Terminology

Beats Per Minute (BPM)

This is the tempo of the music. A tempo of 60 BPM would indicate the music has 60 beats in each minute of music.

The BPM value is computed when you time a dance, and uses the number of measures in the cue card (semicolon count), the number of beats per measure for the rhythm, and the length of time between the second and next to last timed cues (to avoid any intro or ending of the dance).

The BPM value can be used to determine if the dance you are playing is within the normal range of tempo for the rhythm. See the Playback Speed section of the Playing Dances topic for additional information.


Bookmark

Bookmarks remember specific locations within a dance, usually for teaching purposes. Select a bookmark to position the dance to that location for playing.

See the Bookmarks topic for additional information.


Category

Categories are used to group collections of dances. Examples may include Mixers, Cue & Do Dances, and Holiday Dances. Select a category on the Dance Selection window to display dances in that group. See the Filtering section of the Selecting Dances topic for additional information.

See the Categories topic for additional information.


Choreographer

This is the person or persons who wrote the choreography for the dance.


Classic Dance (Roundalab)

Classic dances are voted on each year by the membership of Roundalab, with the top 10 Phase II dances, the top 5 Phase III and IV dances, and the top 3 Phase V and VI dances becoming that year’s classic dances.


Cue Card

Cue cards are used to list the head cues for a dance while the dance is playing. Both rich text (.rtf) and standard picture (.jpg, .png, .bmp, etc.) formats are supported. If you plan to use karaoke cue highlighting then the cue card must be .rtf format, contain the complete dance, and use semicolons to separate individual cues to be highlighted.

If semicolons are consistently used to indicate measure boundaries (each measure having separate semicolons) then DanceWizard is able to display the average BPM (beats per minute) for the dance after the dance is timed.


Cue Sheet

The cue sheet contains all information for the dance by the choreographer. Both portable document (.pdf) and standard picture (.jpg, .png, .bmp, etc.) formats are supported. In addition to the cue sheet an dance can have a standardized cue sheet (generally done for Roundalab Golden Classic dances).


Dance

A dance consists of information about the dance (choreographer, rhythm, phase, etc.) and all associated files (cue card, cue sheet, music, voice cues, videos).


Dance Module

Dance modules are a way of packaging a dance (all information and files) into a single file that can be easily archived or moved between computers (for backup). Modules are also a convenient way to submit dances to a festival so they can be loaded onto a common laptop.

Modules are exported from the dance selection window or the dance editor window. During import a dance can be viewed and played without completing the import to your database.

See the Dance Modules topic for additional information.


Golden Classic Dance (Roundalab)

A dance voted as classic by Roundalab for 5 consecutive years becomes a Golden Class dance in the following year.


Hall of Fame Dance (ICBDA)

Hall of fame dances are voted on by the ICBDA membership to recognize dances that have remained popular over time.


History

Information about when and where (venue) a dance is played can be recorded. History is available to view and use when constructing playlists.

See the History topic for additional information.


Karaoke Timing

A dance that is timed can automatically highlight cues on the cue card to prompt the cuer while the music is playing. This can allow the cuer to glance away from the laptop without losing their place in the dance and missing a cue.

See the Cue Timing and Karaoke topic for additional information.


Notable Figures

Notable figures are figures you may want to be aware of when cueing a dance (perhaps to warn the dancers). These can include unphased figures or unusual combinations. A dance can have up to 4 notable figures.


Phase

The Phase rating of a dance is determined by the choice of steps, movements, and actions in a dance. Phases run from Phase I to Phase VI, adding additional steps and rhythms as the phase level increases.


Playback Speed

This is the tempo that a dance is played at. The playback speed is shown as RPM (rotations per minute - dating to an earlier time when cuers used actual records) with 45.0 RPM being the original speed of the music file.

Playback speed can be increased or decreased to adjust the music playback into the normal tempo range for the rhythm of the dance. See the Playback Speed section of the Playing Dances topic for additional information.

See the Known Rhythms section of the Rhythms topic for information on the known rhythms and their standard tempos.


Playlist

A playlist is a list of dances that can be saved for later use. This list can include section headers and separators (perhaps to mark pre-rounds and rounds between individual square dance tips).

See the Playlists topic for additional information.


Plus Figures

This is a list of figures in a dance that come from the next higher phase. A dance can have up to 2 plus figures.


Portable DanceWizard

A portable version of DanceWizard can be installed onto a USB drive. This portable version, which can run on a loaner laptop to play your dances, is incredibly useful if your laptop is damaged during travel.

See the Portable DanceWizard topic for additional information.


Release Date

This is the date that a dance is released by the choreographer.


Rhythm

The rhythm (Bolero, Cha Cha, Rumba, Foxtrot, Waltz, etc.) of a dance. A dance can have up to 3 rhythms.

See the Rhythms topic for additional information.


Venue

A venue is a location where you cue. It is most useful when you have history logging enabled for the venue as then dances played at that venue will be recorded in your history.

See the Venues topic for additional information.


Voice Cues

This is an audio file containing the recorded cues for a dance. Voice cues can be enabled while playing a dance.

See the Voice Cues section of the Playing Dances topic for additional information.


X10 Remote Control

An X10 remote control (such as the CM-19A control) can be used to play a dance. This is useful in a teaching situation where you can start and stop a dance (including from individual bookmarks) without touching the laptop.

See the Remote Control topic for additional information.

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