Stole the Show: Jordan and Tatiana's Last Routine

What you missed in Stole the Show
Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann's
"Final Bow" at the 2015 US Open

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
-Thomas Jefferson

Before you read the article I wrote today, I want to clear away some cobwebs first so that you can see it clearly.

Look. Talking about Jordan and Tatiana is a very difficult thing to do.

It's like talking about gun control. People lose their minds and talk nonsense no matter what side of the matter they fall on.

But here I am, trying to voice my feelings and an opinion about - basically - Tom Cruise to a crowd that either defected from or most decidedly belongs to Scientology.

But I caught things in the routine you most likely missed. 

I did grow up with them. They were my childhood friends, so to speak. And though what they've done to the dance of swing may crush me and though watching a routine that's only 15% swing again sickens me, like a punch to the stomach again... I loved it. I loved it for what it was. And that's what I talk about in my article today.

That may be a hard thing to understand or hear from me depending on where you stand today. So today I'm asking you to take a step back and just... hear me. Listen to me. Hear me out. Thank you.

THE LAST ROUTINE?

Jordan and Tatiana performed a new routine at the US Open this year. When I watched the video of it on Friday, just on the fly, I stopped it halfway through and said out loud, "Wait. What?" and called my husband.

I played the song and asked if I was crazy. "No," he said, "I'm hearing the same thing."

So I hit rewind and watched the routine from the start. I watched the whole thing. And then I saw it all. And there was a lot to see.

Basically they did a song that very much seemed like a huge goodbye to the dance community. Then, after performing that routine, they gave a sort of retirement speech at the awards ceremony. I wasn't involved in any of it. I was just an observer, but...

...in the end, I thought they did right by themselves.

Let's take a look at this Last Routine of theirs, shall we?

Their Song

Jordan and Tatiana used Kygo's Stole the Show, a beautiful song that's perfect for Abstract and seemingly written for Jordan and Tatiana's themselves... in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd think Kygo had personally written the song just for them and this situation. It certainly sounded like it.

The song speaks of a brilliant debut, large performances, playing to full houses, stages full of roses and then... the roses start to wilt. The thrill is gone. The show- it can't go on. It's time for our curtain call. Let's take our final bow.

But.... "at least we stole the show."

Didn't they ever! Isn't that exactly what they did? Well, they didn't just steal the show, they broke records, changed the dance, changed the sport, changed the game, created a whole different universe and wiped out another one. For better or for worse, they stole the freakin' show. That's exactly what they did. Amen.

But now they're ready to move on. That's good. Healthy. Long overdue, but still. They deserve an exit. We all do. But what I love the most is how they used this routine to do it.

What I Loved

It was an hommage. A perfect, beautiful and well done hommage to who they were and all that they had done.

In this light, I loved it. 

It was the hommage part of it that inspired me to write this article, not the fact that they are heading out the door. So let me point out my favorites.

First, Jordan and Tatiana were much more relaxed in this performance than I've ever seen them. And I can understand why. When you choreograph a routine to win or stay on top, that's one thing, but this was different.

It was a love letter instead. 

And love letters are easier to write and perform.

As a result, I felt like I saw more of them this time - the parts of them I loved growing up, and I saw more of the joy that comes with maturity and adulthood. There was strength and peace in that. I loved seeing 'reality' come out of them, instead of domination. They simply enjoyed themselves more this time around - they seemed to savor the performance and savor each other a lot more. Time felt like it was on rewind. We haven't seen those two in a long time.

Second, I loved their nods to the past. It's as though they wrote them in for those of us who were there for all of them. Here are some of my very favorites:

"Our debut was a masterpiece"

US Open/Partnership Debut:
Juniors 2001

#1. My number one favorite moment was at 1:27, when the song lyrics say "our debut was a masterpiece." Then Jordan and Tatiana illustrated that expertly by performing one of the "masterpieces" from their actual US Open "debut" by dancing their signature move from their Juniors Division routine. (They first entered Classic in 2001, when they finally met the age requirements, but their real debut was actually in the year 2000 when the hotel moved us over the room this second picture was taken in.)

That move has a lot of history for those of us who were there. Brilliant reminder. Brilliant hommage. Perfect for them.

#2. The next time the lyrics say "our debut was a masterpiece," they do the ever famous hip hitches in parallel second positions towards the audience at an angle - another move uniquely their own that debuted in their Strictly Swings long before it debuted in their More routine in 2011.

The parallel jackson featured in this routine was a throwback.
a classic move of theirs from Strictly Swings and demos

#3. Their beginning pose and shoulder movements in this routine referenced their famous Viva la Vida routine and its beginning "puppet on a string" shoulder movements that were meme'd so often. I did not love Viva la Vida, but I did love this reference simply because 1. it let everyone know at the very start that things were different this time and 2. they did it beautifully in sync and with greater control than I've seen from them for a first performance in a while. It was striking, poignant and relevant... for them. I loved it.

There were other things I loved, from the level of difficulty, to their return to a quiet start - rising to a spinning climax format - from their acknowledgement of their fans to their excellent acknowledgement of each other - it was a beautiful hommage beautifully done.

Their Own Dance

I'll be honest though. I also felt this was a fitting hommage for them because they didn't try to do West Coast Swing. I only saw 15%, which is pretty much where they were at before I started writing and you demanded more.

Instead, they did the dance they themselves created. They didn't do Club WCS or Pure WCS - they did their own version of Abstract Improvisation which they created themselves. Not only that - but they did it Oh so well!!! Oh, that was a really good thing to see - their grown up control, precision and grace. I was grateful for that.

