I was taught to count the Jive as 1 2. 3 @ 4. 5 @ 6. then back to 1 2 for my Fallaway Rock. I never questioned this untill I went to a studio who counted the jive in eights. So out comes my Letter Service on Video. I've watched this dozens of times and never noticed that the count was in fours which is still eight bar phrased. Then I went to a Jive on a CD and counted in eights. Then I tried counting in sixes after. 8's 6's seemed very uncomfortable. It has made me realise that a routine has to be skilfully put together. I also now know why our better dancers sometimes stand still for two beats. That could be to make sure they stay correct with the music. Any comments ?.

the way i learned that was very easy was to count: 1,2,3&4,3&4, 1,2..
hope that helps!

I have been teaching jive in a social environment for many years. Different counts work for different people. I usually go with the 1,2,3&4,5&6, sometimes just straight counting works better for some people. The & count is a very hard concept for a lot of beginners. Sometimes I even count it as back, replace, side and side, side and side. My husband and I recently did some beginner classes in Lindy and they count it different again.

Musically, counting in 8s wouldn't make sense unless it was an 8 beat pattern.

In basic triple your dancing 8 steps but over 6 beats.

If any of you have seen Josie Neglia's Salsa tapes you'll note they had to do a voice over on her count as she counted steps rather than beats.

This is not to say it can't be done. Our own teacher, who is an ISTD examiner and judge as well as a former national champion likes to count the rumba in 8 rather than 4 accenting the odd numbers. This allows him to emphasize foot speed and take the social element out of a competition routine.

As for the 2 beat holding pattern:

Probably for dramatic effect towards a natural entry point.

Last week we attended Snowball in Vancouver. Eugene Katzsevmann & Maria won the latin easily. Their rumba was incredible. They waited until everyone else started their routine and then started with many basic figures only what we would do in 8 beats they did in 16 or more. This displayed incredible strength and control.

OB