West Coast Swing dancing videos and lessons

West Coast Swing, a partner dance in the swing tradition, is based on the Lindy Hop, but is smoother and more stationary. An early name for the dance was Sophisticated Swing. As opposed to East Coast Swing and Jitterbug, West Coast Swing, or WCS, is a “slotted” dance style, which means the leader remains more or less stationary while the follower is led back and forth within an imaginary rectangle, making the dance perfect for tightly packed clubs or the aisles of performance halls.

Dancer and choreographer Dean Collins has been credited with introducing a “Savoy Style Lindy” or “Slotted Lindy” in Los Angeles around 1937. Though Collins himself never claimed credit for inventing West Coast Swing, he was certainly influential in making slotted style popular in California dancehalls starting in the late 1930’s.

The origin of the slotted style—one of the key features of West Coast Swing—is lost in the midst of myth and hearsay. One popular theory is that the slot was developed to make filming the dance easier. Due to the highly sophisticated techniques available to cinematographers by the late 1930’s, and the number of movies showing dance scenes filmed from all angles, this theory doesn’t hold much water. The movies may not have created the style, but the style did create some great cinematic dance moments: Don’t Knock the Rock (1956) makes the imaginary “slot” visible by featuring dancers on tables and sofas.

Another justification for the slotted style arose with World War II. The style made it easier for sailors and soldiers on leave to dance, regardless of their abilities or level of drunkenness. Since the movement is mainly performed by the “follower,” the “leader” is fine as long as he remains standing.

WCS was further developed in dance studios during the 1950’s when it was also called Western Swing. Dance pioneer Arthur Murray is often credited with both the alternative name and many of the dance’s developments during this period, as is his protégée Skippy Blair, who continues to teach the style.

Signature steps of a West Coast Swing sequence include the opening two step “walk forward” motion and the closing Anchor Step — a rock back, forward, and back, (three steps on 2 beats). The Anchor Step leaves the dancers at the full length of their slot, facing each other with the weight on the back foot so they are ready to begin the next combination. Other standard steps include various under-arm-passes and side-passes, the Open Two-Hand Tuck Turn, and the Sugar Push.

West Coast Swing was danced to “rock and roll” music in the 1950’s, disco music in the 1970’s, and is now often performed to blues, funk, pop, or R&B, as well as the traditional swinging jazz. These days, the term Western Swing is more often used to refer to a highly danceable genre of country western music than to a particular swing dance style.

West Coast Swing is the official state dance of California, making that state one of the proud few that officially honors twentieth-century dances.