So even though it wasn't swing - it was their own dance they developed to stay on top, killing swing in the process - still... I sincerely tip my hat to them for dancing it. There's an honesty in it that I appreciated, especially in a goodbye letter.

I have said for a long time that the dance Tatiana and Jordan do in their routines is one that only they themselves can do... and them alone. You can't learn their dance - you'd have to be remade with the same length of muscles as Tat has in her legs, to the same height as Jordan to the same centimeters in her heel... Get it?

This dance is them, and them alone.

Skippy scrapped her entire WCS syllabus and started over after Jordan and Tatiana came around. We never learned footwork that collides with one another - we were never taught that men go down the slot all the time and women get out of the way before... We went from syllabi that made sense and helped us grow into Champion dancers if we worked hard enough... into gyrating clones gyrating sadly and bumping, crashing, landing lumps on the floor. It's insanity.

But it makes sense when you realize that they were just trying to figure out how to duplicate Jordan & Tat's unique connection--- everyone is still trying to be them - but that's something only they can do.

Gone are the days of a syllabus that works. In are the days of cloning sub-par versions of the real thing. As such, it's terrifying to think of what the cult will become without its two idols to worship... because once they are gone, then BAM! All the ugliness will be unveiled.

Jordan and Tatiana made Abstract look good. They are the club which the bullies that make up the cult use to bash everyone and anyone they can get their hands on that thinks clearly or freely.

But who will be their club now? They hate anything old. They crave everything new. Who can possibly replace them? Because even J&T will admit their champion WCS training provided the basis for the dance they created. They needed the skill of control and tight connections first. And who has that nowadays?

But don't worry. The cult will survive. Scientology will survive the loss of Tom Cruise, if that ever comes to pass, and so will the cult in WCS, after losing Jordan and Tatiana.

What's Next?

At the awards ceremony Jordan and Tatiana took to the microphone to say that yes, they are retiring from the Classic Division, but that no, they are not going anywhere. They said that they'd been attending the US Open for 20 years, and that they plan on spending the weekend with this "family" of theirs for the rest of their lives.

Well. Here's what I think.

I think I've been in this community a long, long time. I think I know the way things are done and the way they play out. And so far, I haven't been wrong.

So I have no qualms about saying this:

I think they did say goodbye with this routine, and I think they did it well. I think they really aren't coming back - retirement speech or not. I think they'll be with us for a while... but they are slowly working their way out... starting now. 

I think we won't see another routine from them, and soon we won't see them at all.

That's a hard pill to swallow, especially for the "abstract/ convention" crowd, but I also want to point out that I have an eerily perfect track record on predictions about swing. They simply come to fruition. Freaky, but true.

So it may be sad, but it still is true: they are leaving us.

But I thought they gave us the perfect farewell gift: a routine that painted a portrait of who they were for future dancers, mirrored moments that we've loved from the beginning, gave moments of new inspiration for their followers and said that they loved us as much as we loved them.

I can see them ending in no better way.

This article is an excerpt from Weekly Note #111; JORDAN AND TATIANA'S LAST ROUTINE. 

2025 update: It was, in fact, their last competitive routine on the West Coast Swing classic circuit.

Parris Goebel: Brilliant Choreographer Sets World on Fire

Parris & her crew in the record-breaking "Sorry" video

Over the weekend, Billboard 200 announced that history was written last week. Adele's new Hello video broke YouTube viewing records, nearly doubling the number of views Taylor Swift snatched when she broke YouTube viewing records earlier this year with her ridiculously amazing Bad Blood video.

And as much as I love Adele, the video I was replaying all week, both online and in my head, was not her Hello video, but the other video Billboard wrote about in their announcement: Justin Beiber's Sorry video.

That's right. I said Justin Bieber. I'm kind of mad about that. I can't stand the guy. Ever since he wrote those awful things in the Anne Frank Museum guestbook, I've crossed him off as worse than a Nissy. Something much worse. But he's not in the video. Nope.

So how did it break records anyway?

This Dancer's Knee Surgery Story, P1: Going In

Knowing Our Knees in WCS

As my doctor was examining both of my knees, I thought back to when I first entered the world of WCS. I'll never forget the ladies at the US Open and at a few Tom Mattox events in Southern California who showed me their knees proudly: "See? I only have these three little round scars. That's it!" 

They were, of course, showing off the new kind of knee surgery available: Orthoscopic surgery. Instead of massive scars down the middle of the leg, which ruined the reason we wore skirts back then, knees were being taken care of with just three little knicks that could easily be covered up with a bit of concealer. Oh, how excited and proud they all were!

Of course, back then I was just a teenager. I knew nothing about knee surgeries. I didn't know about the huge scar down the middle of one's leg. I didn't know what a torn meniscus was, or the importance of healthy cartilage in my knees or how to protect them. I just saw three little holes, heard about a microscopic tube and thought - That's cool! 

Three little holes didn't scare me. It didn't make me understand what I was really seeing:

Passive-Aggressive Behavior in Dancing and Beyond

"Passive-agressive people are also known as 'the underminers.' They will smile to your face, but then stab you in the back. They will tell you they stood up for you, but they really helped sink you. They will give you a compliment, then follow it up with a negative notation. ("Nice skirt! On sale?") You try to help them get better, change, or understand what they've done, but do not bother. Passive-aggresives 'would rather be right than successful.'"

