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West Coast Overview
by Randy Lewis & Debbie Olson
West Coast Swing (WCS) is a “Slot Dance” where the woman moves forward
and backward in “her slot”, while the man moves perpendicular to the
woman's slot, out of and then back into the slot. It is less vertical
(up and down) than Jive, being more lateral and smoother and is
generally danced slower than Jive. Dance it with feeling according to
how the music speaks to you.
General rule - you can do anything - nothing is written in stone -
except maybe WCS has no “rock recover.” Other forms of swing/jive may
begin or end with a “rock recover.” Yes, Roundalab and ICBDA both have
written figure definitions – these are your “generally accepted
guidelines” from which to begin.
Start Position - never facing square - slight V position to begin and
end – lead hands joined low in a Latin hold - lead foot pointing
towards partner - trail foot back and toeing out - elbows are near the
body but not glued to body - arms have tone - no forward poise - weight
over supporting foot.
Leading the Lady - The woman does not move until the man moves her. He
does this by moving his body, not pulling or pushing with his arm. Both
partners have tone in their arms. The lead occurs when the man steps
back, keeping his arm firm in relationship to his body. The man does
not let his arm stretch out. The woman allows her arm to extend
slightly before she moves in response to the man’s lead.
There are four groups of WCS figures: Sugar, Passing, Whip, and Other.
There are two "basic" timing groups in WCS: 6-count (beats) and 8-count
timing.
Sugar Figures: the woman moves forward/backward and/or turns in her
slot, but does not pass the man. The woman does not change direction.
Sugar figures timing;
Six beats - one and 1/2 measures of music - 1,2,3&4 ; 1&2
Easy timing modification for Sugar figures - 1,2,3,4 ; 1&2 where
beat 3 is a touch or tap.
Passing Figures: the woman will pass the man on either his right or
left side. The woman passes the man while still staying in her slot, as
if dancing on a balance beam, and the man moves in and out of the slot.
The man should never make the woman go around him. The basic passing
figures timing;
Six beats - one and 1/2 measures of music - 1,2,3&4 ; 1&2
Easy timing modification for passing figures: 1,2,3,4 ; 1&2 where
beat 3 is a touch or tap.
Whip Figures: Whips have the man rotating around the woman as she moves
forward/backward and/or turns in her slot. Again, the man should never
make the woman go around him. The basic whip figure timing;
Eight beats - two measures of music - 1,2,3&4 ; 1,2,3&4 ;
Other Figures: "Other" includes all the figures that do not fit into
one of the 3 main groups. Also, standard figures modified in any way.
Essentially - Anything goes – WCS may include jive and east coast swing
figures.
One of the nice things about WCS is that you are free to improvise –
therefore it’s hard to be wrong.
From clinic notes
prepared for the ICBDA convention, 2021,
and
reprinted
in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC)
Newsletter, February, 2022.
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