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| How West Coast Swing Gave Birth to Another New Dance |
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I've listened to our heartbeat.
For years now I've listened. I listened to former champions.
I listened to fellow champions. I listened to newcomers. I listened to
non-competitors. I listened to novice, intermediate, advanced and all-star
dancers. I listened to judges, to event directors and to studio owners. I
listened to DJ's. I listened to photographers. I even listened to hotel staff
and to non-dancers staying in the hotels at conventions. I listened, and listened,
and listened. I listened to the audiences and I listened to my students and I
listened to the conversations taking place in hallways and dinner buffets and
clubs. I listened. And I heard a lot. I heard what was being told, what was
being said, what was being danced, what was being judged, what was being seen
and what was being thought. I watched too. I watched carefully. I watched the
Jack and Jill’s, the social floor, the dancing during the breaks and the
dancing during late night. I watched the routines, the workshops and the
private lessons. I listened and heard and watched.
And by doing so, I ended up taking the pulse of our West
Coast Swing community.
It's not good news. I learned that we are hurting. I learned
that we are divided. I learned that we are in crisis. We are confused, damaged
and torn. We are sad, angry and lost. I learned that we desperately need to see
a doctor. It's time for a diagnosis. We need a prescription. We need to start
healing and return to a state of joy, freedom and empowerment on the dance
floor.
I can help. After absorbing, analyzing and assimilating all
I had heard, seen and felt on the floor, I discovered The Big Picture. I know
what's going on. And perhaps more importantly, I know how we got here.
Once I figured it out, I naturally started sharing it with
others, as I usually do… in lessons, in discussions, in the hallways of
conventions, etc. But this time it was different. People were gathering around
to listen in. Many I knew, but many I didn’t. Dancers passing by would hear my
comments and would stop. They’d pull up a chair. They’d lean in. And I could
see that they wanted more, much more.
At the US Open I gathered my biggest crowd yet. I believe it
was Sunday afternoon, and by the time it had grown to cover and block two
aisles, I realized it had become nothing more than a Q&A session… and I was
able to easily answer ever Q with a very sound and thoroughly explained A. When it finally broke up for awards, I turned
to my husband Nick and said, “I think I’d better start teaching on this stuff.”
He agreed.
So I spent December creating my SwingIN!s. A series of new
and never-before-seen seminars, demonstrations and activities, I designed my
SwingIN!s to give dancers what they so clearly desired: equipment for dancing
in today's WCS world. I had no idea just how
popular they would become.
My first one was held in January (Past, Present
& Future), where I first taught about how we got here. During it, I
outlined and explained what I’d discovered about our history: The Gathering of
Great Minds, The Renaissance and The Perfect Storm. The response was
tremendous. The "ah ha!" moments were overwhelming. I could tell I
had started something big.
As news of Past, Present & Future spread, so did the
requests for encore seminars. I held numerous sold-out encore presentations of
it in studios, living rooms and dance floors across southern California .
At each, I reminded everyone that Past, Present & Future was designed to
prepare them for “the big” SwingIN! that was coming in April on Easter weekend.
I had named it New School
And the attendees
knew it.
When it was finally over, the dancers in attendance, that
included newcomers, judges, promoters, instructors, competitors and social
dancers… stood up, eyes opened, and... danced their pants off that night!
Then they spread the
word.
It’s been only a week and my terminology is appearing all
over the social networks and my inbox is starting to fill. Unfortunately, the
terminology is spreading so quickly, so fast, that I’m watching my work spin
wildly out of control… as with all “telephone” whispers, sharing and gossip, my
terminology from one single day was being turned into something completely
different than what I’d actually taught.
And so I began this article. In order to prevent
misunderstandings, incorrect deductions and incorrect terminology, I’m forced
to share the most groundbreaking and healing discoveries of my work with you...
One day I look forward to sharing my now famous seminars, Past, Present &
Future as well as Abstract vs. Swing with you by DVD ,
but for now, this will have to do. I hope you will enjoy it as much as my
attendees have.
The following are the most popular terms in use:
ren•ais•sance n.
a revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor
a revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor
West Coast Swing experienced what I call its
"Renaissance Era" in the years around 1991-1999. Its waves lapped our
shores before 1991 and left amazing treasures after 1999, but in general, our
Renaissance occurred in the 90's.
