Maintaining engaged rhythmic physicality when we sing is vital. Particularly in rhythmically intricate music, but even in the subtlest of rhythmic music, putting the macro- and micro-beats can make many things better. It can be extremely small or greatly exaggerated; it can be formalized (group step-touching) or independent.
But it ought to be there.
Benefits of moving rhythmically when we sing:
- It helps us maintain and engage with the groove of the song.
- It creates an engaging, entertaining performance for the majority of audience members who listen with their eyes.
- It energizes our singing by keeping the entire body active.
- It unifies the ensemble, as they can now see as well as hear their colleagues’ connection.
It can feel contrived at first to really engage rhythmically with a song – particularly for singers who have been well-trained to stand stock-still when they sing. But force your singers to overcome the initial weirdness, and you find so many positives to come from this shift.