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| Defining West Coast Swing |
Excerpt from Telling the Truth: The Foundational Articles for Today's West Coast Swing. Find this and other books by Katherine on Amazon.com.
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I
learned a massive amount while owning a studio. About life, about dance, about
everything. But one of the favorite things I learned was that there is a dance
for every season of life. I opened the studio a committed West Coast Swing fan,
and left the studio a fully obsessed fan of all
the partner dances… from Viennese Waltz to Tango, to Bolero.
A
dance studio draws you closer to people unlike any other kind of business. It’s
a family. You get to see people at their best, at their worst and everything in
between. And you get to see that there is a need for all of the dances. For the
street dances, the latin dances and the smooth dances. There’s even a need for
American and International styles. Every dance matches a person, a people and a
family. And in life we all experience different seasons that draw us or push us
closer to the different dances that can heal or feed us at the time.
As
time went on, through a thousand privates, classes and workshops with
questioning and exploring students of all levels and backgrounds, I had the
amazing opportunity to learn the intimate details that make a Waltz a Waltz, a
Salsa a Salsa and a Cha Cha a Cha Cha.
I learned that every partner dance has a character, a step pattern, a pulse and
a particular floor craft. West Coast Swing is no different.
It
too is a partner dance that’s lead-and-follow and danced on beat, with steps,
rhythms, rules and a specific floor craft. In fact, its rules are quite a bit
more complex than any other dances.’ So what are the essential elements that
help us identify the dance? How do we know when we’re watching a WCS dance and not a Tango, a Foxtrot… or
even Abstract Improvisation or Zouk?
To
help, here are some easy things to look for when you’re trying to identify a
couple’s WCS content:
THE WEST COAST SWING ESSENTIALS
#1
A DEFINED RECTANGLE SLOT
Country
Two Step travels around the floor, as does Waltz. Salsa is danced in more of a
small circle, as is East Coast Swing. West Coast Swing, however, is danced in
what’s called a “slot.” Most teachers teach that your slot should run parallel
to the wood panels of the floor you are dancing on. Others say it should be
danced parallel to the longest side of a rectangle room. I say that no matter
where you are, make sure your slot isn’t in the opposite direction of anyone
else’s around you. That kind of behavior never ends well.
A
WCS slot is typically 2-3 floor squares (6
to 8 ft) long and one floor square wide. Most WCS dancers that have been dancing it for
the last 30 to 60 years, however, typically stay in the 6 feet or less range
when it comes to length. They focus heavily on the footwork and tend to dance,
even now, on extremely crowded floors, so their slot has remained tight and
controlled.
--All Graphics Designed and Copyrighted
by Katherine Eastvold--
GRAPHICS AVAILABLE IN THE BOOK ONLY
The Slot and its Boundaries
In
WCS , depending upon the available room, we
can shift the Defined Slot’s location on the floor, but then we re-post and
stay there in a new established slot or return back to our original slot. WCS is NOT a rounded or unconfined dance.
The slot does not extend very far on any one side.
#2
In
WCS , from the point of an onlooker, the man
is visually in the center and patterns are used to move the woman up and down
the slot. The man and woman do not stay at opposite ends of the slot and then
switch, and the woman does not stay
in the center while he moves around her unless it’s to let her pass him on her
way down the slot. He stays in the middle, and makes magic moving her up, down,
in and out of the slot. Some call the man’s actions to pin down the center of
the slot ‘posting.’
*GRAPHIC*
In WCS ,
the leader operates in the center of the slot.
Here are other ways “Man in
the Middle” plays out in the WCS
slot:
At the start of a WCS dance, the follower begins in closed
position with the man in the center of the slot:
*GRAPHIC*
For the majority of a WCS dance, the follower begins and ends all
patterns at one of the ends of the slot:
*GRAPHIC*
In the Push Break, the
follower moves towards the leader, then returns to her previous position. The
whip follows a similar pattern:
*GRAPHIC*
In side passes, such as the
Underarm Turn, the Left
Side Pass
*GRAPHIC*
--All Graphics Designed and Copyrighted
by Katherine Eastvold--
GRAPHICS AVAILABLE IN THE BOOK ONLY
# 3
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
No
matter how long a WCS pattern ends up being, no matter how
long the sentence goes on, it will always end with a period. In the case of WCS , we call this an anchor. For years
teachers have taught that the anchor is the period at the end of a sentence,
but it does require some unique training and as such, much of its power and
technique has been lost.
The
anchor always takes place while the man is in the center and the woman is at
the end of a slot. The anchor is primarily a function of the center (your
center point of balance, also called your solar plexus by some). However, the
motion of your center during an anchor is incredibly small. It will be easier
for most to simply watch the feet and see if they gather together at the end of
a pattern and seem to re-ground themselves.
An
anchor, unless the song ends, is followed by the ‘& a 1’
rubber band motion, the beginning of the next sentence… the beginning of the
next pattern. Sometimes you will see a couple “extend” a pattern at the end of
the slot. It looks like the couple is about to start a new sentence, but
instead, they do some playful footwork in place. This conversational kind of
dancing is still part of the previous sentence.
But
when the play has come to an end, you will see the couple start a new pattern
with a very clear WCS ‘&
a 1’ rubber band that gets them in motion once again and the new
sentence or pattern takes off.
#4
DOUBLE, TRIPLE START
This
is probably one of the easiest characteristics to identify. It’s quite the
powerful tool. In short, all West Coast Swing patterns, whether they are basics
or not, will begin with a double rhythm followed by a triple rhythm. For those
that don’t know what rhythms are, you can think of it this way: every pattern
begins with a walk, walk followed by a triple step (or as one famous yet
scattered teacher likes to say, “walk, walk, run-run-run!”)