Never was there such a surge of "intellectual and
artistic vigor" in our art form. During those years we saw the Great Minds
of WCS , Country, Shag, Hand Dancing, Hustle
and even Ballroom and Salsa converge, talk, share, teach, challenge and grow
the dance. It's the Era that produced tapes which non-dancers in lunchrooms
across America
(and my inner-city classroom, by the way) were glued to when we played them.
It's the Era when our Great Minds made breakthroughs in
dance knowledge, technique and terminology that was and still is unparalleled
in any other dance form. It's the Era which allowed, in Southern
California alone, 12 studios (not including clubs!) to be
dedicated to WCS and its sister dances. Some
studios had full WCS classes every night of
the week.
It's the Era we lost
to the digital age.
It's the Era when we understood how hard WCS
was to do, and we attracted dancers who were willing to work that hard to do
it. It took five to seven years to learn WCS
back then, and it was during the Renaissance that dancers applied for job
transfers across multiple states to gain more training in WCS .
It was during the Renaissance that dancers who had reached
their peak in other dance forms became attracted to WCS
because of its depth, difficulty and challenge. People dancing for two years
called themselves beginners. It's the Era when audiences gave standing ovations
before a routine was even done, and an Era when routines inspired you to jump
out of your seat and move your feet!
aka Renaissance Swing, Traditional WCS , Classic WCS or just...
West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing
Pure West Coast Swing is the dance I outline in West CoastSwing Essentials. It has well over 35 elements. It takes years to learn. It is
a highly connected lead and follow dance. The lead is center to center. Foot
positions, body positions, control, and impeccable leading and following...
they are of the utmost importance.
Pure WCS requires Timing,
Technique and Teamwork (The Three T’s), all of which are extremely high-end
skills and none of which are easy. The body is always over one foot. It is not
split weight. There is a leader and there is a follower. The leader is in
charge of taking care of and leading his partner.
Pure WCS uses power
points, body flight, triples, and subtleties that make you lean in and watch
every second the better it is done. Pure WCS
can be learned in a studio, has basic patterns and when a Novice learns it,
they can dance with a Pure WCS Champion and
feel like they've died and gone to heaven.
It's slotted. It has anchors. It's upright, tall and framed,
but it is also grounded, into the floor and into the heels. It's easy to see
when there's a mistake or a disconnect between the two partners. Pure WCS
does not lend to ‘cookie-cutter’ partnerships, where everyone looks exactly
like everyone else on the floor. WCS brings
out a dancer's individuality, especially in its syncopations and stylings.
It's very easy to tell the difference between a novice,
intermediate or advanced Pure WCS dancer.
You can watch a floor and very quickly identify each level of dancer. In Pure WCS ,
the better a dancer becomes, the more they develop their own unique look.
You can see their personality and style while they are doing
the same exact basics as the newcomers. Each dancer has their own style, their
own strengths, their own creativity, their own syncopations and the magic
created when a unique lead draws a unique follow is like no other. There are
numerous styles of Pure WCS because of its
complicated nature, patterns and difficulty.
Abstract Improvisation is the other dance form we are seeing
on the floor today. Because I have not written an article on it before, I will
spend some more time outlining it here.
Abstract Improvisation’s roots extend back 10 years ago. The
roots grew very slowly in the beginning, but now, especially in the last three
years, they've come into full bloom. In some so called “West Coast Swing”
communities and clubs, it’s the only dance they know. If asked to do an actual WCS
pattern with triples and wraps, they would not be able to do so without great
difficulty or without removing all of its footwork and timing.
I derived Abstract Improvisation’s name from a combination
of two terms: Abstract Art and Contact Improvisation. If you have not studied
Abstract art or danced Contact Improvisation (two studies I would highly
recommend), then here are some definitions of the two for you.
