West Coast Swing
Encyclopedia
West Coast Swing is a partner dance
with roots in Lindy Hop
. It is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection
, and is danced primarily in a slotted area
on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together, putting West Coast Swing in a short list of dances that put a premium on improvisation.
Typically the follower walks into new patterns traveling forward on counts "1" and "2" of each basic pattern, rather than rocking back
.http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm The Anchor Step
is a common ending pattern of many West Coast Swing figures.
. In a 1947 book, Arthur Murray
recognized that, "There are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type. Each section of the country seems to have a variation of its own."
Dean Collins
, who arrived in the Los Angeles
area around 1937, was influential in developing the style of swing danced on the West Coast
of the United States
, as both a performer and teacher. When his wife, Mary Collins, was asked if Dean was responsible for the emergence of the dance, however, she said that Dean insisted there were "only two kinds of swing dance - good and bad".
Lauré Haile, Arthur Murray National Dance Director, and an instructor of teachers documented swing dancing as done in the Los Angeles area and used the name "Western Swing". Murray had used the same name, "Western Swing", in the late 1930s for a different dance. Haile included Western Swing in Dance Notebooks she authored for Arthur Murray during the 1950s.
Western Swing was also called "Sophisticated Swing" in the 1950s. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
Western swing
, country boogie, and, with a smaller audience, jump blues
were popular on the West Coast throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s when they were renamed and marketed as rock 'n' roll
in 1954. Dancers danced "a 'swingier' - more smooth and subdued" form of Jitterbug to Western Swing music.
West Coast Swing (still known as Western Swing at that time) is the basis for the dancing in the rehearsal scene in “Hot Rod Gang” (1958).http://www.sd455.com/moviehotrodgang.htmhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051741/ Music is supplied by rockabilly
musician Gene Vincent
’s “Dance to the Bop”. http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/ss/04/ss4463.mp3 The song alternates between very slow sections and those with the rapid pace and high energy of rockabilly. Staged by a young Dick Di Augustin
, the dancing includes recognizable patterns such as the chicken walk, swing out from closed position, etc., along with the classic woman’s walk walk triple step triple step at the end of the slot. On the final step of the second triple the women are weighted left with the right heel on the floor and the toes pointed up. Dancers also do classic Lindy flips at the end of the slot, as well as non partner, non West Coast Swing movements.
Murray's taught Western Swing beginning from a closed position and the possibility of dancing single, double, or triple rhythm. After a "Throwout" patterns began with the woman "walking in" and the man doing a "rock step", or step together for counts one and two. Although the dance remained basically the same, the Golden State Dance Teachers Association (GSDTA) began teaching from the walk steps, counts 1 and 2. It replaced Lauré Haile's Coaster Step
with an "Anchor Step" around 1961.
The name "West Coast Swing" was used in a little known hand book for Arthur Murray dance studio teachers in the 1950s, but the Murray studios used the term "Western Swing" on charts. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
"West Coast swing" as a synomym for "Western swing" appears in a 1961 dance book, and was used in an advertisement by Skippy Blair
in 1962. but wasn't incorporated into mainstream swing circles until the late 1960s. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
Blair credits Jim Bannister, editor of the Herald American newspaper in Downey, for suggesting the name West Coast Swing.
When the Golden West Ballroom, in Norwalk, California, changed from Country to Ballroom dancing, the dance most advertised on the Marquee was West Coast Swing.
Western Swing was documented in the 1971 edition of the "Encyclopedia of Social Dance", listing the "Coaster Step" (with a forward step as the last step of the 2nd triple) rather than the Anchor Step. The one song that was listed for this dance was "Comin' On" by Bill Black
's Combo (1964 Hi #2072). As late as 1978, the term "Western Swing" was common usage among Chain and Independent Studios to describe "slotted swing".
Circa 1978 "California Swing" was yet another name for West Coast Swing, albeit with styling that was "considered more UP, with a more Contemporary flavor." By 1978 GSTDA had "some 200 or more patterns and variations" for West Coast Swing."
