There's a lot of basic advice out there that most drummers follow just fine, don't change the tempo too quickly, watch dancers fatigue or boredom and adjust to follow, etc. The problems seem to come in when a drummer wants to change it up, which is totally understandable. Having drummed some myself I know how incredibly boring it is to beat out the same rhythm over and over. I took the following from
www.gildedserpent.com and here's a link to the article
www.gildedserpent.com/article...drum.htm . It's about drum solos, but really any time a drummer is adding fills or what not, it helps to follow this advice if only for the dancer's sanity.
"The best drummers will play recognizable and repeating patterns that the dancer can relate to, and adjust her movements to. There is nothing worse than a hot-shot drummer playing in a blaze of fury, as fast and with as many chops as he can, only to leave the dancer bewildered! This will only make both look unprofessional.
There are certain key elements to playing and dancing to a drum solo that will make for a successful performance. The first and foremost is that the dancer should listen to the music and beats being played! I have seen many newer dancers make the mistake of coming out to a drum solo with a preconceived routine in mind, only to find herself out of synch with the rhythms. The good drummer will play steady, musical solos which build, ebb and flow, usually reaching a final crescendo. One of the things a professional drummer will do is play repeating 4 to 8 beat phrases that the dancer can recognize, usually up to four times. This will get the dancer’s attention, and give her a few tries to nail the beat before moving on to the next change. Likewise, the drummer should watch the dancer closely to be able to follow her moves, and pick up on changes and cues she is giving. I like to focus in the hips, as that is where the intense rhythms seem to manifest. To anticipate the dancers next moves takes practice, experience, and intuition. There is a certain drum vocabulary that seems to match up with the dancers’ moves, although this is only a theory: The bass beat, or Dum, is the pulse of the rhythm, which grounds and drives the beat. The bass beat is usually marked by strong hip movements or hip drops. The high pitched strokes and rolls, Tek-ka, tend to equate with fast movements or shimmies, and the accented slap or pop goes well with a lock or stop. Again, this is only based on my observation, and may be a gross generalization, as I have no direct experience as a dancer. "
One thing I've noticed is when I dance to canned music I can almost allways predict what's coming, even if I've never heard the music. This tends to be lacking with drum circles. Now I think a lot of that is experience, but I know there's got to be some basic formulas that musicians follow.
Another problem tends to be the changing of rhythms mid-stream. Unless they're closely related, or planned, it just always seems to end badly. It would be better (I think) to cue for the change within the drum rhythm, and then make the switch. For live music, I've heard several oud players that will cue the drummer they're wrapping up and there's got to be a way to do it with drumming besides calling out. I don't know, I'm kind of rambling now.
To sum it up, this dancer would like, a predictable number of changes (4 is good), have a cue of some sort if changing the rhythm abruptly, vary the tempo to keep it interesting, vary intensity (make it soft, louder, less filled, more filled), add accents to keep it interesting, um, well those are the big ones. I think it matters less what rhythm a drummer plays (although some definitely have a "feel" to them), but how they're played.
