3 Basic Dance Characteristics

Every dance can be spoken about in 3 different ways: 
  • Timing: As in music every dance has a certain timing like 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, etc. 
  • Count: Each dance is counted as a series of slows, (S), & quicks, (Q), or whole beats & half beats.  A slow get 2 beats and a quick gets 1 beat 
  • Measures Per Minute (MPM): This is the number of timing measures, (2/4, 3/4, 4/4 etc.), that a certain song contains 
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  • Rumba:  
  • Rumba is 4/4 timing
  • Rumba is counted Q-Q-S.
  • 1,2,3-4 for American style
  • 2,3,4-1 for International style
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  • Rumba contains:
  • 30 measures per minute for American style
  • 26 measures per minute for International style

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  • Cha-Cha:  
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  • Bolero:  
  • Bolero is 4/4 timing
  • Bolero is counted S-Q-Q
  • Bolero contains 22-24 measure per minute
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  • Swing:  
  • Swing is 4/4 timing
  • Swing is counted 1, &, 2, 3, &, 4, 5, 6
  • Swing contains 32-34 measures per minute
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