In 1988, West Coast Swing was pronounced the Official State Dance of California.
, but shorter if the music is at a faster tempo. The follower travels back and forth in the slot dancing straight through the lead. The leader consistently moves a minimum amount (at mid-way point) to his sides, barely out of her way. She lightly brushes against him each time she passes him. Brushing seems rare these days though (2009).
Socially, it is considered good etiquette (particularly on a crowded floor) to use a fixed slot, in order to allow dancing without incident. Having danced the slot repeatedly, the couple "has a claim" on the area, and other couples usually cooperate and establish their own slot parallel with the dancers.
There are urban myths regarding the origin of the slotted style. According to one version, it was an invention of Hollywood film makers who wanted “dancers to stay in the same plane, to avoid going in and out of focus”.http://www.outtodance.com/swing-lindy-dance.htmlhttp://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3wcs1.htm Wide angle lenses with adequate depth of field for cinematography had in fact been available since the 1920s. http://www.davidbordwell.net/cheerful-staging.htm A variation on the "Hollywood film maker" theme is that film makers wanted "to avoid filming the backs" of dancers. A viewing of films featuring the work of Dean Collins in the 1940s, and rock 'n' roll films made in the mid 1950s reveals the fact that dancers turn frequently and inevitably turn their backs to the camera. Although another unslotted swing dance, Balboa
, became popular in the same area and under the same conditions, much has been made of "jitterbugging in the aisles" as a source of the slotted style.
Slotted moves were a common part of the step vocabulary of Lindy and/or Jitterbug dancers during the 1940s and 1950s. Rather than the walk, walk of West Coast Swing, however, two sets of triple steps were used when the woman moved down the slot, followed by a rock step rather than the current triple and anchor step.
. During this period many jazz, blues, and western musicians incorporated, or emphasized, the “swing” in their music. Writing in the "Arthur Murray Silver Dance Notebook", Lauré Haile, who first described "Western Swing", listed the following songs/records as "Good Swing or Fox Trot Records":
"Also Good Swing - but unusual Chorus "AABA":"
Big Bands continued to flourish in the 1950s, touring, selling records, and appearing on radio and the new medium of television. As the decade wore on, however, many mostly younger listeners preferred to hear the simpler and (some say) noisier music given the name Rock 'n' Roll, and this music became known as the most popular music for dancing.
West Coast Swing like moves can be seen in rock 'n' roll films made in that era. The film "Hot Rod Gang" shows West Coast Swing being done to the song "Dance to the Bop" by rockabilly musician Gene Vincent.
While teenagers preferred to freestyle dance through a constantly changing succession of discothèque social dance fads during the Sixties, adults kept Swing alive.
Western Swing was documented in the 1971 edition of the "Encyclopedia of Social Dance", listing the "Coaster Step" (with a forward step as the last step of the 2nd triple) rather than the Anchor Step. The one song was listed for this dance was "Comin' On" by Bill Black
's Combo (1964 Hi #2072).
In the mid 1970s, disco
music and dancing repopularized "touch" partner dancing, and, in California, West Coast Swing was one of the dances of the era. By the 1990s country western dancers were dancing West Coast Swing to contemporary country western songs. West Coast Swing is now one of many dances done at country western venues.
In practice, West Coast Swing may be danced to almost any music in 4/4 time
, and music of many different styles may be found in an evening of West Coast Swing dancing.
The "ideal" speed for WCS has been cited as 32 Measures per Minute (32x4 = 128 bpm), compared to advice to choose "records that are around 28 mpm" (28x4= 112 bpm) for "Western Swing".
In writing about West Coast Swing, Skippy Blair advises that, "The only problem that exists in SWING is when someone decides there is only ONE WAY to dance it. There is never only ONE WAY to do anything ..." "'Try on' different styles that you admire in other people...until you find the comfortable one that FITS YOU."
