TIME and SPACE - the Music of Dance

by Martha Edwards

This workshop is about how to hear the beat, how to move to the phrasing of the music, how to fill the time when there seems to be extra, how to cover more SPACE when you need to, and how to plan your exit from moves so that next fabulous move is right...on...TIME!!!

There is a rumor that every contradance has 64 counts, with 16-count sections that are repeated (A1-A2, B1-B2). It has even been whispered that contra moves are specifically designed to take advantage of that musical shape - most contra moves take eight counts, some take four, or some take up a full sixteen. "Well, goodness," you say, "if the moves are so cleverly designed to go with a certain amount of TIME, how come we're sometimes early and sometimes late? We faithfully walk on each count, we go where we're supposed to go. How come it doesn't always work?"

Well, sources even more ancient have revealed that the secret to this mystery is SPACE. You can take big steps, or you can take small steps. You can use more energy in taking those steps, or you can set the controls to "amble." Controlling just how much SPACE you cover in just how much TIME is the SECRET to that blissful state where you meet each partner at JUST THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE MUSIC TO DO ITS JOB of lifting your feet, whirling you around, and SHAPING YOUR ENERGY WITH ITS ENERGY.

For example, in the dance "Delphiniums and Daisies", the first move, an Allemande Left, can be done with arms relaxed and a gentle walk in a wide circle, or holding on for dear life and speeding around in a tight circle, or some combination of muscle, energy and circle width that gets you precisely one-and-a-half times around in the first phrase of the music, which is exactly eight counts. Since the move is designed so that eight steps (one footfall per step) will get you one-and-a-half times around, all you have to do is take steps of the right length when you walk to the music!

How fast do we dance?
Here in the great Midwest, we usually dance to pretty fast music. The ideal seems to be about 120BPM (beats per minute).

What if the music is slow?
Sometimes the music is slower than we usually dance, about 108BPM. When it is slower, you could take up the extra time in an Allemande once-and-a-half by walking a fairly big circle, like this:

Or you could take up the extra time by using less energy. Loosen your arm muscles, relax your legs, and walk...well, slower.

What if the music is super fast?
If the music is faster than about 120BPM, you would have an easier time of it in a tighter circle, like this:

Bend your arm a bit more, move closer together. (Be careful not to pull the inside of your wrist towards your chest - it twists your partners arm!) Small circle=shorter distance. You can cover a shorter distance in less time. Duh.


DOUBLE SECRET TIP for trained professionals only:

If you want to walk in the big circle when the music is fast, you can, BUT:

You must put more ENERGY into it.

If you really book it, you can make it all the way around the big circle, one step per beat, but you and your partner had better be ready for some high-energy stepping.

What about Heys?
The next move in "Delphiniums and Daisies" is a Hey for Four.

Heys pose one special difficulty - how to get over to the other side in time to start the second half at the right moment.

DOUBLE SECRET TIP for trained professionals only:

All of the above assumes that the Hey is starting in the "usual" position, but In fact, no matter where the Hey starts, the person who starts the Hey at the beginning of the musical phrase is on the other side, in an exact mirrored position, to start the second half of the Hey at the beginning of the next musical phrase.

It's always a matter of TIME, SPACE and ENERGY. You're playing with