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I took down these notes and more at a medical seminar recently. I found it interesting that even the medical profession recognizes that this pattern of behavior is so prevalent in society that the general public needs to be trained, not just psychiatrists or sociologists. What about you? Who is passive-aggressive in your life? I find that women are much more passive-aggressive then men. We can be our worst enemies, whether on the dance floor or in the work place. Think of a woman you know in dancing who has been nice to your face, but cuts you off on the dance floor? Critiques your clothing choices, partner choices - any choices at all - right after complimenting you?

The Basics of WCS

The Slot of WCS

The dance of West Coast Swing (WCS) is extremely unique in the world of ballroom dancing. If you've ever taken a class for any kind of partner dance, like East Coast Swing, Waltz or Cha Cha, you'll remember that you were taught one basic step at the very beginning.

That "basic," as we teachers like to call it, or "basic step pattern" to be technical, became the foundation of all the other steps you learned. Let's say, for example, that you took a Salsa class. Once the class mastered the beginning basic you were then taught little "extras" to throw into that basic pattern - like an outside turn or an open break.

But always, when you were done, you returned to that basic pattern. That one single solitary basic. How nice. West Coast Swing? Not so nice.

#58: Changing the Essentials

Adding and Expanding the Essentials
of West Coast Swing
Weekly Note #58

It's not wise to violate rules, unless you know how to observe them. -TS Eliot
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I'm grateful that my editors allowed me to rework and expand my original articles before releasing them in Telling the Truth. It's a much, much richer read as a result. Today I want to talk about the updates and expansions you will find in Chapter Four: The West Coast Swing Essentials. There are about five in all, but I've addressed some recent trends in competitions, auditions and workshops too. Here we go!

Change #1: 

Swing Essentials vs. WCS Essentials

I wrote Swing Essentials before I'd researched or developed Tenets of Swing. Once both were out, people were confusing them. So this is just a very simple change. The WCS Essentials serve to help you identify West Coast Swing when you are watching it danced on the floor, especially during non-routine dancing. It certainly helps more with both than before they were developed. We went almost 60 years before any essentials were developed, but they have been praised by both the creators of the dance (yes! many are still with us thankfully!) and the true champions and legends of WCS today.

The Tenets of Swing, of course, are the things that bind all swing dancing together: Balboa, Shag, Jitterbug, etc. That article is also expanded in Telling the Truth, especially the section on Rock Steps. A single teacher outlawed them about ten years ago, and it's thrilling to see that they are making a comeback finally - as they should. They are an essential part - we lost 70% of all WCS patterns because of it.

To Be a Dance Teacher ©

The Minimum Requirements Before

Handing Out Your Card

Partner dancing is a complicated art. No matter what form of it you are doing, you are essentially bringing two separate people, with their own physical, mental and emotional strengths, gifts and weaknesses… together. And they must trust one another. One must trust him to lead. One must trust her to follow. And both must trust each other to dance in sync with the music.

And so, as in marriage, partner dancing can bring out the best and the worst in us. As all that we are unfolds in the arms of another on the dance floor, so must the teacher be aware of this delicate situation. And that’s just the start.

When it comes to teaching partner dancing, in this case West Coast Swing – What makes someone eligible to teach? In an ever increasing self-promoting society, where people will hand you "their card” within a month of learning the dance, it’s becoming more and more important to know what the requirements are for prospective instructors. What makes them worth investing your money and your time with? Just because someone says they are a teacher, or starts a class, doesn’t mean they should be teaching or should be gathering students to them.

It is now in the hands of students, clubs and organizational leaderships to evaluate and determine who is truly worthy of the title “Dance Instructor.” The following are the minimum standards that I believe every teacher who is worth an hour of anyone’s time must meet:

1. An instructor should be able to chart and phrase music.

Well trained aerobic instructors are required to understand the music they are playing for their classes. It is a well known and accepted practice. Since partner dancing generally requires a much more diverse library of music, it makes charting the necessity of this skill for any dance teachers’ training even more important.

Dance teachers should be able to chart and phrase both 3/4 music as well at 4/4 music, and must understand the “dancers count” instead of the “measures” that musicians use. They must understand the difference between the 1 and the 5 in 4/4 music and they must understand that the mini-phrase in 3/4 music is not 3 beats long, but 6 beats long, etc. They must know the difference between the mini-phrase and the major phrase, and must understand how to chart bridges, etc. I have seen numerous ways to chart music, and though I love my current method, I have never seen the other methods steer anyone wrong. A teacher should choose their method wisely, and then learn it well.

This ability to "chart" music is essential for every teacher who is in charge of bringing the music to light for students who are in the position of leading or following. Even if they don’t train the students in phrasing themselves, the mere knowledge of it lends to better instruction… from waiting for the intro of a song to pass before starting the call of a pattern, to ensuring they “finish” the complete phrasing of a pattern, instead of leaving the students half-way through a step, as so many do in say, Rumba, and ensuring the students are “off-time” as a result.

And if an instructor ever intends to choreograph, then it is simply impossible to do so correctly without charting out the music. I am consistently stunned at the errors current "choreographers" have made because they did not chart the music, leading their students into utter chaos, confusion and failure.

No matter what, this knowledge is a must.

2. An instructor should know the basic patterns of the dance.

Too often basic patterns are only taught or shared in the context of footwork. For some students and classes this might be enough, such as group lessons for entertainment at weddings, or perhaps a free introduction course. But a trained instructor, who is expecting to teach such things as weekly classes or private lessons, should most certainly know more than just the general footwork.

First let me say that it is essential that any teacher should at least know the basics for both the leader and the follower, no matter what gender the teacher is. They don't have to know their counterparts' patterns and techniques as well as they do their own, but they should definitely know all of the following when it comes to their counterparts' basics.