Dancing to different types of music gives a different feel and look.
A 1998 summary of "trends" in West Coast Swing listed the following:
Traditional/Classic with very little extension of the uncoupled arm,
the man moving off and on the center of the track for most moves, and a heavy "couple weight";
Modern with more free arm extensions, and emphasis on how many spins, etc., the man can lead.
Fast Music
The man's "couple hand" is fixed in space on beat 3 in a pass or push.
In 1994 Blair noted that the posture for men was more upright than in previous years.
(Note that the follower's step is different from the leader's; partners do not mirror each other.)
A few basic moves that any WCS dancer should know are listed below. They are performed with the same "step step tri-ple-step tri-ple-step" pattern equalling eight steps in six beats of music. The term "count" is used as a synonym for a "beat", usually a quarter note, of music.
Partner dance
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner.In the year 1023 the German poet...
with roots in Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
. It is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection
Connection (dance)
Connection is essential to all partner dancing and is the primary means to communicate synchronized dance movement between the lead and follow. It is especially important in Argentine Tango, Lindy Hop, Balboa, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Salsa, Contra dance, Modern Jive and other styles of...
, and is danced primarily in a slotted area
Dance slot
In slotted dances, the dance slot is an imaginary narrow rectangle along which the follower moves back and forth with respect to the leader, who is more or less stationary....
on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together, putting West Coast Swing in a short list of dances that put a premium on improvisation.
Typically the follower walks into new patterns traveling forward on counts "1" and "2" of each basic pattern, rather than rocking back
Rock Step
Rock step may refer to one of similar dance moves. The name refers to the rocking action during the move: the weight is transferred from one foot to another and then back. It is used in a number of dances, such as East Coast Swing, Zydeco, Lindy Hop, Tango.Most often it is a two-step dance move...
.http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm The Anchor Step
Anchor Step
The term Anchor Step is used to denote a dance step in which you should not come towards your partner at the end of a pattern.An Anchor is NOT a foot position and not a Rhythm. It is a partner connection in West Coast Swing, achieved when both partners place their CPB behind the heel of the...
is a common ending pattern of many West Coast Swing figures.
History
It is believed that the origins of the WCS are in Lindy HopLindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...
. In a 1947 book, Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....
recognized that, "There are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type. Each section of the country seems to have a variation of its own."
Dean Collins
Dean Collins
Dean Collins was an American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and innovator of swing. He is often credited with bringing swing dance, or Lindy Hop, from New York to Southern California...
, who arrived in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area around 1937, was influential in developing the style of swing danced on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as both a performer and teacher. When his wife, Mary Collins, was asked if Dean was responsible for the emergence of the dance, however, she said that Dean insisted there were "only two kinds of swing dance - good and bad".
Lauré Haile, Arthur Murray National Dance Director, and an instructor of teachers documented swing dancing as done in the Los Angeles area and used the name "Western Swing". Murray had used the same name, "Western Swing", in the late 1930s for a different dance. Haile included Western Swing in Dance Notebooks she authored for Arthur Murray during the 1950s.
Western Swing was also called "Sophisticated Swing" in the 1950s. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
, country boogie, and, with a smaller audience, jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
were popular on the West Coast throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s when they were renamed and marketed as rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
in 1954. Dancers danced "a 'swingier' - more smooth and subdued" form of Jitterbug to Western Swing music.
West Coast Swing (still known as Western Swing at that time) is the basis for the dancing in the rehearsal scene in “Hot Rod Gang” (1958).http://www.sd455.com/moviehotrodgang.htmhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051741/ Music is supplied by rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
musician Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
’s “Dance to the Bop”. http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/ss/04/ss4463.mp3 The song alternates between very slow sections and those with the rapid pace and high energy of rockabilly. Staged by a young Dick Di Augustin
Dick D'Agostin
Dick D'Agostin, born Richard Earl D'Agostin, was an American rock and roll musician best known for touring with Eddie Cochran. Dick sang and played piano and guitar as the front man for The Swingers, composed of drummer Gene Riggio, saxophonist Paul Kaufman, and Dick's brother Larry D'Agostin on...
