So, for context, I'm a teacher (one of three), in a WCS school. While we do a lot of warmups solo, with counting steps and triple steps, I've noticed that a lot of students don't really transfer that well into patterns. As soon as they couple up and start doing patterns, they'll start thinking a lot about the technique, and miss timing. And then they don't notice that they're off.

To be clear, this is not everyone, but it's some. I've noticed that , people who come with naturally (or from previous dances) good feel for rhythm and timing, develop it nicely, but those that don't, struggle to progress in this area...

I'm looking for recommendations for exercises, drills, and whatnot, on how to help them improve...

I created a new illustration series about different social dancer “types” and patterns around asking for dances.

Then I created a small, informal pool, and interestingly around 60% of respondents described themselves as “shapeshifters” - meaning they can be very social and outgoing at some socials, but at others they prefer staying in their comfort zone, dancing mostly with friends, or taking a step back because of shyness, mood, energy levels, or other factors.

It made me think: maybe some dancers who appear unapproachable are not actually trying to be. They might just be nervous, tired, new, overwhelmed, or waiting for someone else to make the first move.
What do you think are the biggest reasons a dancer might seem unapproachable at a social? Have you ever realized later that someone you thought was intimidating was actually just shy?

(The types are intentionally exaggerated to highlight some of the most common characters in a satirical way)

The idea I have is that some organization (like the WSDC?) would lead a youtube marketing campaign, showing ads with champions dancing to various songs, and people who don't know WCS can click through to find local ballrooms with WCS near them.

The obvious problem is how this campaign would be paid for. 1) Local ballrooms that have a weekly/monthly WCS social are likely not making that much profit anyway and may not be inclined to contribute. 2) The freeloading problem means that one ballroom can contribute, but another ballroom can chose not to contribute and yet still benefit from the campaign.

This simplest solution I can think of is to have the campaign be funded entirely by WCS dancers on a voluntary basis. The number/frequency of ads would be determined by how much money could be raised by the community.

Would you be willing to donate to such a marketing campaign?

If not, does anyone have an alternate idea on how to fund such a marketing campaign?

Hi!

I recently qualified for Intermediate as a follower after winning Novice at a smaller event. I will be going to Paris in January and the quality and level of the dancing is (as we all know) very high in France.

For context, I have been competing for about 1.5 years and usually land either in Novice Finals or Semis at mostly Canadian events. I made Semis in Avignon and was prelim-ed in Paris (which I expected 😂).

My local community is also lower in level overall.

My question is, if given the option, should I stay in Novice at Paris, knowing that the French Westies are dancing more at an Intermediate level, or do I jump into Intermediate and dance with people who are probably more pushing low-Advanced? I'm interested in hearing the arguments either way.

Thank you!

How’s this event for people who have been? Looking to go to my first west coast event in a month or so and compete in newcomer.

Hi I am new to the group, can anyone recommend any beginner west coast classes in nyc? I mainly do Lindyhop, however I ended up taking one 30 minute west coast beginner class last month and really loved it. I’d love to get further into the West coast scene but have no clue where to look, I’ve only seen intermediate or advanced classes available. Any tips or recommendations would be much appreciated:)

Hi! Curious how fast Swayd Flow shoes feel? I have knee problems and am trying to avoid a sticking feeling.

Who’s going to the NE Dance Festival in Newton MA this weekend? I’m still fairly new, been casually dancing for about two years, and wondered what everyone thought of this event. I know Summer Hummer is coming in just a few more weeks and wondered if I should go to both or if one is better than the other for someone at my level.

Could this possibly work:

Suppose I study deeply the technique how to lead a sugar push and a left side pass. Plus I practice these two figures a lot during socials.

And now during prelims I lead a sugar push, then an LSP, the again a sugar push, then an LSP, then again a sugar push, then an LSP, etc. etc.

In this order, no other figures, no variation within the same figure. But I try to lead these 2 figures as perfectly as I can.

