West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing (WCS) has been around since the 1940s and is a popular street dance that originated from Lindy Hop.  WCS originated in the city of Los Angeles and is considered the “Official State Dance of California”.  It was first introduced by a man named Dean Collins who camed from New York.  It was also coined with different names but now known today as “West Coast Swing” with Los Angeles being considered the mecca when it comes to WCS dancing.

Since its inception, WCS continues to evolve as trends in the music also change with time.  It can be danced to all forms of genre music and is very popular with all ages, young and old.  Originally danced to Blues and Jazz music during the Swing era, WCS is now done to Country, Disco, Funk, Hip Hop, Latin, Pop, R&B and many of the Modern music that you hear on the radio.

WCS is primarily a slotted dance which uses compression/leverage (push/pull) techniques to create elasticity or what is sometimes referred to as the concept of the “rubber band effect”.  It is also different from other dances as it allows more flexibility in creativity and expression for both leader and follower as they are playing with each other while maintaining constant communication and connection throughout the dance.  It is also a smooth, sultry and sophisticated dance where dancers are able to improvise and syncopate their steps according to the timing of the beat, lyrics or various instruments being played in the music.

WCS can be done to any music written in 4/4 time ranging from as slow as 80 beats per minute (bpm) to as fast as 140 bpm but ideally dance to those from 110 to 125bpm.  For faster music such as those used for Rock & Roll and Salsa, the best way to dance to this music is to do it to half-time rather than normal timing which will slow the rhythm by half and to a more acceptable manner so that it does not look like you are dancing in fast-forward motion.  Although not normally done to classical music which does not have any beats, you can still dance WCS to it as long as everything is done by feel and using the concepts of lead/follow techniques.

There is no one standard style when it comes to WCS.  Most of the old-timers still dance to what is known as the Traditional or Classic style with more emphasis on footwork while the younger generation are doing more of a Modern (aka “Funk” back in the early 2000s) style with emphasis on extensions and visual lines.

WCS is unlike many other dances which are normally done in 8 counts.  Most of the patterns first learned are done in 6-count or 8-count manners with the flexibility to shorten or extend counts once you start going beyond basics and getting into what is known as syncopated footwork that involves footwork and timing changes.  Below is an example of the breakdown for standard patterns being taught and learned at the beginner level:

Pattern Type	Pattern Count	Pattern Rhythm
4-count	1&2-3&4	Triple-Triple
6-count	1-2-3&4-5&6	Double-Triple-Triple
8-count	1-2-3&4-5-6-7&8	Double-Triple-Double-Triple

 

For more information about the history of WCS, check the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Swing
http://www.swingworld.com/history_wsc.htm
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3wcs1.htm
http://dancemuskegon.com/west-coast-swing/

For more information about WCS events taking place around the word, check the following:

http://www.usopenswingdc.com/
http://www.swingdancecouncil.com/ActiveServerPages/UpcomingEvents.asp
http://www.wcs-dancer.com/SwingClubDances.html

For more information about the  WCS scene in Los Angeles, check the following:

http://www.ocwcsdc.com/
http://www.topcatsdance.com/
http://haciendahotel.com/media/docs/menus/Hacienda_Dance_Calendar.pdf
http://www.westcoastswingdanceclub.org/
http://www.diamondswing.com/
http://www.ocdance.com

Improvisational Performances:

Choreographed Performances:

Tags: dance, lindy hop, swing, wcs, west coast swing