A trained and worthwhile instructor should not only know the footwork of the leader and follower during all basic patterns, but also their accommodating center movements, frame and hand positions. For example, all teachers should know where the hands go, where the center faces and where the feet go during each beat of every basic pattern. Obviously such positions can be delved into with great detail when it comes to higher levels of training, but for most teachers, a basic understanding of where the hands should meet (in the hold of Waltz vs. the hold of WCS, etc), where the bodies should face, etc should be enough for most classes and students.

Of course, the higher the level of the student, the higher the quality of the instructor should be. Advanced instructors should definitely have a much deeper knowledge of the positions above. For example, I, as well as a few other master instructors in WCS, can break down hand positions literally to the exact bone in the finger of someone's hand. We can explain the 'whys' behind each position and advanced technique.

I should also mention here that when it comes to the specific training for each of the basics, the parts, done correctly, will strengthen and improve a person's body, not wear down, feel uncomfortable or strain anything on one's body. When I give a student a hand position, and they say they've been given another, I always ask them to dance a few basics with each technique, and decide for themselves which technique feels better on their body. I have yet to find a student that didn't chose my technique- and that is a reflection my skill, my background and my in depth training. I encourage all students and instructors, before training with someone they know little about, to first ask who they have trained with as well as who they currently train with.

A good instructor is always a student too.

If they do not have a chance to do so, I encourage them to always ask themselves after a lesson... "Does this feel really good on my body?" And adopt or drop the technique accordingly.

3. An instructor should know the various calls that go with each pattern.

Some teachers only call a pattern in "quicks and slows." Some teachers only call a pattern by its numbers, or "count." Some teachers even swear by calling a pattern by the phrasing in the music. And others, in addition to numbers, only call in rolling count "& a 1 & a 2" or a straight count "& a 1 e & a 2 e."

For this reason, I believe all teachers should at least know about all of these calls, and what they mean. In my experience dancers look like stiff robots when they dance to a straight count call, but that's because I know the difference between a straight count and a rolling count. No matter what student I get, I can tell by their dancing which one they are doing. This is, of course, quite an advanced sort of eye, but still, I believe every teacher should at least be trained in the terminology, even if their eye is not developed.

It has also been my experience that, when teaching classes of about 100 students or so, 40-60% of the class will snatch up their Foxtrot or Rumba pattern when I call out the "count." Then I alternate to calling in "quicks and slows," and the other 60-40% instantaneously gets the pattern as well. After a while, I found myself consistently alternating between the two calls.

Most students do not notice at all, but it is always a purposeful choice on my part. If I call out 8 basics in a row of the Rumba, then I literally call out four of them using the "count" and four of them using quicks and slows. I alternating between the two at a rate that I find works for each particular class.

Sure, every once in a great while, I find a class in which 98% of the students respond only to the "count" call (engineers, anyone?) and sometimes I'll get the exact opposite. I never know, and therefore I never assume, and therefore I am prepared with an arsenal of tools and vocabulary that will work with no matter what kind of class I get.

And finally, when it comes to knowing the various calls, an instructor will be lost if they do not fully understand all of them and how they relate to one another. For example, every teacher should be prepared with the knowledge that a "quick quick" equals two weight changes during two beats of music and a "slow" means one weight change during two beats of music. And they should know how it’s different with a Waltz, etc.

A teacher should know exactly what "count" that single weight change occurs on, etc.  For example, when someone asks what the "count" is for a Country Two Step when the teacher has been calling "quicks and slows," then the teacher should be able to say that it's a 6 count pattern, and can call those counts in numbers as they dance, etc, etc.

Essentially, because there are so many ways of teaching out there, a true instructor should know what they all are, their differences and their relation to one another. I am not saying an instructor must absolutely teach in only one format, nor that they absolutely must teach in more than one, but I do believe that they must be trained in what all of them mean in relation to the basics of the dance they are teaching.

I certainly have my opinions on which produce better dancing, but that is for another article. For now, the vocabulary and the ability to switch between the calls of a dance’s basics is quite enough.

4. An instructor should master the art of weight changes.

It is my honest and heartfelt opinion that any teacher who intends to charge for their lessons, especially private lessons, must have mastered the art of changing weight. In essence, I mean that they have mastered the ability to lead and follow with their centers, and not their arms. 

This is perhaps the most difficult thing a teacher must learn to do, but it is essential. "Arm" leads & follows are almost always at the heart of partner dance injuries, along with hand holds (why I mention them in #2). There is no excuse for an instructor to put their students in harms way.

Yes, I'm saying that a teacher must be trained in "centering." In many ballrooms, instructors and students are trained to move their "core." In WCS, I was trained to narrow my body's center of movement down to the size of a golf ball in my solar plexus, whereas my friends who teach ballroom have narrowed their core down to the span of their ribcage.

Either one works for me when it comes to instructor training. If someone is leading by moving their "body"- i.e., their core, their solar plexus, their ribcage or their center... then they are usually using it to move their body's weight from one foot to another, allowing their frame to follow along.

Also, along with knowing the counts of the patterns I mention in points 2 and 3 above, a teacher must know that the counts and calls relate directly to weight changes. Again, if I call "quick, quick" in a Country Two Step, then I am aware that I am calling for two complete weight changes, occurring on counts "1" and "2" in the pattern, and often times, in order to help the class, the "1" and the "2" of the major phrase in the music.

