The table below lists some of the more common types of sequence dances and the tempo of the dance. Tempo is represented in bpm or musical "bars per minute". The actual tempo of a specific tune may vary by a few bars per minute.

Music that confirms to these tempos and maintains a steady tempo throughout the tune makes the best dance music. This type of music is called "Strict Tempo" dance music. Good dance DJs will have a selection of these types of dance music.

Tempos used for various types of dances

Name of Dance	Tempo Range/Time Signature
Modern/Standard
Slow Waltz	29 - 31 @ 3/4
Slow Foxtrot	28 - 31 @ 4/4
Quickstep	45 - 50 @ 4/4
Tango	30 - 34 @ 2/4
Viennese Waltz	56 - 64 @ 3/4
Latin American
Rumba	26 - 32 @ 4/4 or 2/4
Cha Cha	31 - 33 @ 4/4 or 2/4
Samba	48 - 54 @ 2/4 or 4/4
Jive	35 - 46 @ 4/4
Paso Doble	58 - 62 @ 2/4 or 6/8
Old Time Dances
O/T Waltz	40 - 44 @ 3/4
Two Step	44 - 56 @ 6/8
Saunter	27 - 29 @ 4/4
Blues	29 - 31 @ 4/4
Slow Waltz	29 - 31 @ 4/4
Swing	45 - 50 @ 4/4
O/T Tango	30 - 33 @ 2/4
Other
Mambo/Salsa	40 - 50+ @ 4/4
Huggies	less than 26BPM@any time

Normally, strict tempo dance band music is used for Modern Sequence Dancing. However, Disco music is well suited for Cha Cha dances and many Country and Western tunes provide good tempos for foxtrot or quickstep dances.

If one is dancing a modern waltz at 31 bars per minute, then a 16 bar sequence will take 16/31 x 60 = 31 seconds to complete, or approximately two sequences per minute. Thus, if the waltz tune has a duration of 2 minutes thirty-five seconds, the sequence will be repeated five times during the dance. Information shown in the table above is provided courtesy of T.A Whitworth.

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