Abstract / Abstract Art
-difficult to
understand
-a form of art with no rules, definition or boundaries
-a removal from reality
-form and line
-a period of art which followed the Renaissance
-a form of art with no rules, definition or boundaries
-a removal from reality
-form and line
-a period of art which followed the Renaissance
Contact Improvisation
-a form of modern
dance improvisation
-points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation
-does not have rhythms, a step pattern, or music requirements
-points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation
-does not have rhythms, a step pattern, or music requirements
Touchdown Dance magazine once wrote the following about
Contact Improvisation: "Contact
Improvisation is a means to explore the physical forces imposed on the body by
gravity, by the physics of momentum, falling and lifting. It is a complex but
very open form with infinite possibilities and is a dance form that is made by
the dancer in the moment of dancing." Keep this in mind, as it most
definitely relates to Abstract Improvisation.
Abstract Improvisation has only four elements. It relies
heavily on Teamwork but not Timing or Technique. It can be learned within a
week to a month and does not require classes. It can be learned on the floor or
on YouTube. It is highly improvised, "made by the dancer in the moment of
dancing," instead of being pattern based.
Dancers who do 'Abstract' look very much alike. It is almost
impossible to tell the difference between a novice or advanced Abstract dancer
beyond their differences in attitude, confidence and attire. Abstract leaders'
feet are almost always wide and flat footed. In pictures their legs look like
they are straddling a pony.
"Lines, shape and form" are created by straight,
stretched arm leads and follows. Turns are led with rainbow arcs, high above
the head, rather than halo turns, which leads to off balance following, which
leads to arching backs and sways by the followers. The shoulders ride very high
and the elbows are turned outside of the body, rather than tucked in towards
the floor. The leads are less about leading her body, but more like
"suggestions for direction." These “leads” are all in the arms leads,
not body or center leads.
The footwork is not the focus in Abstract. The upper body
(waist, head, arms) is where the action occurs. Your eyes are drawn towards the
upper body area where spins are arching, hair is flying and arms look like they
are holding giant beach balls. If you count to the music, and then look at the
feet, you will find no relation. The feet are shuffling to catch the body, not
drive the center. You will also notice how often single footed spins fall or
gyrate off balance and the move is exited in an archway as a cover up.
Abstract isn't danced over the heel, but over the ball or
flat foot. The feet are rarely turned out. Feet are used for catching falls,
for straddling, for hitting lyrics and melodies, for sliding... not for holding
a rhythm pattern, moving the body or leading. As a result, Abstract Improv can
be danced over any kind of music- a waltz, a samba, a nightclub two step or a
hustle. This is part of the reason that when a hustle or nightclub two step is
played, dancers are still dancing what they call 'swing' on the floor, but only
Abstract Improvisation works over any song.
Abstract Improv requires four elements: strong knees, a
flexible spine, quick reflexes and total confidence. This is why young and
untrained dancers excel at Abstract Improv. Their muscles don't injure as
easily and they don't have years of training telling them to keep rhythms,
posture, to lead correctly or to connect fully. Abstract Improv instruction
often uses the following terms: momentum, shape, channeling, improvisational,
new school, flow, 3-D, free-styling, contemporary, etc. Common Abstract phrases
include "the anchor is obsolete," "stretch out as far as you can
go," "no leading, only suggesting," "there are no
rules," "disconnect," “eliminate your triples,” “split your
weight across both feet,” "dance behind the beat," etc.
When danced on beat, Abstract Improv is almost all single
and double rhythm based and often the leader or follower can be seen standing
in straddle position for well over four beats, while their upper half gyrates,
sways or 'mimes’ the lyrics.
The man does not post. The slot is often circular and free
formed. The leader can move up and down the slot (or lack thereof), “flip-flop”
positions with the follower and sometimes the follower is left in the middle
while the leader dances around her. Pure WCS
couples dancing next to an Abstract Improvisation couple will feel like they
are being constantly run over or invaded by the Abstract couple's slot.
In Abstract Improvisation, major phrases are hit by tricks,
swoops and falls that are dramatic but most often messy, as are they are done
split weight, with loose high shoulders and extended lats.
Abstract Improvisation is not about controlled movement, but
large, “sexy,” or “on-the-floor” movements. Abstract dancers often replace the
push break with a four beat ‘push and pull,’ and their Underarm Turn most often
becomes a two beat "snap" by both partners to opposite ends of the
slot.
Because of such quick movements, Abstract Improves seems
much more big, bold and energetic than Pure WCS ,
and so Abstract dancers are put into finals instead of Pure WCS
competitors, despite having a complete lack of timing, connection, technique or
swing.
