WHAT IS THE WEST COAST SWING REVOLUTION?
West Coast Swing (WCS) is a type of swing dancing that was developed in the 1930's-1950's. Many different types of swing dances were born during that period, including the Lindy Hop, the Carolina Shag, Hand Dancing and more. All of them are still danced today in a variety of locations by a variety of happy-faced demographics.
Ok. Not all of them are still danced today.
One of them is dead.
Not because it fizzled out... No...
This dance was shot dead - at its very height.
If you watch videos of the Lindy Hop of yester-year vs. the Lindy Hop of today, you would see very few differences. It's the same with Carolina Shag dancing. It's the same with Jitterbug. It's the same with a'll of the swing dances. Hand dancing, Steppin', everything - all swing all around the world... you will find it intact and happy.
Except for that one, solitary, murdered dance:
WCS.
What happened? The worst. In the mid-1990's gambling, drugs, politics and money splintered the dance into two communities: the social dance scene and the competitive scene. 99% of the highly talented Champions and traveling teachers in WCS during those 5 decades between its inception in the late 1940's all the way through until the final split in 1998 - were either forced out, left to teach on the fringe or stopped dancing altogether in protest and/or disgust.
The vast majority of the WCS community were ordinary dancers, though, who had formed social clubs and traveled every once in a while to watch competitions, not compete in them. Those who knew what had happened never attended a competition again. Those who didn't, still attended conventions blindly - many eventually sucked into the darkness that was left.
That's because the competition branch that splintered off created the unthinkable. A cult. A bonafide, true to form, scary, toxic, addictive and abusive cult. As with most cults, this one started behind closed doors, kept many secrets and money - money flowed everywhere - in the hands of the few. (See the breakdown of the cult in WCS in What is a Cult?)
The cult, rooted in the competition scene because the creators had the most power there, grew over the next five years, and took full hold of the international scene within ten.
The WCS community was infected - infected with the worst sort of disease. The corruption, score tampering and monopolies of the competition scene reached out to newcomers with a new invention called "The Points System," which made the dream of reaching the Champion level seem easily attainable. People were attracted, some beame addicted, and so the dance of WCS grew, under the World Swing Dance Council (WSDC), and became a global network.
The result was a stagnation in the dance's judges, winners, event directors and teachers for more than twelve years. Dancers outside of WCS call WCS the "Ponzi-scheme" dance, where vast amounts of monies are harvested from new and old WCS dancers and thrown into the pockets of the same small and select group of investors. (See My Problem with Points, History of Points, etc.)
Not surprisingly, the dance itself was destroyed. High heels and skirts were traded in for jeans and bras. The upbeat and exciting swing music, safe for every age to listen to, was replaced with misogynistic club music, explicit lyrics, thumping repetitive beats and the ballrooms moved from bright activity from all kinds of people, to monochromatic people - of the same age, race and economic background.
Add to this a massive shift in music - moving away from swing music, which ranges from 135 bpm to 185 bpm, into a Top 40 bass-driven sound. The songs vary, but the beats per minute do not - drumming away at 100-110 bpm. A Miami nightclub has livelier music, though not as loud. Events have taken to setting up booths with earplug vendors, so dancers can dance in the ballroom without causing damage to their eardrums.
Underage drinking and drugs are prolific and though parents pay a great deal of money for their children to follow promises of SYTYCD fame or US Open Swing Dance Championship wins, the same ten people have dominated the same 10 top spots for more than ten years. (See The Church, and The Ten, etc.)
The judges are related to the competitors and the competitors are related to the council members and the council members are related to the instructors... which choked out the need for skill, technique or training. The leading level of WCS, the chosen few, did not need to try any more, nor did they need to dance at fast speeds anymore.
So, in their languishings and their addictions, they started teaching their own inventions, easier movements, slow, walking, thumping versions... Abstract Improvisation was born. WCS was not just forgotten, it was banished. Dancers dancing are now marked down, shamed and driven off the floors, as well as its music. It went unchecked for years...
...and so the dance died.
The WCS Revolution is bringing it back.
We call the other dance that's been created "Abstract Improvisation." And though we, the Revolution, call for the separation and segregation of the two dances so that each of us may enjoy our own music and our own dances, the cult that is Abstract Improvisation demands annihilation of pure WCS only.
That is what cults do. They create hate. They make people chose: us or them. They disconnect with any who disagree with their "religion."
We are different. We are not the cult. Some of us have escaped the cult in WCS after years of abuse at their hands. Some of us saw the warning signs before joining the cult, but still wanted to dance WCS - without getting hurt.
We are WCS dancers - only. We have no wish to be a cultie. We wish to be dancers. Only.
THE WCS REVOLUTION SERIES
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is considered a revolutionary act."
I learned an amazing statistic recently. Newcomers hear of the WCS Revolution within only two weeks of discovering the dance. Two weeks! And there's a reason for that. They know you won't survive without it.
So now that you found me, it's time for you to read me. 95% of what you'll find on this blog is based upon the information in my first two books called Telling the Truth and Setting Dancers Free. I call them The WCS Revolution Series. To learn more, visit The Books page. See you there!
And welcome! We are so glad to finally have you here!
xoxo,
Katherine