, the dancing includes recognizable patterns such as the chicken walk, swing out from closed position, etc., along with the classic woman’s walk walk triple step triple step at the end of the slot. On the final step of the second triple the women are weighted left with the right heel on the floor and the toes pointed up. Dancers also do classic Lindy flips at the end of the slot, as well as non partner, non West Coast Swing movements.
Murray's taught Western Swing beginning from a closed position and the possibility of dancing single, double, or triple rhythm. After a "Throwout" patterns began with the woman "walking in" and the man doing a "rock step", or step together for counts one and two. Although the dance remained basically the same, the Golden State Dance Teachers Association (GSDTA) began teaching from the walk steps, counts 1 and 2. It replaced Lauré Haile's Coaster Step
Coaster Step
A Coaster Step is term used in swing dances, in particular in West Coast Swing to describe a Triple Step done in the pattern "back-together-forward" or "forward-together-back". Most often it is the follower's step...
with an "Anchor Step" around 1961.
The name "West Coast Swing" was used in a little known hand book for Arthur Murray dance studio teachers in the 1950s, but the Murray studios used the term "Western Swing" on charts. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
"West Coast swing" as a synomym for "Western swing" appears in a 1961 dance book, and was used in an advertisement by Skippy Blair
Skippy Blair
Skippy Blair is an American dance teacher for over 50 years. Blair's first Dance Studio was on Firestone at Woodruff, next door to the Downey Elk's Hall in Downey, California, opened in 1958...
in 1962. but wasn't incorporated into mainstream swing circles until the late 1960s. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
Blair credits Jim Bannister, editor of the Herald American newspaper in Downey, for suggesting the name West Coast Swing.
When the Golden West Ballroom, in Norwalk, California, changed from Country to Ballroom dancing, the dance most advertised on the Marquee was West Coast Swing.
Western Swing was documented in the 1971 edition of the "Encyclopedia of Social Dance", listing the "Coaster Step" (with a forward step as the last step of the 2nd triple) rather than the Anchor Step. The one song that was listed for this dance was "Comin' On" by Bill Black
Bill Black
William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. was an American musician who is noted as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and the leader of Bill Black's Combo....
's Combo (1964 Hi #2072). As late as 1978, the term "Western Swing" was common usage among Chain and Independent Studios to describe "slotted swing".
Circa 1978 "California Swing" was yet another name for West Coast Swing, albeit with styling that was "considered more UP, with a more Contemporary flavor." By 1978 GSTDA had "some 200 or more patterns and variations" for West Coast Swing."
In 1988, West Coast Swing was pronounced the Official State Dance of California.
Slot
West Coast Swing is a slotted dance. The slot is an imaginary area, long and thin, eight or nine feet long if danced at a very slow TempoTempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
, but shorter if the music is at a faster tempo. The follower travels back and forth in the slot dancing straight through the lead. The leader consistently moves a minimum amount (at mid-way point) to his sides, barely out of her way. She lightly brushes against him each time she passes him. Brushing seems rare these days though (2009).
Socially, it is considered good etiquette (particularly on a crowded floor) to use a fixed slot, in order to allow dancing without incident. Having danced the slot repeatedly, the couple "has a claim" on the area, and other couples usually cooperate and establish their own slot parallel with the dancers.
There are urban myths regarding the origin of the slotted style. According to one version, it was an invention of Hollywood film makers who wanted “dancers to stay in the same plane, to avoid going in and out of focus”.http://www.outtodance.com/swing-lindy-dance.htmlhttp://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3wcs1.htm Wide angle lenses with adequate depth of field for cinematography had in fact been available since the 1920s. http://www.davidbordwell.net/cheerful-staging.htm A variation on the "Hollywood film maker" theme is that film makers wanted "to avoid filming the backs" of dancers. A viewing of films featuring the work of Dean Collins in the 1940s, and rock 'n' roll films made in the mid 1950s reveals the fact that dancers turn frequently and inevitably turn their backs to the camera. Although another unslotted swing dance, Balboa
Balboa (dance)
Balboa today is commonly used both as a term to describe a fusion of dances that originated in Southern California during the 1920s and 1930s, and also referring to a specific dance from that era that was the original Balboa .The original Balboa dance is a form of swing dance that started as early...