All of these things... centering, weight changes, counts and calls... they relate to one another on almost every level. This is why it's so important that a trained instructor should understand them in regards to the dance they intend to teach.

5. An instructor should also know two other dances.

I know I'm going out on a limb here, but to be honest, this requirement comes as a result of the dancing and instruction that is inundating all partner dance communities today, especially West Coast Swing. 15 years ago, I never would have said that a teacher who wants to teach WCS would need to learn two other dances in order to be a good instructor.

But it is not 15 years ago. All partner dance communities, whether it be tango, ballroom or swing... they are all being affected by YouTube, TV Shows (DWTS, SYTYCD, etc) and the Millennial Generation. I talk about the cause & effects of these in great detail elsewhere, but for now, let's focus on the ever increasing results of these influences: 1. Dancers are no longer dancing "on beat" in many communities, 2. Dancers are unable to identify what music lends to what dance and 3. Dancers are increasingly dancing split weight.

In WCS, these three erosions are found worldwide. In other dances, such as tango, they are only occurring in certain cities or countries. But there are communities that seem much more "immune" to these three erosions... and all of those communities have one thing in common: the dancers in those communities all dance more than one dance.

Let's take Country Western for example. Country Western dancers are much more immune to Abstract Improvisation, a dance that is more on the Modern Dance side of things than a "lead & follow" partner dance. Why? Because CW dancers go to a dance and listen to every song that is played, and have to decide whether it is a Cha Cha, a Cowboy Cha Cha, a certain Line Dance, a Two-Step or a Waltz, etc. To survive in their communities, they must know what music lends to what dance.

Not only that, but their music tends to be faster, requiring a higher level of lead and follow, and therefore they are more "immune" to the other two erosions- split weight and off time dancing.  For example, if you dance a line dance and ignore the music, you will be completely run over in no time.

And that is why I believe all prospective instructors should learn two other dances. When a dancer knows more than one "lead and follow" dance, it "immunizes" them from the three common erosions. It prevents them from losing the character, the counts and the basic patterns of each dance once they start teaching, and helps them avoid the dangerous road of "do your own thing" no matter what the music or your partner is doing. I suppose if a teacher is being trained in ballroom, it is perhaps not as important to know another two dances, but it doesn't hurt, especially since erosions tend to spread like wildfire, especially with YouTube, etc.

But it is my absolute firm and resolved belief that anyone going into WCS, in the current climate, must absolutely know two other "lead and follow" dances. (I personally suggest one Latin and one Smooth, but that's just the educator in me.)

6. A prospective instructor will be able to identify Soft (Lyrical) Abstract Improvisation, Hard (Club) Abstract Improvisation and West Coast Swing when they see it and when they feel it in their partner.

Many local communities have already separated into their different dances... Abstract dancers go to one club and WCS dancers go to another. And this is good. This is healthy. They are two completely different dances with completely opposite goals, technique, mechanics and music. Abstract does not have basic patterns and it is not lead and follow and it is most certainly not centered.

Unfortunately, though, thousands of new dancers are going to YouTube to learn more about WCS, and Abstract Improvisation is almost all they will see and learn there instead.  As such, if an instructor wants to teach WCS nowadays, especially if they live near a large city or have a demographic that is very much "plugged-in," aka, "online" all the time, then an instructor should know about all three dances and how they are danced, so that they are prepared when students ask questions or want to learn certain "things" they've seen online. 

In California, where I live, most students are traveling to different dances with different instructors. As such, they are learning a variety of dances, Abstract, Zouk and Swing, all at the same time, and with everyone calling is WCS. They have been and are... utterly confused. And so, WCS teachers today, I believe, should be "in the know" when it comes to the dances out there on the floor.

And if you're a ballroom instructor? Well, I think you should know about what's going on in WCS too, because your dance might be next. Our "Abstract" instructors are waltzing their way in (no pun intended) to your studios worldwide. Sometimes your students see it for what it is right away... "Really? You want us to squat??? Really????" But not all students think for themselves or have as much training outside of WCS as you would think.

So in my opinion, anyone who teaches a partner dance should know what Abstract Improvisation is... because it's incredibly easy, incredibly deceptive and incredibly NOT in the bounds of any basic concepts held in any of the partner dances.

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And there it all is. My basic requirements for prospective dance instructors. Of course, I certainly welcome students to learn and master all of the above as well. There is not one thing here that will not make you a better dancer, a greater success and a more powerful person. I wish you the best. And partner dancing really can feed your soul better than much in this world... but only when you learn it right, when you learn it well, when you learn what works...

From a truly trained instructor.

'o Be a Teacher is copyrighted material. It can be found the collection of groundbreaking articles found in Telling the Truth: The Foundational Articles for Today's WCS, available in both Kindle and Print on Amazon.com.

The Tenets of Swing©

The Tenets of All Swing Dances

The Tenets of Swing is part of the collection of groundbreaking articles found in Telling the Truth, available in both print and Kindle. Grab your copy today on Amazon.com.

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The saying "Swing is Swing" has wreaked some havoc on our community. In 2009's US Open 7 out of 10 Classic Division finalists were violated for swing content.

The US Open, instead of taking a stand, wiped their judging slate clean and hired all new judges. Unfortunately, all of these "newer" judges had definite ties to each of the repeat finalists. And just to be sure, they picked a completely new scrutineer - a name-dropper with absolutely no spine... and of course, as expected, gave no violations himself.

But when the 2010 US Open took place, several of the new judges, who weren't used to judging for the Open, were extremely concerned with what they'd seen on the floor. NO ONE had swing, of all 30+ couples, except for a tiny little handful. And I do mean tiny.

