One of the great things about west coast swing is the sheer breadth of music available. But how do you discover great new music for dancing WCS? If you’re looking for new songs, the first place to check is what is actually being played by WCS DJs. Check out the following sites, which are updated… Continue Reading
Getting Into Play
This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series PlayingNow that you know how to get out of play, it’s time to get into it. Play is a temporary break from the standard WCS structure. So, you can indicate that play is starting by departing from what would normally be expected in the WCS… Continue Reading
Getting Out of Play
This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series PlayingBecause play occurs within the WCS dance, it is important to be able to get out of play and back into WCS. Just like gymnasts begin learning tumbling skills by practicing how to land safely (and how to fall safely when the landing doesn’t work!),… Continue Reading
Body Rolls and Connection
In a previous post, we practiced the movements for a full body roll. To do a body roll in the dance, we need to add the connection to those movements. The Drill: Stand about arms length from a wall and put your hands against the wall. Practice moving your body in a roll while keeping… Continue Reading
Footwork: Syncopated Triple
West coast swing pulses on the upbeats, so our normal triple step is designed to give a full beat of music to the upbeat; the & of the triple comes between the downbeat and the upbeat. The syncopated triple rhythm flips this pulse: the & count occurs before the downbeat in order to make the… Continue Reading
Introduction to Playing
This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series PlayingWest coast swing, unlike most partner dances, encourages play between the partners. The leader can give the follower the freedom to do whatever she feels at a given point in the song, and the follower can request time to interpret the music instead of being… Continue Reading
Hearing Musical Phrases
This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Musicality 101If you’ve followed this series so far, you have spent a lot of time listening to music and counting out musical phrases. However, counting to 32 or 48 is not realistic when you’re actually dancing, and counting to 8 can even be difficult during… Continue Reading
Until You Can’t Do It Wrong
Ben Hogan, one of the greatest golfers of all time, maintained that even the average golfer is readily able to shoot in the 70s if they are willing to work on some basic principles. The only catch was that they have to be willing to work on those principles until they were consistent. He wrote,… Continue Reading
Introduction to Connection Theory
This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Connection TheoryConnection rocks. Good connection is what makes dance feel amazing. Like all social, lead-follow dances, west coast swing depends on connection to make the dance work, and the highest levels of the dance are made possible through the magic of connection. And it is… Continue Reading
Finding Your Center
This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Connection TheoryThe goal of a good connection is to be able to manipulate your center and have your partner’s center respond. This center-to-center connection makes it possible to move in tandem, rather than watching your partner do something and trying to copy it afterwards. No… Continue Reading