, became popular in the same area and under the same conditions, much has been made of "jitterbugging in the aisles" as a source of the slotted style.
Slotted moves were a common part of the step vocabulary of Lindy and/or Jitterbug dancers during the 1940s and 1950s. Rather than the walk, walk of West Coast Swing, however, two sets of triple steps were used when the woman moved down the slot, followed by a rock step rather than the current triple and anchor step.
Music
The origins of the dance that became known as West Coast Swing can be traced to the swing eraSwing Era
The Swing era was the period of time when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though the music had been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Moten, Ella Fitzgerald,...
. During this period many jazz, blues, and western musicians incorporated, or emphasized, the “swing” in their music. Writing in the "Arthur Murray Silver Dance Notebook", Lauré Haile, who first described "Western Swing", listed the following songs/records as "Good Swing or Fox Trot Records":
- "A String of Pearls" by Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
((1942)) - "Let's Dance" by Ray AnthonyRay AnthonyRay Anthony is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor.- Biography :...
((Columbia L-258)(1951)) - "Be-Bop's Spoken Here" by Les BrownLes Brown (bandleader)Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
Columbia 38499 (4/14/49)
"Also Good Swing - but unusual Chorus "AABA":"
- "One Mint JulepOne Mint Julep"One Mint Julep" is a rhythm and blues song written by Rudy Toombs that became a hit for The Clovers. It was recorded by Atlantic Records in New York City on December 19, 1951 and released in March of 1952. It was one of the first "drinking songs" to become a hit and one of the first to feature a...
", Buddy MorrowBuddy MorrowBuddy Morrow was an American trombonist and bandleader. He is known for his mastery of the upper range which is evident on records such as "The Golden Trombone," as well as his ballad playing.- His life :Morrow was once a member of The Tonight Show Band...
, Victor 20-4869 (June/July 1952) - "Dry Bones", Tommy DorseyTommy DorseyThomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
, Victor 20-3523 (1949?)
Big Bands continued to flourish in the 1950s, touring, selling records, and appearing on radio and the new medium of television. As the decade wore on, however, many mostly younger listeners preferred to hear the simpler and (some say) noisier music given the name Rock 'n' Roll, and this music became known as the most popular music for dancing.
West Coast Swing like moves can be seen in rock 'n' roll films made in that era. The film "Hot Rod Gang" shows West Coast Swing being done to the song "Dance to the Bop" by rockabilly musician Gene Vincent.
While teenagers preferred to freestyle dance through a constantly changing succession of discothèque social dance fads during the Sixties, adults kept Swing alive.
Western Swing was documented in the 1971 edition of the "Encyclopedia of Social Dance", listing the "Coaster Step" (with a forward step as the last step of the 2nd triple) rather than the Anchor Step. The one song was listed for this dance was "Comin' On" by Bill Black
Bill Black
William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. was an American musician who is noted as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and the leader of Bill Black's Combo....
's Combo (1964 Hi #2072).
In the mid 1970s, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
music and dancing repopularized "touch" partner dancing, and, in California, West Coast Swing was one of the dances of the era. By the 1990s country western dancers were dancing West Coast Swing to contemporary country western songs. West Coast Swing is now one of many dances done at country western venues.
In practice, West Coast Swing may be danced to almost any music in 4/4 time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, and music of many different styles may be found in an evening of West Coast Swing dancing.