So in the scoring room they asked, "What do we do about swing content??? Do you want us to leave non-swing out of finals... or in... or???" And Jack Carey's response was, with a big wave of his hand, "Swing is Swing," meaning... it's all swing. Keep putting my people in. Because none of them had done a lick of swing that year.

I came to find out just a few months later that Jack Carey was complaining about the competition floors - saying that he had no clue what he was watching anymore. He thought none of it was recognizable.

So. Swing really is swing. Unless it isn't. I have no idea why he is using the term "swing is swing" to do it, but he has used it to wipe out any definition of swing whatsoever lately.

But when I heard it used to justify the refusal to violate anyone on swing content on that very day in 2010, it made me wonder...

Exactly what IS swing?

What is its definition?

I don't just mean West Coast Swing. I cover that in West Coast Swing Essentials. I mean, what is it that makes a dance a "swing" dance, instead of a latin, smooth or folk dance? I began thinking. And I thought about all forms of swing... Balboa, Shag, Lindy, East Coast, West Coast... all of them.

And the more I studied, the more inventors I interviewed, the more legends I talked with and the more videos I watched (oh! the enormous amount of videos I watched!), the more settled I became upon the following points below. Once I had them, they locked in. I see them everywhere. No matter who I talked to, watch or see - they stand the test of swing.

I call them The Tenets of Swing©.

The Tenets of Swing Dancing©

#1. It's Lead and Follow

It may sound obvious, but a slew of teachers worldwide are telling students to "improvise" and "suggest" instead of actually leading and following. All swing patterns, no matter what form of swing you're dancing, require a leader who decides what moves take place and when, and a follower, who is responsible for following these leads.

2. The Follower Orbits the Leader

The different styles of swing have different types of orbits. Some have a circular orbit, some have a slotted orbit and some orbit in a nice tiny square. But any way you slice it, the man navigates the women around himself in some form of an orbit. Click here to see a video of the variety of swing orbits.

3. It has Fancy Feet

Rock steps, kicks, heel-toe action, shuffles, slides... oh my! You'll never see anyone call swing dancers "lethargic" will you? Nope. All the dances have quite a bit of energy, because they all require quite a bit of footwork. Every style has a totally different kind of footwork, but none of the styles are without it. If you have studied any of the ballroom dances, you'll know that they are all almost exclusively comprised of Single and Double Rhythms (Slows and Quick Quicks, etc, etc). Not so with the swing dances. On the whole they are comprised of rather complicated rhythms. The dancers are still on top and active on the bottom. In swing, it's the feet that do the talking.

4. It's Positive

I've said it before and I'll say it again: swing music, no matter what style you're dancing, will make you "check in." It makes you alive. It makes you want to live. To expand. To get out of your seat! Some forms of swing celebrate passion and some forms of swing celebrate life... but either way, it makes you feel brighter. It highlights the good things in life. It's not dark. It's not depressing. It's not degrading and it's most definitely not designed to make you "check out." I saw a routine recently that was so sad that it made you want to cry... and I felt my bones breaking a little. Swing shouldn't make anyone cry. Swing makes you... SWING!

___

And there you go! They've been in my head for six months now, and the more I study our history and watch our videos, I can see them all... over and over again... throughout the decades.

We are a passionate people, we swing dancers. But I believe that true swing dancing brings out the best in us... and when it brings out the worst, then perhaps the dance has lost it's way.

Let's start listening to our music again, and seeing if it really makes us want to live, to expand, to grow and to move... and let's look down at our feet and rediscover what they are made for... and let's rediscover the joy of true leading and true following.

Let's rediscover... swing. All of it. Far and wide. 

And let us, when we can, enjoy celebrating it together.

It certainly deserves at least that much.

xoxo,

Katherine Eastvold

One Year Anniversary: The Nissy

I can't believe it's been only one year since I released my very first article, The Nissy. Wow.

I can't help but notice that this is the very first topic I wrote on. I've written on so many topics since, but The Nissies needed to be addressed first for me. I'm learning that the fight against bullying, intimidation and arrogance without regard to consequences is a true calling for me. I've been fighting against this kind of abuse for years. I've seen clips of the new movie, "Bully," and I was horrified. When I was working in the public school system, I immediately nipped every sign of bullying in the bud. It's not difficult, especially with kids. And yet, no one in authority even remotely lifted a finger against it.

Read "What I Could Do Without: The Nissy."

Nissies are the worst of the bullies, because they are charming, wonderful and fun when things are going their way... when people don't question, don't think for themselves and stay submissive and/ or worshipful no matter what. Their true colors are only revealed when someone disagrees with them, when they believe their perfection is being questioned... when they feel their power is threatened in any way shape or form. When that happens, they turn instantly... the anger overflows and bursts in misguided and abusive cruelty. Anyone and everyone can be a target.

I was recently researching bullies and came across this quote. As graphic as it is, I believe it is more accurate than any quote on bullying I've seen yet.  Ugly as it is, it's true. So very very true---

If you let a bully come in your front yard...

he'll be on your porch the next day 

and the day after that 

he'll rape your wife in your own bed.

-Lyndon B. Johnson

WCS caved into bullies in the late 90's and we have paid the price every since. It's my hope and dream that the clubs and newcomers in our shaky WCS community will heed this quote and hold their ground when the Nissies come knocking. Because they will. They most definitely will.

Take courage and take a stand early. It will save you so much pain, drama and energy... that energy should be fully invested on the dance floor, yes? Yes!

Read "The Nissy."