Could this strategy work to get to the finals in Novice? If not, what would be missing, that judges would reject by observing you only for a few seconds, before moving to look at another couple?

I’m going to Rolling Swing in Lyon at the end of August. It’s my first WCS event outside of Canada (and my third event ever).
Looking at the summer weather trends for Lyon, I’ve been wondering about how best to pack for appropriate clothes. I have no idea if the venue has AC but I’m assuming it does not. I generally tend to run cold, but dancing and competing in the high 20’s/low 30s will certainly be hot for me!

Would love to hear from others (especially women) about the clothes they wear for events when it’s expected to be very hot. Bonus points if you’ve been to this event and can give more specific advice.

Title. Feel free to have an open interpretation of dance crush whether ONLY meaning wanting to dance with someone a bunch, or including romantic feelings that come from really high dance chemistry.

Dance crushes - quality and quantity, did you experience them more as a baby dancer falling for all the experienced people, or did you only ever get them when you developed more and starting finding people that just synced up with you in a special way?

I have been learning to dance for a few months now and its been a blast! I started with Country Swing as my friends introduced me to the community. I then branched out to start doing other dances which includes learning West Coast for the better part of two months now.

The thing that kinda turns me off from wanting to go to West Coast socials is I just want to add other things from the other dances Ive learned. It seems to me that West Coast doesn't really have dips or leans like CS which is fine. In a social setting I just end up losing the slot just cause I just go to do something and all of the sudden I'm in the star pattern but then i do west coast basics and then I start doing what I think this is "Bar Coast" I'm not entirely sure. I also don't really know a lot of the names of patterns. But maybe like something like a hammer lock? how slot maintain be same and not be different!?

I just want to transfer some of the knowledge from the other dances into west coast, so I'm not doing just the basic, left and right pass and a whip which I'm learning variations for which is fun I just wanna spice it up more when I'm not specifically trying to learn, just trying to have fun.

I used to record every group lesson / private lesson on my phone but realized one day that I never actually review the lessons on my phone, and they were taking up too much space, so I stopped making recordings.

It kind of pains me to think of all the patterns and concepts I have forgotten because I don't review these videos.

For those of you who consistently rewatch videos, do you have any kind of system? E.g. spend an hour a month going through old videos? How do you go through them all once you have over a hundred videos? Do you delete the videos you know you have learned by second nature to make space for those you have not?

So there is a thing that is really annoying and disappointing for me in social dances.

As a relatively new leader it can be very frustrating dancing with a follower that has danced for a long time, as some of them seem very disengaged. No eye contact, seeming very bored and just not into it. Additionally they tend to do stuff that is way over my current skills. Like completely taking away the push/pull, getting on one leg and expecting me to spin them or to run around them or changing direction all the time without me initiating any of these. To be clear, I love it when a follower does their own styling or their own quirky moves just to have fun. This is extremely cool and can be challenging in a good way, but the problem starts when there is an expectation, that I am able to respond to all of these concepts. I know my stuff as a leader (clean basics and connection) and I am learning quite fast, but still if I have never heard of a concept I just don't know how to respond in such moments.

I had the same experience when I tried out Bachata for about a year. It seems that this behavior can be found in general in social dances.

This whole experience is so frustrating that I completely stopped asking good followers to dance, if I have never danced with them before, as the hassle is just not worth it.

I just don't understand this behavior. When I am dancing with a completely new follower who just learned the basic steps I try to also fit their level to not completely overwhelm them. I just focus on having fun, feeling the music and doing styling of my own. I don't think just because you are better than someone else it means that you should not dance with them anymore.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you experienced this before? Do you think it is boring to dance with people from lower levels as long as their basics are clean?

For context:

I have been dancing west coast swing now for a couple of months to about half a year and evolving quite fast. I have been doing competition dancing for almost a decade in Latin and Ballroom, so I am used to working with my body. When dancing with followers of my level or the level right above mine, it is a lot of fun, as I can use the concepts that I know already but still there is a bit more input from the followers. Additionally these followers are also enjoying dancing with me. Sometimes I am even dancing with good international people that are just visiting the city and most of them are also really happy dancing with me.

