West Coast Swing (WCS) is a partner dance derived from Lindy Hop. It is characterised by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection, and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together. Partner dance. ... Dancing the lindy hop at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Sacramento, California, USA (2006) Lindy hop is an African American dance that evolved in New York City in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ... Connection is essential to all partner dancing. ... In slotted dances, the dance slot is an imaginary narrow rectangle along which the follower moves back and forth with respect to the leader, who is more or less stationary. ...

Typically the follower walks into new patterns traveling forward on counts "1" and "2" of each basic pattern, rather than rocking back. [1] The Anchor Step is a common ending pattern of many West Coast Swing figures.[2] In partner dancing, the two partners are labelled as the leader and the follower, or lead and follow. ... Rock step may refer to one of similar dance moves. ... The Anchor Step is the terminating step pattern of nearly all main West Coast Swing dance moves. ...

History

It is believed that the origins of the WCS are in Lindy Hop. Dean Collins was influential in developing the style of swing danced on the West Coast of the United States. Collins arrived in the Los Angeles area around 1937. Dancing the lindy hop at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Sacramento, California, USA (2006) Lindy hop is an African American dance that evolved in New York City in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ... Dean Collins, born Saul Cohen on May 29, 1917, in Columbus, Ohio, was an American dancer, instructor, choreographer, and innovator of swingdance. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ...

In a 1947 book, Arthur Murray recognized that, "There are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type. Each section of the country seems to have a variation of its own." ^[1] One of Murray's dance instructors, Lauré Haile, documented swing dancing as done in the Los Angeles area. She named it "Western Swing". In 1951 she first published her dance notes as a syllabus, which included Western Swing for the Santa Monica Arthur Murray Dance Studio.[3] This dance was also called "Sophisticated Swing" in the 1950s. [4] Arthur Murray (April 4, 1895 – March 3, 1991) was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name. ... The Jitterbug is a swing dance, a subset of Lindy Hop, with an emphasis on 6-count moves and fast spins. ... Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California USA, by the Pacific Ocean, south of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, west of Westwood, Los Angeles, and north of Venice. ... Arthur Murray (April 4, 1895 - March 3, 1991), a dance instructor and businessman, was born in New York, New York as Moses Teichman. ...

Western swing, country boogie, and, with a smaller audience, jump blues were popular on the West Coast throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s when they were renamed and marketed as rock 'n' roll in 1954. Western swing is, first and foremost, a fusion of country music, several styles of jazz, pop music and blues aimed at dancers. ... Boogie-woogie is a style of blues piano playing that became very popular in the 1940s and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, and country and western music. ... Jump blues is a type of up-tempo blues music influenced by big band sound. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

West Coast Swing is the basis for the dancing in the rehearsal scene in “Hot Rod Gang” (1958).[5][6] Music is supplied by rockabilly musician Gene Vincent’s “Dance to the Bop”. [7] The song alternates between very slow sections and those with the rapid pace and high energy of rockabilly. Choreographer Dick DiAugustine includes recognizable patterns such as the chicken walk, swing out from closed position, etc, along with the classic woman’s walk walk triple step triple step at the end of the slot. On the final step of the second triple the women are weighted left with the right heel on the floor and the toes pointed up. Dancers also do classic Lindy flips at the end of the slot, as well as non partner, non West Coast Swing movements. Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, and emerged in the early-1950s. ... Gene Vincent, real name Vincent Eugene Craddock, (February 11, 1935 - October 12, 1971) was an American rocknroll pioneer musician, best known for his hit Be-Bop-A-Lula. // His parents, Ezekiah Jackson and Mary Louise Craddock, were shop owners in Norfolk, Virginia. ...

