Hi all!

I have been looking for information on a couple of things and I don't have dance classes near me. The first is that I've always thought that when dancing the follow role we were supposed to do pivot turns for most things. Today I saw a blip on Facebook saying that we were supposed to do chaine turns. Can someone help clarify?

The second is that I've been looking for how to do rides/1 foot spins. I'd be willing to pay for a video, but I've struggled to find anything that clearly breaks down how to lead and follow those. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks! Happy dancing! 😊

I live in a city where there is almost no WCS higher level instruction. They bring in an instructor from out of town maybe twice a year, and then the local instructors usually do not offer private lessons. A few of them teach bad habits and it is obvious.

I really want to improve my dancing, and I consume and practice online instructional videos multiple times a week. But without outside feedback, I feel as if I’m reinforcing bad habits and incorrect technique in my dancing and body movement. I am a trained solo dancer, but partner dance feels like a completely different animal.

I have tried to get privates with people when they come through town, or when I travel to WCS events, but those have started not feeling very productive either because they only see a fraction of my dancing and not the full scope of my movement like a long-term instructor would.

Traveling for events is also very expensive, and I can’t do it nearly as often as I’d like.

Do y’all have any advice?

I'm asking a few friends (follow) to practice 1:1 with me (lead). Some of them take the same classes as me (so we're learning the same thing), but not all. Some of them are much better than me, and some I'm better than.

What's the best way to structure our 1:1 practices to make them fun and productive for both dancers?

In the past I used to 'practice' with my exe at home which was fun but super unproductive. We just practiced patterns from class and then a freeform 2-person social, but I don't always feel like I worked on any of my learning objectives.

My learning objectives as a lead (musicality, clarity of lead, pattern drilling, etc) are often divergent from those of a follow, and I'm not sure how to combine both in the same practice session. Also, being at different skill levels sometimes turn the session into a 1-sided teaching session the other person didn't ask for. If we don't take the same classes, or learn from the same teachers, the styles or dance philosophy or even just patterns are so different we don't agree on what is 'correct'. I'm not at the level where I can absorb conflicting concepts taught by different teachers yet.

Also, any norms for practice partners? What's the expected cadence, is pre-class OK, do we need someplace with really good floor, is small group practice less awkward than 1:1 with random classmates, etc?

Appreciate any tips you can share!

Per title.

I'm currently thinking of creating a local community server, wondering if anyone else has one, what works, what doesn't.

I'm still a beginner, but I feel like I can have an enjoyable dance with most leaders during our local socials, which was my first goal, so I'm happy about that.

Still, during almost every dance there are some miscommunications happening that I notice, probably a lot more that I don't notice cause the leaders make it look like that was exactly what they wanted to lead anyway.

Sometimes I just don't know what they want me to do, like, they change the direction and point of connection so many times that I don't know where I'm supposed to go anymore, how much to turn etc. In other cases I feel surprised by their rhythm changes, stops or redirections, especially if I don't hear them coming in the music. I end up out of balance or just watching them do fancy footwork while trying to keep up.

I already try reacting a bit slower, waiting for a clearer lead when in doubt, not commiting my weight too fast. This helped in some cases, but made it worse in others, especially during fast, rhythmic songs where I felt late that way.

Is there any way for me to to train that "listening comprehension"? Or does it always stay that way even with improving skills, because you try more complex moves, so there is always some level of miscommuncation to be expected? I noticed this happens more with more advanced leaders.

I don't see it that much when watching other dancers, but maybe I don't see it from the outside cause they hide it better?

If you didn't see it yet, we have been working for a long time on westiehub.dance adding tools and ways to plan events and connect with people and we are running with a new game to try guess song from few second.

I would love some feedback about the game and generally about the app too🕺💃

westiehub.dance/masterdj

I rarely dance in cotton shirts because they're too warm. I would like some WCS event shirts that I can dance in, but most of them are cotton.

So -- I'm tempted to go to an event that has the right merch. Anyone know of events with non-cotton event shirts? I know that TAP used to have some.

Hi! I‘d love to learn judging through other channels than just mockjudging. I‘ve heard about workshops at events specifically for this but no event that I‘ve been at had these. Do you guys know of any online courses or teachers that offer something like this?

Kind regards!

I've been attending WCS group classes for about a year, learning to lead basic steps, until I started feeling that the classes stopped being productive (I have leading experience from the previous dance).

I would like to continue developing in this dance, but not sure what's a good way.

One approach I'm considering is to take solo dancing classes, like ballet/jazz/contemporary (I have tried those classes and I see I have a lot to do there), and have solo dancing as my main training.

In the meantime, just dance WCS at socials, learn some new figures from YouTube, occasionally film myself and think what could be done better/differently.

In other words, use the "street-learning" approach for WCS, but study solo dancing academically.

Would this be a good approach to continue developing in WCS, has anyone tried such an approach?

Hi everyone,

I'm really struggling as a new-ish follower (dancing for a while but super casually, so probably many bad habits) to get the delayed weight transfer right, especially when travelling forwards/backwards. We did some drills in my local group but that was mostly "rolling through the feet" without really travelling and I feel like I just can't really translate that into forward/backward movements well.

I hadn't really noticed it myself beforehand but I filmed myself dancing recently and visually it's super obvious that I start my weight transfer too early/am too far split weight too early. Funnily enough I asked some of our local leaders (not that advanced either though) and they don't feel like I'm walking out of the connection, so I seem to compensate that somewhat subconsciously? Or maybe I let myself get pulled over my foot too easily/am not stretch enough in my connection and then I just keep that "pace" going myself? Still figuring out how that even works, though maybe the leads I asked just didn't notice it that badly. Anyway visually I look more like I'm regularly walking where the strike is happening while you are already in forward motion and it doesn't look particularly like west coast swing.

