Is there anything you can do to help someone go with the beat of the music? My ballroom partner is new to dance and is having a hard time counting to the beat of the music...... any suggestions to help?

Krista
Try this. play the music and ask your partner to count out the beats aloud. Vocalizing helps focus the mind on a task, and should help, even though at first he might feel silly. Persevere. Try both counting together, so he can 'follow' you. That will help. I assume you've tried music with a VERY obvious beat. If not, get a friend to play something on the piano, and exaggerate the beat.
Not being able to pick up the beats in music is a disaster for a dancer, but it can be worked on and the skill developed. It's your top priority, otherwise your dancing will always be held back

Practice is the answer! I couldn't hear the beat very well when I started dancing and I've gotten much better over time. For me, counting the beat doesn't work as well as moving to it (I guess the part of my brain that deals with music and the part that forms words don't communicate very well). Have him practice tapping out the beat with his hands, nodding his head, or stepping in place to the beat. At the beginning, I would sometimes tell my instructor I couldn't hear the beat and he would point out that I was moving my head to it anyway. He can also practice any time the radio is one. At stop lights, I always tap the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song is playing (ballroom CDs would be the best for practice).

If he doesn't have much musical background, he might have trouble knowing what part of the music to listen to for the beat, especially if there is no percussion or a lot of other percussion besides the beat. If that's the issue, listen with him and point out which instruments are carrying the beat in a particular song.

He will get better with practice!

Hi Ellen
Yes, tapping to the beat is a good idea and can be practised. Basically, anything that encourages other areas or functions of the brain to get involved will help to develop the skill.
i mentioned counting because that can be done while actually dancing

Krister. This may help. THE TIME SIGNAL
for the Rumba straight from the book.
The Time Signal is 4/4 with the predominent percussive accents associated with the 4th beat of each bar. This may come as a surprise to some
who think it is the 1st beat. It is essential that at first you find a Rumba which is played correctly. If your partner can pick one in this dance he will be able to pick the first beat in any dance. Stick with it. Some Rumbas are much easier than others. Try at first about 25 bars per minute.

THE TIME SIGNAL?

I think you mean the time signature

Anonymouse. Dead right Time Signature.
Wally Laird page 23. IDTA

the 4th beat is usually the most accented one in rumba music? I thought that's the 1. Damn...

Maa. You got that right. 90% of dancers dance it on the first beat. oNLy international competiters dance it on the second beat.

John. It is better to understand right at the beginning that regardless of which style of Rumba you do the music should have the percussive accent on beat four
To Maa. Listen very carefully to the music which on four is telling you that one is next.
When I wrote I thought this will get some scurrying to their books
I only whish that I had been given this information when I first learnt the Rumba. Either they didn't know, or just did n't care. I'm pretty sure it was the former, and should not have been teaching. There were too many other things that were missing. Like keeping the shoulders to the front and let the hips move underneath. Freezing the foot position, don't let the back foot move around. Have some tension in it. The list is endless. Choose your teachers well, and don't be fooled even though they may be an adjudicator. It is possible that their forte is the other two styles. Signing off, by one who has been there.