I just want to say something because I don’t think people with natural timing and rhythm abilities understand what people without that gift deal with. It really isn’t as simple as just listening to the music. From day one timing and rhythm was my biggest obstacle. I struggled and struggled with it for years, thankfully I’m at a point where it’s usually ok now, but it took me many years to get there. Listening to the music doesn’t help when you don’t understand what you’re listening too or what you should be listening for. To help me understand a bit better I took music theory lessons, I tried dancing to a metronome, I had private lessons just for timing, I would video tape my teacher or someone with great beats doing a step and then I would try to mimic them over and over and over again. I have spent hours practicing and crying trying so hard to dance on time and to have clear rhythm. Then I spent two years with a teacher who focused on nothing but timing and rhythm-that’s it! Finally, things began to click and I’m at a point now where it’s not too bad; it’s not natural, but I’ve learned timing and rhythm the technical way. It’s not something you develop over night and for most people it is a real struggle. I have to say, it’s one of the hardest issues to fix because it’s not something you can see. If you have crappy turn out you can look in a mirror and see if your legs are in or out, but that is not the case with timing.
I don’t want to start anything or stir anything up, I just wanted to explain the other side of this because I see posts like this all the time and I felt that the other perspective needed to be shared.