I think if I concentrate really really really hard on just that it is a little better (I probably need some more videos of myself to really confirm) but I'm not entirely sure (honestly I thought I was delaying my weight transfer until I saw a video of myself...). I'd really love some more focused practice ideas both with or without a partner.

Does anyone have resources/videos/solo drills they can recommend? Or anything in particular that you focus on to get that right?

Hello! I recently learned about this dance style and am really interested in learning as well as making some new friends through it. I would love to know any great spots for this in Houston or Katy/Richmond side. Thanks :)

Spin-off from the eye contact discussion because it seems like there are multiple opinions. How important is it for you or your partner to smile? Does it take effort for you or does it come naturally? Do you ever give partners a heads up about your resting dance face?

Also does this change for comps or spotlights?

I’ve had a couple months of weekly lessons as a follower at my local swing dance club and am really enjoying myself. The instructors in class this evening talked about the importance of eye contact as communication while dancing along with physical cues. My particular flavor of neurodivergent can make eye contact uncomfortable and stressful. I often try to look at someone’s ear or chin, but I’m worried that I’m missing cues or not holding up my end of the communication with my leaders. Does anyone else have experience with this? How much does it hinder your dancing, if it does at all? I don’t feel like I’ve had any real trouble connecting with my dance partners, but I have a history of misunderstanding non-verbal cues in social settings.

How long had you been dancing? Taking group lessons? Practicing at home/drilling? Actually studying resources? Was there a specific thing you fixed or moves you learned? Was it pure luck with your draws?

Hey everyone,

I've been dancing WCS for about six months now, and I've recently started going to socials more often. In the local scene, the dance floors are rather crowded. The same goes for dance lessons. There are two scenarios where I could use your guidance on how to improve:

1) Let's say I lead a left side pass, and sometime between counts three and five, I notice someone (usually another follower) in the same slot approaching. Once I notice this, I try to reduce the distance my partner can travel by pulling my arms in closer to me. The distance seems alright then, but shortly after, the other follower still bumps into my partner because they are traveling farther (I'd say on their anchor step). Sometimes, there is quite a bit of force involved. Yesterday, another follower told me that this wasn't the first time it had happened to her that night.

2) Sometimes, when I move off the slot, I bump into another lead, so basically, both leads go off the slot. Luckily, in these situations, not much force is involved.

I try to look around to make sure I have enough space. But sometimes, it just feels like they come out of nowhere. Should I look more behind me? Should I try moving backward when it gets close? Is pulling in my arms not enough? Do I need to work more on my frame? I know I need to work on not extending my arm too much. Should I start talking to the other lead after the song about what went wrong?

I've started dancing a couple of months ago. I love the style, the community is welcoming and kind.

My problem is that I can't seem to relax enough and still maintain the right steps, or keep the connection.

I rush, I make big steps, I dont keep the frame, I'm veery tensed up most of the dances.

The latest feedback was "deer in the headlight" - not present in the dance, not grounded in myself.

I've had some dances with leaders in which I felt very safe and grounded (medium fast rhythm, basic moves), or had a lot of fun and connection and didn't care about the steps.

What got me into this style is the playfulness of it. I know that I can dance, I looove to dance. But I don't have any experience with being a follower.

Where I freeze is in the pauses of rhythm or invitations to improvise or when the moves become more suave or graceful. I go stiff and awkward instead of fluid.

I know that comparison is not useful, but I cannot not notice followers starting around the same time and having objective progress.

It's a bit frustrating because in the life outside dancing I'm fun, adaptable. And that's what draw me to this dance: the carefree, joyful, playful nature of it.

Oh, and sometimes being stiff during dances also lingers in the socialising part. So that's an added "bonus"...

I would love some perspective, personal experiences and/or tips.

So there are plenty of videos on YouTube/Insta where stars are dancing with stars.

But maybe someone has videos of an advanced dancer dancing with a newer partner? I would be especially interested to see those videos, where a leader is more advanced: how the leader is handling a less experienced partner, to make the dance look good.

I've been teaching and dancing west coast swing for 8 years. I want to compete but joining the newcomer seems both unfair to me and unfair to the students who are new to dancing that are competing in newcomer and novice. Is there anyway for me to skip the newcomer and go to Intermediate?

Edit: Just some background. I've been a professional dancer for 13 years, I taught at the big studios in Austin and in Seattle. I've only been doing wcs for 8 years but many of my students compete and do well in novice and in intermediate. I know it's an awkward thing because people are delusional about their skill level, but you're just going to have to take my word that I don't belong in newcomer.

** sorry correct Novice to Intermediate.

Does anyone have the information if the live from today on 5678wcs channel will be public? I've woken up for the last part 😅

Anyone got any tea? I am a messy bitch and I need my fix.

After a year of dancing, I'm finally going to upgrade from unmodded Vans and Converse. I see a lot of folks wearing Taygra Corridas, but I'm curious about their other styles as it looks like the soles of the Danças and Urbanos are different. Anyone have experience with those? How slippery are they, and does anyone know if the Urbanos are bendy enough for good foot articulation?

If it's relevant, I switch but mainly lead. No foot issues, don't mind low/no support. Aesthetically I'm partial to mid or high top sneakers, especially with a skate shoe look, so that's why I'm curious about the models I named above!

Kind of an offshoot of all the FB memes lately with novice dancers and blues songs, but it had me curious on how many people had to make an active effort to learn and do swung rhythm

I feel like I have zero frame of reference for how potentially hard the concept is as I have a musician background leading into a Lindy Hop background before I did WCS. Did any of you have some awkward transition period where you had to actively digest the difference of swing triples vs straight triples, or did you kind of naturally grasp the difference in the music and act accordingly?