It
is also important to recognize exactly how these two rhythms occur. At the
start of a West Coast Swing pattern, look at the follower’s feet. She will
always start a pattern with her right foot and she will always travel towards
the leader from the end of her slot. A double rhythm done in place does not
qualify as the start of a WCS
pattern.
The
triple rhythm that follows is just as important. Other dances start with double
rhythms too, but then they are followed by single or double rhythm, not by a
triple rhythm. In WCS , that first double is always followed by
a triple. What occurs on that triple varies greatly, depending on what basic or
pattern is being done, but it will never be a single or a double rhythm. It
will always be a triple. And it will always be in the center of the slot, when
the partners are close to each other and the ‘post.’ At a more advanced level,
this triple rhythm can even become a higher rhythm, depending on the pattern,
like a quad, but you will never see it become less, like a double.
Do
not be fooled by stutters. After years of telling dancers to remove their
triples from their dancing in order to make way for this “new” dance, some are
trying to bring them back in order to satisfy the judges. Unfortunately, it’s
not working. The majority of these dancers “stutter” instead of doing an actual
triple step. A real triple step in WCS transfers the weight on ‘3 a4.’ But stutters are different.
In
stutters the so called “weight change” occurs on ‘a3 4.’ Not only are the beats incorrect, but
these leaders never really transfer their weight. Typically, you will watch
them simply tap their toe on the ‘a’ so that their ‘a3’ looks more like a
hiccup, rather than an actual step or weight change. Often this tap occurs with
no weight change at all, making their feet look busy when they really aren’t.
When
you are watching real WCS , you will see the triple rhythm executed
on and between the 3 and the 4. Anything else is cheating and in bad form.
#5
AN ABUNDANCE OF TRIPLES
If
you count out all the basic WCS
patterns, you will notice that for almost every double rhythm, there are TWO
triple rhythms. Not only that, but there are no single rhythms at all. Triple
rhythms are much harder to do than single or double rhythms in a lead and
follow dance, because they can’t be danced ‘split weight,’ especially with good
timing. Since the majority of other partner dances are made of single and
double rhythms, WCS really stands out with its exciting
triple rhythm footwork.
_______________
Once
a dancer has mastered the above characteristics, meaning they are able to do
them with all Three T’s: Timing,
Technique and Teamwork, then, and only then, does WCS provide the complex freedom for three
unique characteristics. I call them the Higher Essentials.
THE
HIGHER ESSENTIALS
Many
try to skip past the mastery of the above skills and boundaries only to find
themselves doing another dance entirely. But when the following characteristics
are added to the core essentials of WCS , the results are truly incredible. The
dance becomes addicting to all ages and generations. As with most art forms, once WCS is done with unusually excellent
technique and skill, it can take anyone’s breath away, dancer and non-dancer
alike.
The
following are the characteristics that again, are not required, but can be
attained more easily in WCS more than any other dance.
CONTRAST
Contrast
is typically considered present when a WCS dance contains both small and subtle
movements as well as large and fast ones. A dance that has nothing but big
sweeping movements, dips and drops is considered to be only 'one note.' Pure WCS allows for this, in that its footwork is
so busy that it can do both with startling ease. More footwork means more
opportunities.
Contrast
is not simply speeding up and slowing down or reaching high then dropping low.
Contrast is a higher essential, and as such requires an incredibly high level
of dance skill, training and mastery. Contrast requires deft subtly combined
with precise expansion. It’s using an unexpected variety of movements to tell a
story. Contrast draws people in… it prevents them from looking away… it keeps
their attention and makes them hit the rewind button.
MUSICALITY
Musicality
as a higher element goes beyond staying on beat. It means dancing to the major
phrase (starting a new pattern on the 1 of major phrase in a song), doing a
large movement to a large piece of music and a small movement to a small
‘ting.’ It’s helping others hear things in the song they didn’t know were even
there. It’s using the dance to paint a visual representation of the music. The more challenging the music, the more
exciting the painting.
True
WCS requires a high level of leading and
following because it has eight basic patterns to build moves off of instead of
one. Skilled WCS followers often have a very easy time
switching into other partner dances because they’ve learned to follow anything.
They can join any other class and immediately be able to follow the instructor,
provided that the instructor is a good leader.
Along
with the achievement of exquisite leading and following skill, WCS offers up the ability for both partners
to add styling, footwork variations (syncopations), breaks and conversations
through movement… all while staying in direct and perfect connection with their
partner. The lead-follow relationship is never broken.
As
such, each WCS dancer of this level looks unique. I
chose to study WCS instead of ballroom at an early age
because the ballroom ladies looked very “cookie-cutter.” Real WCS allows one’s individuality to appear
within its strict confines. The more a dancer grows in the dance, the more
individual their style becomes. If you’re watching a floor where all the upper
level women and men look the same, it’s a clear indication that swing content
is lacking.
It
may be a challenge in the beginning to get used to catching each of these
things, but your eye will soon learn and after a while, it will come naturally
to you. Always start by watching the feet and listen closely to the beat of the
music. This method works in identifying any partner dance, but since WCS is such a complex and difficult dance,
easy shortcuts like this will get your further in less amount of time. So enjoy
using these characteristics to identify WCS on your social floors, during
competitions and during routines. But no matter what, as always…
KEEP
ON DANCING!
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From the bestselling book Telling the Truth:
The Groundbreaking Articles that Saved West Coast Swing
