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West Coast
Swing Dance Style
Slotted, 6-count and 8-count patterns. Depending
on the style lots of turns or lots of footwork. Syncopations
are common. The man stays pretty much in one place while the
woman moves back and forth in a slot. Therefore, it's the woman's
movements that are emphasized. There's a lot more hand and arm
motion than in the shag to produce figures like left/right passes,
tunnels, and various wraps. West Coast developed from the Lindy.
As done in the Swing community the end of patterns
typically use an "anchor step" and not a "Coaster
step." The follower is discouraged from moving forward under
her own power at the end of the pattern. Instead, she hangs out
until the guy remembers to lead. Another distinction between
the styles has to do with the "rock- step." Purists
in the swing community claim there is never a "rock- step" in
West Coast; by definition the "rock-step" is ECS. In
practice, the purists are thankfully in the minority. Yet another
distinction between the communities is in leverage and being
grounded; the ballroom West Coast dancers are more "up" while
in the swing community they are more "into the floor." Similarly,
in the ballroom circles there is little leverage while in the
swing circles many dancers strive for leverage and connection
that appears to be more "heavy." Syncopations are used
far more frequently in West Coast than in other Swing styles
that I am familiar with.
One rarely sees syncopations used in the East
Coast style or Lindy, but perhaps because there is so much more
time available with the slow tempos used for West Coast, everybody
does them. As dancers are learning the West Coast, they typically
add syncopations at the end of patterns first. Latter, other
parts of the rhythm are changed such that the basic 12 3&4
5&6 becomes &12... or 12 &34..., etc. We emphasize
footwork, often using a minimum number of patterns. WCS is indeed
a slot dance. In theory, the lady should never step outside her
slot (except, of course, to avoid colliding with another couple).
The man is normally either in the other end of the slot, or immediately
next to the slot so that the woman can pass by him. Her assignment,
should she choose to accept it, is to get from one end of the
slot to the other, preferably doing something stylish in the
process. The man either leads her down the slot, or starts her
down the slot then blocks her path, forcing her to go back to
the end she came from. There are, of course, various turns, spins,
fancy footwork and such associated with these manouvers.
WCS is very improvisational among advanced dancers
with "syncopations", i.e. rhythm variations, footwork
variations, body waves, etc. Individual styles vary widely. Most
of the finalists at the US Open Swing competition have radically
different styles. There are no set "rules". There is
a lot of leeway for the follower to improvise and add styling
and syncopated footwork, typically as she turns around at the
end of her slot.
West coast swing is a "slot" dance,
which means that the woman travels forward and back along a single
straight line on the floor, with the man moving off of and onto
her line. Although there are turning figures, they still keep
the woman on her line. The tempo is 28-32 mpm. Figures begin
with two walking steps, followed by two triple steps (or a triple
step, two walks and another triple, in Lindy time figures). The
second triple step is generally danced in place and is called
the "anchor step;" its main purpose is to reestablish
physical tension between the partners, generally achieved by
leaning slightly back. The style is very casual and sometimes
overtly sexual. Perhaps most important, west coast swing features
many "syncopations," which are changes in the basic
pattern. The most common is the tap step to replace the first
triple step; since both patterns use the same number of weight
changes, they are equivalent.
1 2 3&4 5&6 (walk walk triple-step triple-step)
rhythm for sugar push, underarm turns, side passes. 1 2 3&4
5 6 7&8 rhythm for whip patterns. Danced in a narrow slot
so is suitable in a crowded night club. Danced to a wide range
of tempos and styles of music (15-45). Blues is a traditional
style of music for WCS. Has a smooth, grounded, "earthy" look
for slow blues songs. Is very improvisational among advanced
dancers with "syncopations", i.e. rhythm variations,
footwork variations, body waves, etc. Individual styles vary
widely. Most of the finalists at the US Open Swing competition
have radically different styles. There are no set "rules".
In WCS, the underarm turn of ECS is straightened
out so the lady moves straight down a narrow slot and the man
passes the lady only a few inches outside the slot. The chasse
side-together-side is changed to fwd-fwd-fwd. Also, the ECS
back-replace for the lady on 12 is changed to fwd-fwd in WCS.
WCS is danced anywhere from extremely slow, e.g. 15, to fast
Jive, e.g. 50. It is very open to interpretation with radically
different styles and lots of "playful" exchanges.
West-Coast Swing Dance Lessons
List of all dance lessons
ATRIUM DANCE STUDIO
4721 N. Crescent Blvd. (Route 130)
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
856-661-9166
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856-661-9166