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 Picture yourself on a
crowded dance floor with 50 other West Coast
Swing enthusiasts. The air is infused with the
deep bass of the blues backbeat that provides
the under-girding for all music associated with
the West Coast Swing. As you look around the
dance floor you realize that your companions
come from all walks of life, but are united by
a passion for the unique, intense,
partner-dance experience that West coast swing
provides.
As a leader, you are in charge of the
traffic pattern that you and your partner will
create within your slot on the dance floor.
Though your part of the dance is not marked by
much movement of foot, it is branded by the
rapid thought patterns and intricate leading
action that make West coast swing the
“dancer’s dance.”
As a follower, you are prepared to hang onto
your heels because you'll be burning up the
dance floor as the showpiece of the West Coast
Swing. To successfully dance west coast, you
must completely embrace the three rules of
following without restraint. Don't hold on,
don't let go, and don't think! The challenges
associated with the varying time in west coast,
as well as the intricate footwork, make mastery
of the West Coast Swing a challenge for dancers
at every skill level.
West Coast Swing (WCS) is a challenging
dance that has evolved from spin-off status
into a separate dance with a fervent following
and a thriving competition circuit. WCS is the
most intricate dance on the social dance floor
and one that we've mastered the instruction on,
both in-person and through our dance
videos.
The basic is six-counts, but moves from
elementary through a highly advanced range,
from six to twelve or more counts per move or
pattenr. This is very unique to West Coast
Swing, differentiating it even from the other
swing dances. Another key attribute that
differentiates WCS from Lindy and other
versions of swing as well as most non-swing
dances is the slot.
visualize the
west coast swing
Before starting your dance lessons,
it’s recommended you take a few minutes
or so to watch the West Coast Swing video clips
(click the picture above) or the first section
of your West Coast Swing DVD. Watching the
dancers dance West Coast will allow your
mind’s eye to start processing ideas for
how to get your body to do what you’re
watching. Visualizing the WCS will give you a
good feel for what you’re about to learn
and will make the transition into reality that
much easier.
Once you have your own copy of the DVD,
it’s best if you watch the WCS section
one time through without trying to do any of
it. Just give your mind a chance to absorb the
material so it’s somewhat familiar to you
when you hit replay to start the section over
again. Watch how the dancers move, think about
the words that are used, and then picture
yourself dancing the WCS.
The second time you watch the DVD,
it’s recommended that you take notes. Jot
down the important parts of the WCS so you can
engage other parts of the kinesthetic learning
prior to getting up and dancing along. Write
down what the connection points are, what the
basic steps are called, how many counts are in
a basic, how to align with your partner, and so
on. Also, write down any questions that you
might have about the WCS. There’s a good
chance you will find the answer later in this
chapter, and if it’s something
you’re already pondering, you’ll be
sure to remember the answer.
You’ll find that by time you get ready
to stand up and try the WCS with the DVD, the
dancing won’t be nearly as overwhelming.
Writing down the key concepts will allow you to
get a jumpstart on the rest of the learning.
You’ll find that after you get up and try
it, you’ll probably have more questions.
As this DVD goes on, the steps will be broken
out, pointers will be given on where you should
be during different parts of the dance, and
frequently asked questions will be addressed
that should satisfy most, if not all, of your
questions and then some.
The third time you view the DVD, go ahead
and dance along with it. See how far you can
make it just by watching and trying.
You’ll probably find that one of the two
of you is able to pick up and understand the
material more quickly than the other - if
that's the case, don't give up. Keep working at
the dance until you're both equally as
comfortable.
recommended
west coast swing videos
Now, take a look at some of these West Coast
Swing pictures. All of them are taken of
couples dancing the WCS. Some are formal, some
are very informal, but they’re all doing
the same steps. See whether you can visualize
yourself dancing the WCS (the dance you just
watched over and over) in all these different
settings. Then, picture yourself dancing the
WCS at upcoming events or at local venues where
you and your partner can go. Where will you go
out dancing after you learn West Coast? Did you
come up with anyplace? It’s very
versatile, so start thinking of the
possibilities....
* Special
Note from Shawn About Learning West
Coast Swing *
This is a tough dance and one that
should not just be "picked up" on the
dance floor. If you're planning on
going to group lessons or private
lessons, do your research on the
instructor(s). There are many more
instructors that you wouldn't want to
learn from than those you would - trust
me, I've been there. If the dance isn't
making sense to you in your lessons,
STOP YOUR LESSONS!
Don't just learn
moves if you don't understand the
timing, footwork, leverage,
compression, hand positions, slots, and
how the leading & following parts
work and why. Start your lessons back
up once you've gone through West Coast
Swing for Beginners Volume 1 so you'll
at least have the right foundation.
