How to Count K-Pop Choreography in Eights

K-pop routines change fast: a hit, a turn, a formation shift, then a new move on the next beat. Counting in eights gives you a map to hang all of it on. This guide shows how to number a chorus, where the & goes and how to count from a practice video.

How do you count K-pop choreography in eights?

You count each block of choreography as 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and start again at 1 for the next block. Where a step falls between two beats, you add an &: 1 & 2 & 3 4 5 & 6 7 8. Dance moves are generally memorized in sets of eight counts, which is why teachers, and most practice videos, work this way. If the idea is new, start with what an 8-count is.

One eight is usually two bars of 4/4 music. Count the beats first, then hang the moves on them.

Step by step: count the chorus in eights

1. Find the 1. A count-in is a cue that tells you when the music starts, and on recordings its last beats are often left silent. In class you hear "5, 6, 7, 8". Those four counts are not steps. The first move lands on the 1 right after them.
2. Count the first eight with the music. Say it out loud on the beat: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.
3. Keep going and number the eights. Name each block as you meet it: "chorus, eight 1", "chorus, eight 2", and so on.
4. Split each eight in two. Think 1 2 3 4 and 5 6 7 8. Moves usually change at the 5, so the halves help you find where you are.
5. Write it down. Choreographers write routines the same way. A published step list labels each move as an eight-count block, such as "(2) 8 counts", and writes the counts inside it.

Here is what a chorus map can look like on paper. The moves are placeholders: write your own.

How do you count the fast parts with an &?

Fast sections have more steps than beats. You do not add more numbers; you add the & between them. Count 1 & 2 & 3 4 5 & 6 7 8 and you still arrive on 8 at the end of the block, only with extra steps squeezed in.

The & is the half-count. Written choreography uses the same idea: the Tranky Doo step list marks in-between counts with a "+", in timing such as "8 + 1 2 3 4 5 + 6 7 8". The page does not define the "+", but its use reads as the same half-count.

Three habits help.

• Keep the numbers steady. The & is squeezed between them, never added on the end.
• Slow the video down until you can hear each & clearly, then bring it back to full speed.
• Mark the & in your count sheet. You'll forget it by the third run otherwise.

The app's library has the pattern written out as 8-count with &: "1 & 2 & ...", useful for hits and quick footwork.

How do you learn a K-pop dance from a video?

Find the 1 in the music first. Then count eights from the start of the chorus and pause the video where each move lands. Write the move beside its count.

Some things to expect:

• Not every block is eight. A held pose or an extra bar can make a block of 4, 6 or 10. Write the true length; do not force it into an eight.
• The video may be mirrored. Many practice videos show the dance as if you were facing the dancers. Check whether the right arm in the video is your right arm before you learn it on the wrong side.
• Learn one eight at a time. Get eight 1 clean, then eight 2, then link them.

What goes wrong when you count K-pop eights?

• Losing the 1 after a pose. Count through the held beats out loud: 5 6 7 8, hold, then back to 1.
• Counting the 5, 6, 7, 8 as steps. It is the count-in. The dance starts on the 1 after it.
• Rushing the &. The & sits halfway between two numbers. Rush it and you land early on the next count.
• Mixing up the eights. If you cannot tell eight 2 from eight 4, say the number out loud as you dance.

Practise it with Count Studio

Drill one eight until it's clean. Link two eights, then do the whole chorus. Keep counting out loud, even when it feels silly.

Count Studio, coming November 27 to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, counts music in eights for dancers and shows the K-pop counts on a strip of floor tape. Its 8-count with & covers the fast sections. You can import a song you own, from Files or from the sound of a video; the app finds the tempo, the beats and the likely 1 on your device and numbers the eights. If its grid is off, you tap along to fix it.

Bottom line

Find the 1 after the 5, 6, 7, 8, count the chorus one eight at a time and add the & where steps fall between beats. Write down the true length of each block, including the odd ones, and learn them one at a time.