Styles
West Coast Swing can be danced to almost any music written in 4/4 time at speeds ranging from very slow to very fast; 15 to 45 Measures per Minute, ideally at 32 Measures per Minute (15x4=60 bpm, 32x4 = 128 bpm, 45x4=180 bpm). The character of the dance changes over that range. At the slowest speeds the dance tends to exhibit a highly elastic connection with the possibility of very sexy, "slinky" walks for the lady, and a slight backward leaning poise at the full extent of the connection. At faster speeds the partners become more upright and the connection shortens with more of a "push and pull" feel and look.http://www.dancecoquitlam.ca/pag_cms_id_23_p_jive.htmlThe "ideal" speed for WCS has been cited as 32 Measures per Minute (32x4 = 128 bpm), compared to advice to choose "records that are around 28 mpm" (28x4= 112 bpm) for "Western Swing".
In writing about West Coast Swing, Skippy Blair advises that, "The only problem that exists in SWING is when someone decides there is only ONE WAY to dance it. There is never only ONE WAY to do anything ..." "'Try on' different styles that you admire in other people...until you find the comfortable one that FITS YOU."
Dancing to different types of music gives a different feel and look.
A 1998 summary of "trends" in West Coast Swing listed the following:
Traditional/Classic with very little extension of the uncoupled arm,
the man moving off and on the center of the track for most moves, and a heavy "couple weight";
Modern with more free arm extensions, and emphasis on how many spins, etc., the man can lead.
Fast Music
The man's "couple hand" is fixed in space on beat 3 in a pass or push.
In 1994 Blair noted that the posture for men was more upright than in previous years.
Basic "rules"
Although there are many exceptions and variations, West Coast Swing Basics are as follows:- The follower will always start with the Right foot.
- The follower starts on a down beat, counts one or three of a measure.
- The follower has a rhythm pattern of six beats (to start): double (walk walk) a right triple and a left triple
- The follower will walk forward forward on the first two beats of every pattern.
- The follower will step 3 times at the end of each pattern, the Anchor Step.
- The leader will always start with the left foot.
- The leader will vary their first movement according to the location of their partner.
- The leader will vary step two depending on the direction of the pattern.
- At basic and intermediate levels, most dancers start the dance with a 4-Beat Starter Step. http://www.swingworld.com/wcs.htm
(Note that the follower's step is different from the leader's; partners do not mirror each other.)
A few basic moves that any WCS dancer should know are listed below. They are performed with the same "step step tri-ple-step tri-ple-step" pattern equalling eight steps in six beats of music. The term "count" is used as a synonym for a "beat", usually a quarter note, of music.
Open position
- Underarm pass or Right-side pass: A six-count basic where the follower is led to the other end of the slot, passing the leader underarm on the right.
- Left-side pass: A six-count basic where the follower is led to the other end of the slot, passing the leader on the left.
- Tuck Pass: This is like a left side pass in six counts, but the leader creates a "tuck" action on 2 by turning the woman towards the man and then reversing her direction back toward the slot on count 4. Then the woman turns under the man's left arm on 5&6. The turn can be either a half turn or a turn and a half. Some teachers teach that the "tuck" is no longer led because it is difficult to follow. In theory, the Tuck action ought to function similarly to the wind-up before throwing a frisbee.
- Sugar push or Push Break: A six-count "move" where the follower, facing the leader, is led from the end of the slot to a one or two hand hold, then led back to the same end of the slot. The seemingly very simple Push Break requires "compression" or "resistance", to make the pattern. While the arms remain firm but flexible, there should be no excessive pushing or pulling in the arms but in the body. The Sugar Push has been around since 1952.In some instances this sequence is taught as "The Six-Count Basic".
- Whip: An eight-count basic with many variations. In a basic whip, the follower is led past the leader and then redirected (or "whipped") back towards the end of slot from which she (or he if a man is following) started. The basic footwork for a whip extends the six-count pattern by inserting a pair of walking steps between the triple steps. The footwork is therefore "step step tri-ple-step step step tri-ple-step."