Enjoy this one - it's a great dance
once you "get it."
Shawn Trautman '09
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the six-count
basic for west coast swingThe six-count
slotted basic of West Coast Swing is made up of
two walking-steps, a tap-step (it'll later turn
into a coaster or standard triple-step), and a
triple-step in the form of an anchor-step. The
term “slotted” is used because the
dancers dance on an imaginary line and travel
back and forth on it, as opposed to a circular
or progressive dance, in which the dancers move
around the dance floor. Picture the slot as
something similar to a train track that
you’d be dancing within. Luckily, the
follower does the majority of the movement in
this dance. That’s right, guys: You get
to dance in place for this one! (That
doesn’t mean your feet don’t move,
though.)
To give you a mental image of the dance, West
Coast starts out with the leaders and followers
standing a couple of feet apart, facing each
other, and typically connected by a one-hand
hold. The leader draws the follower toward
himself until her next step is so close that it
would be on his toes. The leader then uses
compression to slow the follower’s
momentum and push her back to her original
position, where she uses an anchor-step to
stabilize herself and to prepare for the next
basic. Don’t worry; you’re not
supposed to be dancing yet.
WCS is considered a dancer’s dance due to
the complex timing and intricate
lead-and-follow details (we cover them all in
West Coast Swing for Beginners Volume 1). The
good news is that once you get it, you get it.
Let’s take a look at how the basic comes
together.
West coast swing, in layman’s terms, is
said out loud like this:
- Walk, walk, tap-step, anchor-step,
- Walk, walk, tap-step, anchor-step
If you’re more mathematically inclined
and like to use numbers for your steps,
it’s counted like this:
- One, two, three, four, five-and-six,
- One, two, three, four, five-and-six
To gain an appreciation of the right look of
a WCS basic, you should picture yourself
dancing on a tightrope with the leader staying
in place and the follower coming in and then
away again in a very repetitive motion. The
leader will be in control, but the follower
will be the one who gets showcased because all
eyes will be on her.
To try the WCS basics in place (you can stand
next to one another for this one), assume foot
position 1 and be in your respective ready
positions (remember, "Ladies are ALWAYS
right!"). Next, you’ll want to simply
step down on count 1 (changing weight), then
step down on count 2 (again changing weight),
then do a tap (just the toe part of your foot,
but you won’t change weight) on count 3,
step down on count 4, then do a triple- step in
place on counts 5 and 6. Try them with the
counts now, and it’ll sound like this: 1,
2, 3, 4, 5-and-6.
layered
approach to the wcs basicRather than
trying to learn everything together at once,
it’s best to learn WCS in layers. Work on
one element, then work your way to the next,
and so on. There are several pieces that make
up the whole. Followers, these next few
paragraphs are mostly for you, but make sure
the leaders read along and do the pieces they
need to. Each time the follower adds another
element, the leader should do the basics in
place while the follower is moving beside him.
Each of you should go ahead and do your basics
one time in place using the timing: 1, 2, 3, 4,
5-and-6, then begin.
Walks
Followers, you get to start out by traveling
toward your partner. On the first two counts,
take two small steps forward (this will be
toward your partner when he’s in front of
you). Leaders, you’ll do your first two
counts in place. Do counts 3 through 6 in place
and add just this piece. You can both now
practice by saying the following: Walk, walk,
tap-step in place, and then anchor-step.
Followers, you should now find that your
starting point is a little farther forward each
time you do this.
Taps
To even this out a little bit, followers,
you’ll now add in a step going backward.
On the tap-step, you’ll tap slightly
forward (just ahead of your left foot or even
with it) with your right foot, then step back
with your right foot (traveling backward and
behind your left foot). Leaders, do your
tap-step in place without going anywhere.
Counts 5 through 6 remain the same when you go
to practice this one. You now have the walk,
walk (followers are going forward), tap-step
(followers are now heading backward), and then
the anchor-step (no movement yet). Followers,
you should still end up a little farther
forward than where you started at the end of
each basic. (Note: the tap step here can also
be done as a triple step in the form of a
coaster step - we cover both in our
videos).
Triples
Now, let’s finish this by adding in the
anchor-step, where counts 5-and-6 are now done
slightly backward by the followers in third
foot position. Followers, you’ll be
moving backward because of your momentum.
Don’t be alarmed by this. Leaders, for
now, just go ahead and do a normal triple-step
in place. Adding this piece in from the
beginning, we now have a complete, mobile basic
that has the follower going forward and then
backward to her original starting point. At the
end of each basic, the follower should be back
on her left foot (in third foot position) and
ready to step with her right foot. Leaders
should be on their right foot and ready to step
with their left.