Yes, I said swing. Abstract Improvisation looks, feels and
reflects many of the attributes of Contact Improvisation, which is a postmodern
contemporary dance form, rather than any partner or rhythm based dance with
steps, rules, leading and following. Therefore I classify Abstract
Improvisation as a rudimentary contemporary dance (not to be confused with
contemporary music), or modern dance. It’s very similar to improvisational club
dancing at young city nightclubs, but it is not a swing dance.
I've heard many times that Abstract Improvisation is really WCS
"evolved." However, the world "evolved" connotes a movement
towards a higher level of skill or movement. The fact that Abstract
Improvisational dancers cannot do a series of WCS
basics with critical timing, posture, centering, skilled leading or following,
or any of the other incredibly difficult levels or patterns that Pure WCS
demands, debates the idea of any "evolvement."
An elimination of excellent leading (“we don’t do ‘prep
prep’ anymore”), following (“don’t wait for me, you should do your own thing
now”), of centering, of foot positions, of syncopations, of timing… all of this
only indicates a "devolvement" in my opinion, not an
"evolvement.” We would be wise to see these claims for what they really
are: an excuse to keep students from going to any other instructor, to protect
their own "revolutionary" brand, to gloss over training they don't have
and to protect a dance that only they understand and therefore only they earn
money off of.
Abstract Improvisation is such a far cry from Pure WCS ,
that the students of this new dance often find any other teacher’s methods a
threat. If they are at a convention and attend a Pure WCS
instructors workshop, they will sometimes declare that they “only want to learn
(fill in the blank: “contemporary,” “new school,” etc, etc.) swing” and will
sit the class out. And since Abstract Improvisation doesn’t have any rules,
students have walked away from conventions learning eight different ways to
“anchor” or “replace their anchor,” six different ways to hear the music, “feel
it,” “dance the emotion of it,” “dance the lyrics,” “dance the melodies,” but
never dance on beat, which is now, unfortunately, the rarest of finds at most
conventions and many dance scenes across the country.
Let me clarify. To “dance on beat” refers to the dancer’s
feet dancing to the beat of the music. I often hear students and judges say
that Abstract Improvisational dancers “hit every beat” in the music, when in
reality, their upper bodies hit all of the breaks. This is actually pretty easy
to do. What’s difficult to do is lead and follow with your feet on beat AND
hit the breaks. If you look at these “flashy” improvisational dancers’ feet,
you will suddenly see how very little skill is actually being executed.
As you've probably figured out by now, I've discovered that
we as a community now have two completely separate dances on our hands. I
understand that this has been hard to see, especially since a handful of our
top pros are able to do both depending on what music they are given, the
audience they have, the judges they have, etc.
But they comprise less than 1% of our community. And they’ve been
dancing and teaching this new dance for a few years now, and we have been
unaware of this shift. We’ve just seen the dancing change, but we didn’t know
how or why.
It is time to face reality. There are two dances.
It is time to admit the truth. There are two dances.
It is dangerous to deny it and stay on the path we are on.
It is time to admit the truth. There are two dances.
It is dangerous to deny it and stay on the path we are on.
And I mean dangerous.
First, it's dangerous physically, emotionally and mentally
to our dancers. When a Pure WCS trained
follower draws an Abstract Improvisation leader, she gets physically hurt by
the clash. She feels totally lost and thinks she’s in over her head. She is
yanked off her anchor with no warning because Abstract Improvisation never
moves on the same beat or even on a beat. She is put into precarious positions
where she's not quite sure what's expected of her and gets hit in the head when
trying to go down the slot.
When a Pure WCS trained
leader draws an Abstract Improvisation follower, he can't figure out how to
lead her, to connect with her, how to even get a push break out of her. She
will be extremely light, to the point of complete disconnection or she will be
extremely heavy and pull him off his anchor or timing. He will never ever get
her on the foot he's trying to get her on, because she is not expecting him to
lead her feet into positions.
It's the same the other way around. I'm hearing stories
nearly every week about how an Abstract Improvisation leader draws a Pure WCS
follower and accuses her of deliberately fighting him or getting in his way,
when she is simply assuming he's doing the same dance. My inbox is jammed with
horror stories of the meeting of these two dances on the floor. They are
stories ranging from physical harm, to emotional harm to mental harm... and
dancers are falling out of love with the dance. They just don't understand that
there are two completely different dances on the floor today. Which brings me
to my second point.
