We all know what music is, but for dancers, music becomes something different completely. It becomes the source that inspires them to “dance” (or, “move to the music”) and why we do the things we do on a dance floor, that will be at least frowned upon if we try any of it in general public spaces.

All dance forms were inspired, and still are, by that style of music (the “way or energy” the composer purposed their music to be interpreted/heard/experienced). It seems that people want to “move” in some way – using either their entire body or only one part of it – when the sound of certain music, or perhaps more its energetic interpretation, hits our ears. Not all music inspires us to dance, but most do. As the music evolved, so did the dance – be it in its essence, dynamics or any other interpretation.

Music generally gets classified into different genres and sub-genres, and our dances are mostly named after theses musical genres (Tango, Waltz, Salsa, etc.). Of course, there are also cases where the dance was named before the style of musical interpretation or rhythm had a specific name (e.g., Cha Cha Cha – that was named after the shuffling sound of dancers’ feet when they did their primitive syncopated forwards movements on the first “cha-cha’ music).

For a beginner dancer it is a prerequisite to learn how to dance “on the music” – or, more correctly, “on the beat”.

The beat, or “pulse” (regularly repeating event), is simply the time signature of the specific piece of music – typically 4/4 for most dances like the Cha Cha or Quickstep, and ¾ for the Waltz-type dances. These numbers relate to how many notes there are in a “measure” of music (top “4”), and what kind of notes they are (e.g., quarter beats (bottom “4”)). Of course, there are other signatures as well.

The beat normally stays constant and can easily be heard throughout the song – usually by a strong base or drum sound.  Most people naturally recognize the "timing" of the music and could typically stomp a foot, flick a finger, or pulse the body on this “beat”.

Beats per Minute is the tempo at which the music was written, and for dancers this is the speed to which we dance a specific dance to. In competitive dancing we use the term “strict tempo” which limits the speed of a dance into a very narrow band of tempo at which the dance must be performed on a competitive dance floor, e.g., a Slow Waltz is commonly danced at 29 MPM (which is equal to 87 BPM) for all levels of competence and all age groups. There seem to be a “sweet spot” for any dance where the ideal tempo allows for the ultimate demonstration of artistic expression and performance by the dancer. It’s a tight limit. Everything else is mostly non-competitive and there are no fixed rules. Do what you want or can, provided you don’t end up looking “weird” or out of control.

For a dancer, musicality means the ability to hear not only the beat of the music, but also all the other sub-beats and tones that reach the ear and then to interpret these to project this additional musical information through our dance movements, body control and expression. We say that a dancer then “connects” with the music and move freely in and especially THROUGH it as it continues. A dancer is either a musical dancer, or a beat dancer – where all dancers start. Not everyone transforms to a musical dancer though. Either way, everyone will still love their dancing.

Musical phrasing is the way a musician shapes a sequence of notes in a passage of music to allow expression, by altering tone, tempo, dynamics, articulation, inflection, and other characteristics. All competitive and show dancing is choreographed and performed according to the musical phrasing (and likewise, so do social and club dancers express themselves) – it makes sense to the senses and guides the movements of the body!

Rhythm refers either to the rhythm of the music itself, or of the body’s expression of the musical rhythm while dancing.

The rhythm of the music has more to do with the tempo at which different consecutive steps are being taken on a piece of music, such as “¾, ¼, 1”. Clearly, not all steps in a dance are danced with the same “floor contact time”. Some take longer, and some can be much quicker. A Foxtrot may be counted Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick – meaning that a “slow” takes up two units of time, while a “quick” takes up only one unit of time.

The rhythm of the body, or “body rhythm” refers to a dancer’s ability to clearly express musical rhythm and sub-rhythms through effective control and isolation of their bodies. This ability enhances not only the dancer’s experience of the dance, but also makes for spectacular viewing of the dancer. For some dancers this ability comes quite natural, while other dancers need to study and practice it before understanding and executing it in a natural way.