Leaders, while the follower is going back and
forth, you should be dancing, for the most
part, in place and without a whole lot of
motion either way. It might sound a bit
strange, but you’ll get used to it once
you get going on the next part and understand
more of the compression and what your roles are
for this dance.
Mirroring
When you’re comfortable with the basics
in place, go ahead and move into the next part,
which will allow you to do the basics of WCS
without having to worry about anything but the
footwork. In going through your steps this
time, stand directly in front of each other.
Try facing each other, as shown in the figure
below, but be about five feet away from your
partner in a mirrored position. It often helps
if you’re able to see the opposite steps,
if for no other reason than to validate your
own.
- (Step 1 - Count 1) From a ready position,
leaders will step in place or slightly
backward (only a couple of inches at most)
with their left foot (second foot position)
and followers will step forward with their
right foot (fourth foot position) toward the
leader, with each partner changing weight to
the foot that was moving by the end of step
or count 1.
- (Step 2 - Count 2) Leaders, step in place
or slightly backward (again, only a couple of
inches at most) with your right foot (second
foot position). Followers, step forward with
your left foot (fourth foot position)
directly toward the leader again. Followers,
as you take this second step, turn your left
foot slightly to the right as you step so
you’re at a slight angle, but still
coming toward him. This slight angle change
will also mean that your left shoulder is now
pointed toward the leader and your right
shoulder is away from him. Most of the space
between the leader and follower disappears
once the follower takes her second step.
Rather than the five feet of space that you
originally had, you should now have about 12
to 18 inches separating the two of you.
- (Step 3 - Count 3) Leaders, tap your left
foot (toes) beside the instep of your right
foot, and don’t change weight.
Followers, tap your right foot (toes) beside
the instep of your left foot, and don’t
change weight. The term “beside,”
as it’s used here, means as close to
the instep as you can get without stepping on
it.
- (Step 4 - Count 4) Leaders, you’ll
now step in place with your left foot (second
foot position) just as you did on the first
count (Step 1), except this time,
you’ll want to step slightly forward
because you’ll need it to help send the
follower the other direction. (You’ll
learn more about that later in this chapter.)
Followers, you’ll now step back with
your right foot because you’re now
going to be traveling away from the leader.
This step, although you’re still
slightly angled to your right when you start
it, will be in fourth foot position;
you’ll be squared up with the leader
once you take your step.
- (Step 5 - Counts
5-and-6) This is that anchor- step
we’ve been telling you about. Leaders,
we had you doing a triple-step in place the
first time, and now you’ll add onto it.
You’ll do a modified anchor-step in
place where your right foot steps back into
the fifth foot position on count 5. You do
the “and” step in place with your
left foot (still in fifth foot position), and
then you step out to the right with your
right foot into a second foot position. You
can say your steps like this: Rock-in
place-side, or an-chor-step, or
back-and-side, or any combination of three
words that fit to help you with these three
steps.
Followers, your anchor-step will be just like
the one you learned earlier. You’ll be
traveling backward starting with your left
foot in the third foot position. You’ll
take your left foot back on count 5 into an
extended third foot position, then bring your
right foot straight back into a third foot
position, then end with your left foot going
back into an extended third foot position
again. Ladies, it’s best to say your
steps with just the anchor- step naming
convention as you practice.
If you executed the steps correctly,
you’re slightly turned to the left of
your partner at the end of the basic, and if
you were looking straight ahead, you’d
have to turn your head to the right to align
with your partner. Did you get it?
It’s especially important that at the end
of each basic, the followers are on their left
foot and they have not started coming forward
toward the guys yet. Ladies, you have to wait
until count 1 to start coming forward, and that
will only be after the guy leads it (once we
get to that part). Just make sure you’re
still traveling away from the guy up through
count 6.
When you’re both able to do a complete
basic on your own, then another, then another,
go ahead and practice what you just learned
with music. It’ll be the last thing you
try before you learn to dance it together.
Leaders, count out loud to give the follower a
chance to match you step for step when you
start. The leader should say “Ready,
go” or “Ready, and” or even
just “5-6-7-8” prior to starting.
This should make it easier for both
partners.
the six-count
basic as a couple
Here's where it all starts coming together
and the intracacies start popping up. The
footwork (as described above) is but one small
piece of the puzzle, yet it's an important one.
When you're ready to get into the actual lead
and follow ends of the dance and understand the
compression and leverage (how to move your
partner - for the leaders), how to hold your
partner, what to look for on the dance floor,
how to give the right signals to your partner,
what the standards are so you can dance with
anyone, and much more, you'll want to take a
look at the West Coast Swing DVDs we've put
together. Not only will you see and learn the
basics, but your understanding of the dance
will dramatically improve. Best of all, we
offer a full 100% Money-Back Guarantee as we
stand behind our instruction and want you to be
fully satisfied.
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