The name "West Coast Swing" was used in a little known hand book for Arthur Murray dance studio teachers in the 1950s, but the Murray studios used the term "Western Swing" on charts. [8] West Coast Swing as the name of the dance in its current form was first used in an advertisement by Skippy Blair in 1962, but wasn't incorporated into mainstream swing circles until the late 1960s. [9] Blair credits Jim Bannister, editor of the Herald American newspaper in Downey, for suggesting the name West Coast Swing.[10]

Murray's taught Western Swing with the walk steps as counts 5 and 6, following a coaster step on counts 3&4. Although the dance remained basically the same, the Golden State Dance Teachers Association began teaching the walk steps as counts 1 and 2, and with an anchor step replacing the coaster step in 1958.

In 1988, West Coast Swing was pronounced the Official State Dance of California. ^[2] This is a list of official U.S. state dances:[1] This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ...

Slot

WCS is a slotted dance: the follower travels back and forth along a shoulder-width rectangle, called the slot, with respect to the leader. The leader is more stationary but will move in and out of the slot depending on the pattern led. A general rule is that the leader leaves the slot only to give way for the follower to pass him. In slotted dances, the dance slot is an imaginary narrow rectangle along which the follower moves back and forth with respect to the leader, who is more or less stationary. ... In slotted dances, the dance slot is an imaginary narrow rectangle along which the follower moves back and forth with respect to the leader, who is more or less stationary. ...

There are urban myths regarding the origin of the slotted style. According to one version, it was an invention of Hollywood film makers who wanted “dancers to stay in the same plane, to avoid going in and out of focus”.[11][12] Wide angle lenses with adequate depth of field for cinematography had in fact been available since the 1920s. [13] A variation on the "Hollywood film maker" theme is that film makers wanted "to avoid filming the backs" of dancers. A viewing of films featuring the work of Dean Collins in the 1940s, and rock 'n' roll films made in the mid 1950s reveals the fact that dancers turn frequently and inevitably turn their backs to the camera.^{[3] [4]} Although another unslotted swing dance, Balboa, became popular in the same area and under the same conditions, much has been made of "jitterbugging in the aisles" as a source of the slotted style. Urban Legend is also the name of a 1998 movie. ... Balboa is a form of swing dance that started as early as 1915 and gained in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. ...

Slotted moves were a common part of the step vocabulary of Lindy and/or Jitterbug dancers during the 1940s and 1950s. Rather than the walk, walk of West Coast Swing, however, two sets of triple steps were used when the woman moved down the slot, followed by a rock step rather than the current triple and anchor step. ^[5]

Music

The origins of the dance that became known as West Coast Swing can be traced to the Swing Era. During this period many jazz, blues, and western musicians incorporated, or emphasized, the “swing” in their music. By the later half of the 1950s the early styles of rock 'n' roll had become the most popular music for dancing, and West Coast Swing like moves can be seen in rock 'n' roll films made in that era.^[6] The film "Hot Rod Gang" shows West Coast Swing being done to the song "Dance to the Bop" by rockabilly musician Gene Vincent. The strong rhythmic groove of funk, and soul provided the most popular dance music from the mid 60s into the 70s, a period not known for partner dances such as swing. In the mid 1970s, disco music and dancing repopularized "touch" partner dancing. By the 1990s country western dancers were dancing West Coast Swing to contemporary country western songs. West Coast Swing is now one of many dances done at country western venues. In practice, West Coast Swing may be danced to almost any music in 4/4 time, and music of many different styles may be found in an evening of West Coast Swing dancing. The Swing Era was the period of time (1935-1946) when big band swing music was the most popular music in America. ... Rock and roll - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... This article is about the music genre. ... The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and what note value constitutes one beat. ...