And if you haven't already, 
click here to sign up for my FREE Weekly WCS Notes!


Enjoy joining over 42 countries (and counting!) and thousands of readers,  just like you!


With love & freedom,
Katherine Krok Eastvold

The Judging ©

How to Judge in Today's WCS Climate

The Judging is part of the collection of groundbreaking articles found in Telling the Truth: The Foundational Articles for Today's WCS. It is available in both Kindle and Print on Amazon.com.

___

I am a judge.

And I have sinned.

I was fooled by Abstract Improvisation. A couple of years ago, I left incredibly talented and highly trained and skilled Champion women out of finals.  "They aren't keeping up," I thought. “What’s wrong?”

They were being hit on the head, yanked, dragged, discombobulated and seemed to move slower than their leaders. I looked over at other newer, younger girls, who never batted an eye at their leaders. They just dipped, twirled and whirled with a big smile on their face. They flew around like the end of a lasso with seeming ease.

So I put the new girls in.

I am so sorry. I knew not what I did. I know so much more now.

My eyes were used to judging on those who "gelled" with their partners... those who had "seamless" dances. I didn't realize things had changed so much that is was time to watch for much more than that... no matter what the level.

The reality of what I saw: the clash of two dances. The Champion WCS women were trying to stay on time, trying to follow, trying to stay in a slot.  This spelled disaster with their Abstract men, who needed them to do anything but those three things.

And as a result, the Abstract women, who in reality were up high on their tippy toes, knees bent, tushies out, shoulders riding up to their ears, running around split weight, off time, pigeon toed and so uncontrolled that their man’s poor leads never showed in their bodies... looked unruffled. And thus looked… successful.

How wrong I was. I eliminated the most highly trained and skilled dancers on the floor that day... because they tried to do West Coast Swing.

I judge very differently nowadays.

Times have changed,

and therefore our judging needs to change.

The days of judging on the Three T's are gone. They work great when people are doing Pure WCS, or any other pattern and footwork based dance for that matter. But nowadays when I’m judging a “swing” contest, less than 10% are dancing “swing.” 

At Boogie by the Bay I watched two heats of Novice, with 40 couples in each heat, I saw ONE man lead West Coast Swing consistently. That’s 1 in 80 novice men. I saw a number of followers trying to do swing, but their partners did not take kindly to them, unfortunately. I hope I missed some real WCS men. I really really do. I know Abstract is not so dominant in other areas of the country, but still, I haven’t seen a floor where it isn't present to one degree or another.

So how do I judge now? I watch everyone’s feet. In every division. It reveals everything. And I mean everything. Try it sometime. You’ll be amazed. And then, as I watch the feet, I look for the following things in the following order.

THE NEW JUDGING METHOD

1) Look for anyone dancing real West Coast Swing.

If a leader is leading West Coast Swing, I put him in. If the follower is trying her best to do West Coast Swing, no matter what kind of lead she gets, I put her in.  The couples in finals that actually do West Coast Swing... they are automatically in my top five. Everyone doing West Coast Swing has first priority.  No matter what level.

How do I judge the WCS dancers against each other? It rarely happens anymore on the competitive circuit. I’ve seen in a few times in local clubs though. And when I see 2 or more couples clearly doing WCS, then I used the typical method: The Three T’s: Timing, Technique and Teamwork...

Anyone who judged during our Renaissance Era and earlier will find this easy, almost instinctive. Judging dancers doing the same dance is always easier. One day in the future, if a miracle occurs and there are two or more Pure WCS dances that have those Three T’s, THEN I go into Difficulty, Showmanship, etc.

We judges with training tend to assume dancers have the Three T's, especially in the upper levels, and then judge on difficulty (part of the reason rushed dips and tricks win), but we've forgotten that doing the Three T's right in Pure WCS is MUCH harder than any sloppy trick. Just ask my partner Josh. He has had to put in A LOT of hard work, even today... to dance WCS well when most of his peers are doing Abstract Improvisation.

As such, event directors and dance professionals outside of WCS have begun commenting on how amazing Josh is now dancing. But his “all-star” followers are furious. They can’t dance with him. They don’t know how. And the “all-star” leaders keep asking me what he’s doing differently, because his pictures suddenly look so amazing when theirs don’t. It’s a crazy world out there. It’s time to award real swing above all else, and the Abstract dancers will learn it’s time to catch up.

2) Look for anyone who is dancing ON TIME.

After placing and ranking all my WCS dancers, I move on to who is actually ON TIME. Not ahead of it, not before it, but ON the beat of the music. I look at the dancer’s feet, and if the leader is actually being purposeful with his feet and the beat of the music, then I put him higher than the men shuffling their feet randomly. Same with the women. If they are keeping their feet in accordance with the music rather than completely ignoring it, then I put them in under the WCS dancers, even if the WCS dancers aren’t as tight with their timing.

Now here's the key. When I say "on-time," I’m referring to the beat of the music, not the lyrics or the melodies. So many teachers are telling students that being “on time” is dancing to the lyrics, the melodies or something other than the BEAT. That’s ridiculous in any lead and follow dance, not just WCS. So I’m looking for a dancers’ relation to the beat, whether it’s an obvious rhythm or not. 

A quick tip is to start counting the music, "& a 1, & a 2, & a 3" BEFORE looking at a dancers’ feet, then keep counting, and THEN look at their feet. Too many judges try to do both at the same time and starting counting to the feet rather than the music. Don’t fall into that trap.