If we don't acknowledge that there are two dances,
the future of the West Coast Swing industry is in jeopardy.
the future of the West Coast Swing industry is in jeopardy.
It's already suffering. Highly trained WCS
professionals feel pressured to teach poor technique. Novice and intermediate
dancers are suddenly instructors. Event directors are hiring unskilled teachers
and dancers because they are cheaper and seem to be the "hot ticket"
instead of hiring highly trained real WCS
instructors. Classes are shrinking across America .
Because Abstract Improvisation is just that, improvisational, and requires
almost none of the skills and training that Pure WCS
does, it doesn't have to be learned in a studio.
That doesn't mean there aren't people teaching Abstract
Improvisation. There are. But people hear them say, in their so called “WCS ”
classes that, "we don't do that anymore, we do this now," and the
students feel like they have to start all over in the dance. But the reality is
that Abstract Improvisation really doesn't take any training. I'm meeting more
and more dancers at conventions who have never taken a single WCS
lesson and are having a blast.
In fact, Abstract Improv dancers, for reasons I've briefly
touched on, make finals over Pure WCS
dancers, which only promotes the idea to onlookers that classes, privates and
lessons in general are not needed to be successful in the dance. Why spend
money on Pure WCS , which absolutely has to
be learned in a lesson setting and takes a long time to master, when you can
learn Abstract Improvisation on YouTube for free? If we insist on calling
Abstract Improvisation "Swing," then we are contradicting every
single real WCS teacher out there and
setting up all of their students for confusion, bitterness and failure. We
will, ultimately, lose them. And then we will lose our instructors.
We need to face facts. We need to remember what ‘normal’ is
in the partner dancing communities. In healthier communities, like ballroom,
the fact of the matter is that when someone has been learning a ballroom dance
for three months and then dances with a ballroom pro, they feel like they are
on top of the world and can do no wrong. It's like dancing with a dream. They
are then are inspired to keep going, keep learning, keep expanding their
knowledge and enjoyment of the dance.
But if a WCS dancer has
been taking lessons for three months at a studio or a club and then asks a
supposedly higher level dancer (because points tell them they are so, not other
dancers) to dance, it will not be a pleasant experience. Those who have racked
up points in the past five years are almost all Abstract Improvisational
dancers, and they will completely run over this new beginner to our dance. The
newcomer will be completely lost and feel defeated, not inspired. They will
feel confused and torn. They will stick with lessons for about six months to a
year and then they will give up, because they feel like they aren’t getting any
better.
In reality, they are learning one dance and yet asking
someone who does a completely different dance to help them measure their
progress. What a catastrophe for these dancers! It’s heartbreaking, hearing
their stories. Because we haven’t admitted this other dance, our newcomers
don’t realize it’s another dance that they’re clashing with, never mind a
lesser art form. And we should take a stand for them.
People are done. People feel left behind. People feel ugly,
misunderstood, confused, angry and they feel scared. We are hemorrhaging
veteran dancers at an astronomical rate. We are allowing our most talented
individuals to feel "old" and we are attracting a demographic of
dancers who would rather not work at their dancing because it's not
"fun," and allowing instructors into our community who have
absolutely no problem giving watered down shortcuts to technique, slandering
our most knowledgeable and respected legends and calling an extremely difficult
and praiseworthy dance "out of touch."
Non-dancers have a better eye than we do now. Lunchrooms
don't watch our videos after 2002. But they can't get enough of our Renaissance Era. They’ll watch those
tapes for hours.
It's time to put an end to the madness. It's time to equip
our students, our fellow judges, our newcomers and our fellow dancers with the
knowledge to walk into a studio, into a convention, into a workshop and say,
"Okay, that's Abstract and that's Pure West Coast." And then they can
make informed decisions. Then they can dance with freedom. Then they can
understand what they're watching. Then they can understand what's going on…
And then we can heal.
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From the bestselling book Telling the Truth:
The Groundbreaking Articles that Saved West Coast Swing
Photo from Australian Blogger: www.wcsblogger.com
