How to Understand Cotillion Beats?

(Transcript) A Primer on Cotillion Beats

Whenever a dance song comes on in a ballroom, the first thing a dancer has to do is to determine what kind of dance music it is for? That is to say what is going to be danced soon. For the dance floor for the skilled this is just a reflex of the general thing, and the beginning of social dance friends may not be so simple, they often do not quite clear to dance three steps or four steps, as for the rumba and tango, a kind of general people do not dance a lot of tunes is even more unable to respond. It is difficult to understand the rhythm of the dance music, and this has become the first problem for beginners to solve.

Music is the soul of the dance, dance music is the soul of the ballroom dance, and the rhythm is the skeleton of the ballroom dance music. Ballroom ballroom dance steps are in a variety of music under the norms of the interpretation of the rhythm, even in a series of patterned movements of the arms and torso combination of movement must be matched with the feet in line with the rhythm of the ballroom dance steps. Understand the rhythm of the dance music so that the correct step is the basic skills of each beginner to learn dance and entry, do not understand the rhythm of the dance music to keep up with the trip, it can only be with the dance has no relationship. In order to help beginner friends as soon as possible to understand the rhythm of the commonly used dance dance music, now will be their beat characteristics listed below, in order to compare and identify.

Slow four |don da da da |don da da da |don da da da |don da da |don da da | 2/4 or 4/4 beat 26 bars / minute or so

----- -----

Medium four |don da da |don da da |don da da da |don da da | 2/4 or 4/4 beat 40 bars / minute or so

Fast four |don da da |don da da da |don da da | 2/4 beat 60 bars / minute or so

Fast four |don da da |don da da |don da da da | 2/4 beat 60 bars / minute or so

------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Slow 3 |donda da da |donda da da | 3/4 beat 28 bars/minute or so

Medium 3 |donda da da |donda da da | 3/4 beat Between Slow 3 and Fast 3

Fast 3 |donda da da |donda da da | 3/4 beat 56 bars/minute or so

--=== ----- ----- -----

Tango |dong |dong da da da da|dong |dong da da da da| 2/4 or 4/4 beat 30 bars/minute or so

--=== --===

By comparing the above, it can be seen that except for the slow three in the three fast three is a three-step dance with 3/4 beat, the others are all four-step dances with 2/4 or 4/4 beat.

Because the general ballroom dance steps are strictly linked to the rhythm of the dance music, so to "bravely take your feet" must understand the rhythm of the dance music. Compared with the general song music, ballroom dance music have been professionally produced, with a significant beat drums, heavy beat on the drums loud, and weak beat on the drums there is a clear difference, you listen carefully to the drums of which the strength of the drums will be able to more easily identify is a three-beat or four-beat, of course, the former will have to dance a three-step waltz (slow three, three in the middle) or Vienna Waltz (fast three), and the latter is obviously going to be in the four step dance Inside the choice, the general ballroom is often put in the slow four in four fast four dance music, jitterbug (small pull) dance music put more, rumba and tango dance music put less, you can look for their respective styles of beat drums in their respective figures. In order to improve your ability to identify the general four-step rhythm in the mastery of the basis, we recommend that you focus on identifying the lively and enthusiastic Jitterbug, elegant and lyrical soft and lingering Rumba, strong and forceful staccato sharp tango, and carefully savor their respective beat drums, I believe that the enhancement of your sense of music will have a very good impetus to your future strolling the dance floor to gallop in the dance world to lay a solid foundation.