Why do Cheerleaders counts 5,6,7,8 and not 1,2,3
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So let’s back up a bit: Most music is in what we call 4/4 time, meaning each “measure”, the units we break songs down into, is made up of 4 beats. This is important in music theory, and there are songs in other time signitures, like 3/4 for waltz time, and 5/4 time for madlad songs like the mission impossible theme, but that’s not your question.
Dancers, as a result, count out their movements to the beat as “1-2-3-4” for one measure, then “5-6-7-8” for the next before switching back to 1-4. Switching between the two helps people keep different measures of the song/performance straight, so you’re less likely to do the same thing you did *last measure* by reflex.
Cheerleading, as a “sport”, is more-or-less descended from performative dance. The two aren’t the same, but they have a lot of similarities, a lot of shared fundamentals, and a lot of shared traditions and methods.
Now, to get to your actual question: The points where you see cheerleaders count out loud “5-6-7-8” is right before the *start* of a performance, right? The moment after they say “8” is beat *1* of the first measure: In their heads, they’re probably all counting “1-2-3-4, 5-6-7-8” in repetition for the rest of the performance. And counting it out loud so the whole team can hear it helps everyone get on the same beat: The cadence they say “5-6-7-8” at before the performance begins is the same cadence the rest of the performance should follow.
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