How to Count Contemporary Dance: 6, 7 and 8 Counts

How do you count contemporary dance?

Count the phrase the movement has, not the bar the music has. An 8 is "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8". A 6 is "1 2 3 4 5 6", felt as 3+3. A 7 is "1 2 3 4 5 6 7", felt as 4+3. Contemporary choreography often strings these together in one sequence, such as 8, 8, 6, 8.

Dancers count phrases, and musicians count measures. As Jeff Zahos explains, an 8-count phrase is two measures of four beats. So your 6 or your 7 may not line up with a bar line at all. That's fine. You count what you dance.

Counting an 8

The 8 is your home base. It is two bars of 4/4, counted 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8, with the strongest count on the 1 and a smaller landmark on the 5. If you want the background first, here is what an 8-count is.

Before the first 8, you hear the lead-in: "5, 6, 7, 8". The next 8 starts on a fresh 1. Keep a tally of your eights out loud or in your head, so you know where you are in the sequence.

Counting a 6

A 6 is shorter than an 8 and lighter. Count it as two groups of three: ONE two three FOUR five six. The accent lands on the 1 and again on the 4. In Count Studio's library this is the Contemporary 6-count: six counts, grouped 3+3.

The lead-in for a 6 is "3, 4, 5, 6", so you land the 1 right after the 6.

One warning: Zahos points out that a dancer's six can be mistaken for a musician's 6/8. If you are working with a pianist or a drummer, say it plainly: "a 6 in two groups of three". That keeps everyone on the same count.

Counting a 7

A 7 feels lopsided. Count it ONE two three four FIVE six seven: a group of four, then a group of three. In the library this is the Contemporary 7-count, grouped 4+3, with the accent on the 1 and on the 5. The lead-in is "4, 5, 6, 7".

Why does an odd count feel uneven? Because it is. Zahos says complex meters are counted in odd numbers such as 5 and 7, and often feel "uneven" or "lopsided", yet with enough practice they feel as natural as duple or triple meters. Wikipedia's article on metre shows the same idea in music: a bar of five beats can be split 2+3 or 3+2, depending on where you put the accent. A 7 works the same way, so 3+4 is just as valid as 4+3 when the phrase asks for it. Ask which grouping your choreographer wants.

For odd counts in folk traditions, see odd meters in Balkan and Greek dances.

Breath counts and mixed phrases

Some contemporary phrases have no fixed tempo. A breath count moves on a shared breath: the group inhales, moves and lands together, counting 1 to 8 along the way. Count Studio's library calls this the Breath count, and it carries no fixed tempo, so you set a slow pace or tap one in.

Mixed phrases are the other half. A sequence might run 8, 8, 6, 8, and the only way to keep it is to write it down and count it in order. Think of a hypermeter: Wikipedia describes it as metre at the level where bars act as beats. When the music is steady, your 8s and 6s sit on top of it as a longer pattern.

Common problems

You lose the 1 after a 6 or a 7. Your body expects an 8. Say the group sizes out loud while you learn it: "three, three" for the 6 and "four, three" for the 7. Once the shape is in your legs, drop the words.

The count drifts away from the music. Some phrases do not sit on a bar line, so check where each phrase starts and ends against the music, not against your last count. If the music is steady, the longer pattern, such as 8, 8, 6, 8, will come back around to the same place.

A group disagrees about the count. This is common with a breath count, because nobody is following a click. Agree on the landing count first, then the breath that leads into it.

Find the 1 in the music

Counting only helps if your 1 matches the music's. Listen for the strongest pulse, then count along and check where the phrases start. Here is how to find the 1 in the music.

Practise it with Count Studio

Drill the three shapes back to back. Say an 8, then a 6, then a 7, with a clap on each accent: the 1 and 5 of the 8, the 1 and 4 of the 6, the 1 and 5 of the 7. Then string them together as 8, 8, 6, 8 and keep going without stopping. For the lead-ins, here is why dancers say 5, 6, 7, 8.

Count Studio has the Contemporary 7-count, the Contemporary 6-count and the Breath count in its library, so you can hear where the accents fall while you move. It is coming November 27 to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Bottom line

Count the phrase you are dancing: an 8 in 4+4, a 6 in 3+3, a 7 in 4+3. Say the lead-in, land the 1, and write down mixed sequences so you can count them in order. Odd counts feel uneven for a while. Then they don't.