How do I dance on beat? Counting the eight
Find the pulse — the steady tap you would nod to — and count it in groups of eight, starting your count on the beat that feels like a beginning; counts one and five are usually the strong ones. Stand still, tap a foot on every beat and count aloud to eight; if you can keep that going through a whole song, you hear the beat, and dancing on it is a matter of starting each move on the count it belongs to.
What an eight-count is
Most popular music groups its beats in fours and its phrases in eights, and dancers count the eight because moves and choreography are set to it: a move that starts on one and finishes on eight lands with the phrase. The count restarts with each phrase — one to eight, then one again.
Hearing it
Listen for the drum or the bass. The kick drum usually marks the pulse; the snare usually lands on two and four. The count one is where the phrase resets, often where the melody starts again or a new instrument enters. If you cannot find one, count any eight and you will drift onto the right one within a phrase or two.
The one-minute test
Stand still. Tap one foot on every beat and count aloud to eight, over and over, for a minute of music. If you lose the count, you are dancing ahead of your ear; do this for a few songs a day until you do not. It is unglamorous and it is the foundation of everything else.
Putting moves on counts
Start each move on one, and the next on the next one or on five. Being on beat is mostly about starting on the right count; the middle of a move takes care of itself once the start is right.
Questions people ask
What if the song is in three?
Waltzes and some others group in threes or sixes. Count what you hear. The principle is the same: find the strong beat and start moves on it.
Why do I keep speeding up?
Excitement. Tap the pulse with a foot while you dance for a while; the foot is a metronome your body can feel.