, there are 4 beats in a measure (4/4) and the quarter note gets the beat (4/4). For example, on count 1 and 2 of your three-step, six-count footwork, the “1” is an eighth note (or half time) and the “and of 1” is an eighth note (or half time). defeat). Together they add up to a quarter note or a beat; and count “2” is a quarter note or a beat. On the count of 3 and 4, the “3” is an eighth note (or half time), and the “y of 3” is an eighth note (or half time). Together they add up to a quarter note or a beat; and count “4” is a quarter note or a beat. These 2 beats bring the cumulative total up to 4 beats or one measure.

Finally, in step 5 – 6, count “5” is a quarter note (or 1 beat) and count “6” is a quarter note (or 1 beat). These last two counts bring the total to six beats or one and a half measures. To summarize this footwork count, the dancers take eight steps in six beats of music. The 1st and 3rd times are the strong times (or base times) and the 2nd and 4th times are the optimistic times. In East Coast Swing, the accents * are on the 1st and 3rd beat (count); however, in West Coast Swing the accents are in the second and fourth halves. Good dancers let the music tell them what to do with their feet. If they start their footwork at any of the song’s upbeats and then finish it on the sixth (or eighth) beat, then they are dancing to the music and finishing their steps when they are supposed to. As Skippy Blair, the renowned swing dance teacher, author and winner of the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame award, tells her students, “Please don’t tell me how long to keep up, just tell me what the count is, then I can place my feet!

* Note: Skippy Blair’s: “Elements of Music and Timing” defines an accent as a firm sound or movement on a particular note or bead.

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