Why do musicians count ā1, 2, 3, 4ā, and dancers count ā5, 6, 7, 8ā?
By saying ā5678ā I am saying to my dancers āHere are the last 4 beats of the intro or right foot measure and the timing. Get ready to start on 1 with your left footā. If I am rehearsing a figure and I need my dancers to start on their right foot, I would actually count ā1234ā and they would know that the next count is 5. This is done very often when practicing but rarely when performing.