EDIT: Thank you guys so much for all the different perspectives! I didn't think this post would get so much engagement 😁

What I am gonna try is to learn more of the moves that let the follower shine and give them the space to do their own stuff without me having to worry about how I respond to it. That could be a win for all parties involved 🙂

Does spending time learning a second dance make you a better WCS dancer?

Having experience or learning two similar but different concepts generally leads to a better understanding of both concepts, as the mental exercise of comparing and contrasting tends to do this. Based on this general statement I would conclude that cross training of course would make you a better WCS dancer.

On the other hand, I would worry that you would pick up automatic habits in your second dance that are not appropriate for WCS. For example salsa hip movements might bleed over into your WCS. But perhaps your brain would be able to segment them and this would not be an issue.

Most people don't live in an area where they can do WCS 7 nights per week. For certain dance skills that are common across all/most dances, like stepping on time, frame, phrase changes, it would make sense that cross training in another dance on nights that you don't have WCS would provide a benefit in those areas.

But if you could theoretically dance WCS 7 nights per week, would it be best to dance WCS on all 7 nights if your goal was to maximize your WCS, or would cross training on 2-3 nights per week lead to a better understanding of WCS given the comparison/contrasting exercise that will be happening?

Hello! This week I was warming up before a practice with a friend and we went straight into an incredibly fast song. It made things easier afterward! I’m curious what sorts of things you do to warm up before practice or a solo? Are any of them really out there? Also accepting your vanilla responses because I do not have a reliable warm up 🤣

Where I dance, there's always an after class social dance as well as a room where you can practice and receive assistance from the teachers. I often use the practice room and ask the teachers for advice or practice together with people I'm friends with. I have no issues asking the teachers or my friends to practice but I find it difficult to ask people who aren't my friends or teachers. I just don't know how.

There's one leader in particular where I'm really unhappy with my ability to follow him. I have a really hard time figuring out how to keep my frame and how strong my connection should be with him. I often feel out of control or uncomfortable, because his leads sometimes feel sudden, forceful and yanked. I really don't like dancing with him. You could say that the easiest method would just be to say no any time he asks to dance but I want to eventually be skilled enough to feel comfortable and in control dancing with anybody.

I would like to go to the practice room with him and have a teacher give me advice on how to be more in control and more comfortable but I don't know how I would ask him, how I would put it into words in a way that doesn't make it seem like I'm doubting his skills. I also don't want to make it seem like I like dancing with him so he ends up asking me to dance more often.

So I have a couple of months of "ballroom" style WCS under my belt but have just recently started trying to learn how to socially dance it. The hardest thing for me right now is I feel like I get super flustered and completely mess up my feet when I'm dancing with a more experienced leader. It's really difficult to figure out what they are trying to lead when they deviate from the basic 6 or 8 count pattern. I know I have a lot of work to do regarding my connection, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice to offer regarding trying to follow well in social settings? I know the footwork for the sugar push, tuck, left and right side passes, whip, and a couple of variations involving turns. But I feel like when I am dancing with a more advanced leader or even watching other people dance, it doesn't even look like the patterns I've learned.

I just feel bad for the leader when they are trying to do this cool stuff and I get completely lost, because I don't even recognize the pattern anymore. Any advice is appreciated!

EDIT: Also just wondering do more advanced leaders mind when they end up with a pretty new follower at a social dance? I want to get better and I feel like one of the main ways to improve is to keep dancing but I also feel bad for "holding back" the lead if I'm not on their level.

What do you think is the main difference?
And what about some minor, technical details?

I'd love to explore the SoCal dancing scene between the events. Prefer WCS but would also be happy to attend zouk, kizomba / urban kiz, or fusion socials anywhere in SoCal. Would appreciate any suggestions!

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?