Now, if you see their feet actually wait for the ‘1’ to do a weight change, etc, etc, then I can start to rank them. Abstract dancers look effortless from the waist up because they are hitting breaks in the music ‘upstairs’ while completely ignoring the music's beat with their feet downstairs. Look down, not up, to see the real story, and your judging will become much easier.

Another popular trick is to start the dance on time with their partner… say, for the first 16 beats, and then they go nuts afterwards. This is so confusing for the real WCS dancers. They think they understand what’s going on, and then all of a sudden the dancing goes into random lyrical or club wanderings. I only place those who stay on beat throughout the whole dance, not part of it.

This goes for routines too. Because dancers are getting choreography from more than one source, I watch their routine switch between on beat patterns and then suddenly dance as if there is no beat, and then switch back. It hurts my brain. And leaves the audience stilted and confused. I’m looking for an entire dance to be on beat, not just part.

3) Look for body control (dance technique and training).

More and more I’m hearing stories that the trained female dancers left on our competition floors are being told to "dirty up" their dancing and to stop being so "controlled." They are literally being “shamed” into messy dancing.

The other term I’m hearing a lot these days is “great energy.”  “I’m looking for the dancers who have great energy out there,” I’ll hear a judge say. I’ll ask them to point out who they think exhibits great energy, and they will point to the sloppiest, craziest and most flamboyant dancer on the floor. The one that clearly doesn’t know what they are doing, who could care less what their partner is doing and who is clearly unaware of that little thing called training.

“I’m just here to have fun,” these dancers say. Fun? Have fun on the social floor. Not on the competition floor. Not unless your idea of fun is dancing well and with your partner. The very definition of “dance competition” is the idea of who can dance better than anyone else on the floor. It’s not about who can goof off more than anyone on the floor… it’s a DANCE competition, not a fool and flagrant competition. No wonder injuries are knocking out dancers for six months to a year.

Anyone off the street can be fun, wiggle and get wild… but fun can’t be practiced, it can’t be taught in a class and it should never be rewarded in an actual dance competition.

Training and control is essential. You can't be a good leader if you aren't controlled. You can't be a good follower if you aren't controlled. You can't create, can't grow, can't expand without growth of skill... and that all amounts to how much control we have over our bodies. I look for dancers who are purposeful with their movements. If they stand tall with their shoulders down and back, their butt tucked underneath their bodies, dancing over one foot vs. split weight, then I promise you, they'll stand out on the floor.

Forget the dancers they say have “energy,” when in fact it means a little crazed and frantic. This is a dance competition. And a good dancer is nothing without control… so much control that one flick of a finger is more powerful and eye-catching than any booty shake.

4) Look for who is leading and following.

Is the man actually looking at his partner and leading her? Is the girl really trying to follow the man?  I hate judging Abstract Improvisation, but there are some who actually lead it and some who actually follow it.  It is so important to start emphasizing lead and follow once more. I watch for body leads instead of arm leads. I'm looking for attentive leaders and attentive followers. And by attentive, I don't mean they are looking each other in the eye... I mean they are looking where they are going, paying attention to each other's centers, trying to be in-sync with their partners.

5) Look for real dancing.

When I have to scrape the barrel and put people in I really don't want to, I look for those who are at least "trying" to dance with their partner, instead of the ones who are simply performing for themselves out there. I never place those who compete for themselves. Nissies don't make great partners on the floor... a humble spirit is always a plus on the dance floor.

6) Don’t worry about violations.

A violation literally holds NO weight in our judging system. It doesn’t change one’s placement, ranking or points. But it does put a target on the judges’ back, or makes the couples and competitors confused. I can’t think of a single reason to violate anyone when it doesn’t do anything at all. I say everything in my scores. 

In 2009 seven out of the ten finalists in the US Open Classic Division were violated for swing content. Seven out of ten! But all the dancers who weren’t violated were placed at the bottom of the scoreboard. How ridiculous is this? It’s a SWING competition! Swing is right their in the event’s name: The US Open SWING Dance Championships. You’d expect the swing routines to be at the top of the scores, not the bottom. But violations give judges an excuse to skip that little piece of logic. So when it comes to violations, don’t worry about them. This judging system makes them irrelevant.

What about ‘flash and trash’?

When I see a lot of dipping, dropping and sliding, I've noticed that it's always by Abstract dancers that don’t have any of the skills I just listed. It's time to start seeing these flashy moves as a red flag rather than a sign of success. These slides, slips and tricks have hurt so many women, even the professionals, because they are no longer done with control or technique.

These tricks are never really led, never mind being led on beat.  It's only the girls who are uncontrolled enough to be thrown around that succeed in these moves.  And when pictures are taken, the chaos is revealed. Shoulders high, feet splayed, pigeon toes, crunched necks… not long, lovely or powerful lines. Audiences will cheer when a follower slips and slides randomly on her knees, but our scores are supposed to reflect success, not mess.

Sadly, all of the champion women I judged a few years ago have all left the competition floor. I can’t say that I blame them, but I will never forget that I played a part in that loss. I strongly urge you to start judging as if the Three T’s are automatically in existence. They aren’t. Be aware of the two dances, be aware of the difference between a charming, funny dancer and a good one, and don’t let the scores of other judges affect your own.

Be a good judge, not a good politician.

We have lost almost all of our talent in the upper levels. Let’s not lose the new talent coming into the dance… and let’s let our competitors know that we’re looked for GOOD DANCING again, not BIG DANCING.

This article is copyrighted. Buy The Judging and other groundbreaking articles in Telling the Truth: The Foundational Articles for Today's WCS. It is available in both Kindle and Print on Amazon.com.