Dance and cheer terms

Beat

The steady pulse of the music: what you clap or step to. Dancers count beats.

BPM

Beats per minute: how fast the music is. Most songs people dance to sit between about 80 and 150 BPM.

Bar (measure)

A small group of beats, usually 4. Two bars of 4 make one 8-count.

8-count

Eight beats counted 1 to 8, the unit dancers build choreography in. One 8-count is two bars of 4/4 music.

Downbeat

The first and strongest beat of a bar. In dance, count 1 of an 8-count falls on a downbeat.

Count 1

Where an 8-count starts, usually where a musical phrase starts. Finding it is the first job when you count a song.

And-count

The half beat between two counts, said "and": 1-and-2-and. Quick steps often land on the and.

Upbeat (pickup)

A note or move just before count 1 that leads into it, like the "and" before 1.

Half time

Counting at half the speed of the beat, so each count lasts two beats. Slow songs are often danced in half time.

Double time

Counting twice as fast as the beat. Moves in double time fit two counts into one beat.

Time signature

How the beats are grouped. 4/4 has 4 beats a bar (counted in 8s); 3/4 has 3 (a waltz, counted in 6s).

Phrase

A musical sentence, often 4 or 8 eight-counts long. Choreography usually changes with the phrase.

Intro, verse, chorus, bridge

The sections of a song. Marking them on a count sheet helps a class know where they are.

Count-in (5, 6, 7, 8)

The teacher counts the last four counts out loud so everyone starts together on 1.

Accent (hit)

A strong sound in the music, like a drum crash, that a move lands on.

New to counting? Start with how to count music for dance, or use the tap tempo tool to find the beat.

Choreography

The steps and movements of a dance, set in order and timed to the music.

Combination (combo)

A short set of steps, often 2 to 4 eight-counts, taught and repeated in class.

Marking

Doing the steps small and at low energy to learn or remember them, without dancing full out.

Full out

Dancing at full energy and size, the way you would perform it.

Canon

The same phrase started by groups at different times, like a round in singing: group 2 starts when group 1 reaches count 5.

Ripple

One move passed down a line, each dancer a count or half count after the one before, so it looks like a wave.

Unison

Everyone doing the same move at the same time.

Retrograde

A sequence of moves done in reverse order.

Transition

The steps that move dancers from one section or formation to the next.

Freeze

A held, still pose, often on a musical accent or at the end.

Isolation

Moving one part of the body (head, chest, hips) while the rest stays still.

Count sheet

A page that lists each 8-count of a song with its time, and the moves or notes for it.

See how to choreograph a dance and how to write down choreography.

Formation

Where each dancer stands at a moment in the routine: lines, a V, a diamond, staggered rows.

Stagger (windows)

Rows offset so each dancer stands in the gap of the row in front, and everyone can be seen.

Upstage, downstage

Upstage is the back of the stage, away from the audience; downstage is the front.

Stage left, stage right

Left and right from the dancer's point of view, facing the audience.

Center

The middle of the stage, front to back and side to side. The strongest spot for a featured moment.

Spacing

Setting exactly where each dancer is and how far apart, so formations look clean.

Traffic pattern

The path each dancer takes between formations, planned so no one collides.

Mix

A cheer routine's music: songs, sound effects and voiceovers edited together to fit the routine.

Voiceover

Spoken or chanted words recorded into the mix, often the team name.

Stunt

A skill where cheerleaders (bases) lift one or more flyers. Producers add hits for the build and the hold.

Base, flyer, spotter

Bases lift and hold, the flyer is lifted, and the spotter watches and protects the flyer's head and shoulders.

Pyramid

Several stunts linked together, built and taken down in a set number of counts.

Basket toss

A stunt where bases throw the flyer into the air and catch them.

Standing tumbling

Tumbling done from a standing start, often in the same spot.

Running tumbling

A tumbling pass with a run-up across the floor.

Toe touch

A jump with both legs straddled out to the side and the arms reaching toward the toes.

Motions

Sharp arm positions such as high V, low V, T and touchdown, done on the counts.

Dance section

The part of a cheer routine set to faster music with dance moves, usually near the end.

8-count sheet (cheer)

The sheet a coach sends the music producer, listing what happens on each 8-count so the mix hits with the routine.

Making a sheet for your producer? Read how to fill out a cheer 8-count sheet, or print a free blank 8-count sheet.