Styles

West Coast Swing can be danced to almost any music written in 4/4 time at speeds ranging from very slow to very fast, but the character of the dance changes over that range. At the slowest speeds the dance tends to exhibit a highly elastic connection with the possibility of very sexy, "slinky" walks for the lady, and a slight backward leaning poise at the full extent of the connection. At faster speeds the partners become more upright and the connection shortens with more of a "push and pull" feel and look.[14]

Two styles of West Coast are "Classic W.C. Swing (pulsing down) and "Funky or Contemporary W.C. Swing" (pulsing up) with the basic steps being exactly the same. Dancing to different types of music gives a different feel and look. [15]

Classic WCS

The style of WCS that matches the "classic" WCS music featured by swung eighths. In this style the "split-beat" steps are typically counted as: "1 a2"; "3 a4"; "a3 4"; etc. Here "a" denotes the intermediate beat "swung" away from the strict middle position and splitting the beat approximately 2:1. For the comparison, the "a" in "1a2" of Samba rhythm splits the quarter note 3:1, i.e., it "splits off" a 1/16, so it is "straight" in the sense of binary note duration nomenclature. Musically, swing can be either: (written with small s) the rhythmic feeling evoked by swinging music, esp. ... Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Brazilian origin in 2/4 time danced under the Samba music. ...

Funky WCS

A more contemporary style of WCS that matches American pop music, which has square rhythms. In this style the "split-beat" steps may well be counted in strict time: "1&2"; "3&4"; "5&6"; etc., to match the music. For the music genre, see Pop music. ... For the popular Tamil film, see Rhythm (film). ...

The Classic WCS elements of standard step patterns were modified or replaced. For example, the anchor step, the cornerstone of the classic WCS, was often replaced by "hook-replace-side" triple step. This was a short lived replacement, however, as it was realized that this terminal step destroyed any semblance of connection that a proper anchor step provided. Better staying power was afforded body motions such as ripples, snaps and pops, which some professional dancers have incorporated as a permanent part of their styling. The Anchor Step is the terminating step pattern of nearly all main West Coast Swing dance moves. ... Triple Step is a generic term for dance step patterns that describes three steps done on two main beats of music. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Snap as a dance move is a brisk, abrupt body/head/arm/hand action varying in style in different dances. ...

The "Funky WCS" classification in recent years has fallen by the wayside with the communal realization that WCS done to contemporary music is no different from WCS done to straight up blues. With the exception of footwork, funky and classic styling may be performed to any genre of music. Blues music redirects here. ... Footwork refers to dance technique aspects related to feet: foot position and foot action. ...

Beginning moves

At basic and intermediate levels, most dancers start the dance with a 4-Beat Starter Step. [16]

The most basic of patterns in WCS is as follows.

• Lead: 1 step back with the left foot, 2 step back with right foot, 3&4 triple step (LRL), 5&6 triple step (RLR). In this basic pattern the leader remains facing his partner throughout the pattern.
• Follow: Beginning with the right foot, take two steps forward 1,2 (R,L), 3&4 triple step past the leader (RLR), 5&6 triple step LRL, while turning to face the leader.

A few basic moves that any WCS dancer should know are listed below, and performed with the same step-step-triple-triple pattern.

Open position

• Underarm pass: A six-count basic where the follower is led to the other end of the slot, passing the leader underarm on the right.
• Left side pass: A six-count basic where the follower is led to the other end of the slot, passing the leader on the left.
• Sugar push or Push Break: A six-count basic where the follower, facing the leader, is led from the end of the slot to a one or two hand hold, then led back to the same end of the slot.
• Tuck turn: This is like a left side pass in six counts, but the leader raises the left arm signaling the follower to turn under the leader's arm (an outside turn).

Closed position

• Return to close: In six counts, the follower is led 3/4 of the way around the leader into closed position.
• Starter step: Two triple steps in closed position to begin the dance, so that the leader and follower can get in sync with each other.
• Throw out: A six count basic where the follower is led from the closed position to open. Leads: Triple-step left, triple-step right, step forward with left and follow starts to move forward as well, push from frame of follow out down to the end of the slot.

• Whip The follower starts at one end of the slot and is led around the lead, to the same end of the slot she started. The follower stays in her slot, pivoting, then coming back to where she started. The leader steps in and out of the slot, creating smooth, elastic look.

