La figura de baile sigue la cuenta de ocho.

Not literally in the everyday English sense of figure.

Here, figura de baile means a dance figure, dance move, pattern, or step sequence, depending on the style of dance. In dance vocabulary, figura often refers to a recognizable movement or combination of movements.

So in this sentence, la figura de baile is the dance movement being discussed.

Because de baile is being used in a descriptive way: it means dance-related or a dance ....

• figura de baile = dance figure / dance move
• figura del baile = the figure of the dance or the figure from the dance

So:

• de baile classifies the noun
• del baile would usually refer to a specific dance

In this sentence, de baile is the natural choice because it is naming the type of figure, not saying it belongs to one particular dance.

Yes, cuenta can mean several things, including:

• account
• bill/check in a restaurant
• count/counting

In this sentence, it means count in the rhythm or timing sense.

So la cuenta de ocho refers to an eight-count: a sequence of eight beats or counts used to organize movement in dance.

It means the eight-count or the count of eight.

In dance, movements are often organized in counts:

• uno, dos, tres, cuatro...
• up to ocho

So la cuenta de ocho is a standard way of talking about a phrase of eight beats/counts.

A very natural English equivalent is the eight-count.

Because the idea is not eight separate counts as individual items. It is one count pattern made up of eight beats.

So:

• la cuenta de ocho = the eight-count
• literally, the count of eight

This structure is common in Spanish:

• un grupo de tres = a group of three
• una serie de cinco = a set of five
• una cuenta de ocho = a count of eight

Because Spanish uses the definite article more often than English.

Here, la cuenta de ocho refers to a specific rhythmic structure that is understood in context: the eight-count.

Compare:

• sigue una cuenta de ocho = it follows an eight-count
• sigue la cuenta de ocho = it follows the eight-count

In many real contexts, Spanish prefers the definite article when talking about a known or established pattern.

Because the subject is la figura de baile, which is third person singular.

The infinitive is seguir = to follow / to continue.

Present tense:

• yo sigo
• tú sigues
• él/ella sigue
• nosotros seguimos
• vosotros seguís
• ellos siguen

Since la figura is singular, the correct form is sigue.

Here it means to follow.

Seguir has both meanings in Spanish:

• seguir trabajando = to continue working
• seguir el ritmo = to follow the rhythm
• seguir la cuenta = to follow the count

In this sentence, the dance figure is matching or obeying the timing of the eight-count, so to follow is the right sense.

This is the most neutral and straightforward word order in Spanish:

subject + verb + object

• La figura de baile = subject
• sigue = verb
• la cuenta de ocho = object

Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, but this version sounds natural and standard. A different order would usually add emphasis or sound more literary or marked.

It is pronounced roughly SEE-geh.

Important point: in gui, the u is normally silent in Spanish unless it has a diaeresis (ü).

So:

• sigue sounds like si-ge
• not sig-oo-e

In standard Spanish from Spain, a rough pronunciation is SEE-gheh, with the g softer than in English.

Sometimes, yes, depending on the context and the region.

• cuenta is very common in dance teaching and rhythm
• conteo can also mean counting or the count

So you may hear things like:

• seguir la cuenta
• seguir el conteo

In this sentence, la cuenta de ocho sounds very natural for dance timing.

Because figura is a feminine noun in Spanish, so it takes:

• la figura
• not el figura

Likewise, cuenta is also feminine:

• la cuenta

That is why you see la twice in the sentence:

• La figura
• la cuenta de ocho