In couple dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other. ...

Advanced dancers and moves

Advanced dancers will break the rules. Rather than lead or follow pattern after pattern, both leaders and followers shorten or extend counts, play with the music, and express themselves with the dance.

Advanced West Coast Swing moves are merely variations of the basic moves done by using two hands connected, changing hands, and utilizing stops and reversal.

Some specially named advanced moves are:

• Sugar tuck: Like a sugar push, but ends with a two-count underarm turn, or a tuck turn without changing sides.
• Cement mixer
• Basket whip: Two hands together to start, lead performs an inside turn with the left arm to the "sweetheart" position facing the same direction as the follow, then pulls the follow backwards to her original position pulling the left arm over the follow's head to unwind them.
• Man around the woman
• Woman around the man
• Reverse whip: A whip with the follower turninng left on the first half.
• Reverse close
• Chicken Walks a.k.a.: Lindy swivels

Steps are similar from both feet. ...

Example dance

1. Sugar push, taking both hands.
2. Tuck turn in place.
3. Underarm turn with hand change.
4. Underarm turn, taking both hands.
5. Double underarm turn with both hands.
6. Underarm turn, catch in whip.
7. Repeat.

Competition

As with many other couple dances, there are competitions for West Coast Swing. The United States Swing Dance Championship, also known as the U.S. Open, is held each year on Thanksgiving weekend.

References

1. ^ How to become a Good Dancer by Arthur Murray 1947 revised edition
2. ^ Official State Dance of California
3. ^ Buck Privates (1941), Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942), Four Jills in a Jeep (1944), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
4. ^ Rock Around the Clock (1956), Rock, Rock, Rock (1956), Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1956), The Girl Can't Help It (1956), Rock Baby, Rock It (1957), Untamed Youth (1957), Go, Johnny, Go! (1959)
5. ^ Buck Privates (1941), Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942), Four Jills in a Jeep (1944), The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)
6. ^ Don't Knock the Rock (1956), Rock Around the Clock (1956), Rock, Rock, Rock (1956), Rumble on the Docks (1956), Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956), The Girl Can't Help It (1956), Rock Baby, Rock It (1957), Untamed Youth (1957), Go, Johnny, Go! (1959)

Arthur Murray (April 4, 1895 – March 3, 1991) was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name. ... Buck Privates is the 1941 comedy/World War II film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bonafide movie stars. ... Ride Em Cowboy is a 1942 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. ... The Horn Blows at Midnight is a comedy fantasy starring Jack Benny made in 1945. ... Dancers Earl Barton and Lisa Gaye take the stage in Rock Around the Clock as Bill Haley and His Comets play in the background. ... Now widely considered Chuck Berrys first album [1], Rock, Rock, Rock (Chess LP-1425) was originally marketed as a soundtrack album for the motion picture of the same name, which was not true. ... Shake Rattle and Rock! is the name of a 1956 American International Pictures film and its 1994 remake. ... The Girl Cant Help It is a 1956 comedy, musical film, starring Jayne Mansfield, Tom Ewell, and Edmond OBrien. ... Buck Privates is the 1941 comedy/World War II film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bonafide movie stars. ... Ride Em Cowboy is a 1942 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. ... The Horn Blows at Midnight is a comedy fantasy starring Jack Benny made in 1945. ... Dont Knock the Rock was a 1956 rock and roll film starring Alan Dale as a rock star who returns to his hometown to rest up for the summer only to find that rock and roll has been banned there by disapproving adults. ... Dancers Earl Barton and Lisa Gaye take the stage in Rock Around the Clock as Bill Haley and His Comets play in the background. ...

External links

• World Swing Dance Council
• Sonny Watson dance history archives: West Coast Swing
• No Fee Demonstration of 8 West Cost Swing patterns
• Swing Videos - videos of Swing performances