r/WestCoastSwing

I just heard Tara call for all star finalists and alternates to marshall. It’s the first time I’ve heard anyone call alternates to marshalling.

If you’re an alternate is it usual practice to go to marshalling or hover nearby?

Last night I danced with a beginner who was doing aggressive sugar tucks and sending the arm on 2... I wasn't expecting it so I didn't have my frame tensed at that moment and my arm went back at the shoulder. I felt ok at the time but today am having some soreness. I am kind of wishing I had said something to him, but it didn't hurt in the moment so I didn't want to give unsolicited feedback in class...

Long story short does anyone know of any good websites or videos that give advice for wcs or general dance injury therapy?

So I started noticing the following, and it's a bit of a mystery to me:

1. I dance with some follower who is quite new to WCS, but has a solid previous dancing background. The dance feels great, I can lead many different things, we improvise together, and the follower looks good in each move, because the followers body is well developed for dancing in general.

2. Then I dance with a follower who is seriously competing, and... something is not there. E.g. we have a connection, but not because the follower is searching for a connection, rather because the follower is applying some rules that help to build a connection.

Has anyone else noticed such things in their dances?

Sometimes I dance with leaders who have their hands low (their hip height) when leading a two handed sugar push, and take their hands back to their side.

I wind up bailing on the compression for these when I'm as tall or taller than the lead, because I would wind up with my arms almost straight down which leaves me uncomfortably close to the lead with very little shock absorption left in my arms.

Writing that now, I guess I could bend my knees more to change the geometry, but are there other techniques that taller follows use? The first time or two (I'm a slow learner) I don't realize they're going to let their arms go so far back.

I've started a WCS course with friends, we're friends with the instructors as well, we all were before they decided to teach a class. I primarily listen to indie music and 80s music, our instructor asked us to rec songs we'd like to dance to but I'm having a hard time understanding what the vibe is for WCS music. Every playlist I look at on Spotify is full of songs I don't really like, though of course I found a few that I did, there will always be something good to find. I think one of the problems with looking in indie is it's harder to find a song that shows you the beat right up front, which is fun for stylized dancers but we're all beginners who need more consistency.

So, for anyone who listens to a variety of music, are there any songs you like dancing to that aren't exactly in the same family of the go-to WCS playlists on streaming? Avoiding the Chain Smokers, Tones and I, and their ilk. A lot of attendees are also very religious so we steer clear of anything with heavy cursing just to be safe and respectful.

I gave the preamble about friendship because, I don't know, I just wanted to make it clear that this wasn't a situation where people would get offended about music and stuff lol. Some of the students are kids, so we're trying to get the trendy music they prefer in as well.

Indie is my preferred general music zone, but I'd love to hear what anyone loves to dance to, there's a lot of music to learn about out there! Thanks for reading!

I've finally started to get comfortable enough with my footwork and the basics of dancing to start caring about style and how I look. Up until now, I've always just kinda held my hand bent at my side, like a t-rex but lower, so it's right there if a lead wants to take it. Now, I am realizing that that probably doesn't look good and might be making my movements a bit stiffer. What are some ideas for just starting to incorporate arms/style? I have no dance experience before this, so I'm also working on musicality and just getting comfortable beyond the mechanics.

During social dances, I keep being asked if I come from ballroom. I have never done ballroom.

At first I thought this was a complement, for example having good posture, but then I took a private lesson where I was told my upper body is too stiff, which is good for ballroom but bad for WCS where the torso needs more pulse/fluidity. I believe I had added more pulse into my torso, but I still receive this question as to whether I have ballroom experience.

Are there any tells that someone is coming from ballroom when they are dancing WCS?

I’ll be in Paris for a few days in mid August. I’ve heard that there is social dancing on Quai St Bernard most evenings in the summer but I’m not clear on what type of dancing (certain styles on particular nights? Free for all? Any WCS?). Searching this sub, I saw a comment to look for “Westies Pirates” fb group but I can only find one that is based in San Francisco.

The group I’m travelling with doesn’t dance WCS but I’ll be going to the Frenchy Westy in Lyon the following weekend so would love to have the chance for a couple dances without inconveniencing my friends too much!

Would love a tip to redirect my search in the right direction!

Suppose I start to compete in a newcomer division, and let's say I receive 3 points.

Will I be (a) transferred to novice having those 3 points in the novice section, or (b) will I be Novice with 0 points?

If the answer is (b), then what is the value to start in a newcomer division?

Hi y'all! Perhaps a silly question. I feel like I am good at spotting turns when the lights are on in the ballroom. But as soon as the lights are low for late night socials, I lose some spatial awareness, and spotting turns, or even following ducks, becomes a lot harder.

Does anyone have tips for improving spatial awareness or balance when lights are low? I mostly just dont want to bump someone by accidentally going off slot or by getting tippy, especially when it is really crowded...

I've never done one footed anything in my life. No experience in spins from other dances. i've started practicing with my dance partner who also has no experience with leading them and we did two sessions now and we figured out the prep and the machanics going in and I can now sometimes do 2 rotations which is huge for me but I'll still get thrown out of balance half of the time (mostly backwards). We aim on doing just one rotation solidly and slowly so the focus is on the balance and control and not force it with momentum. What is something you focused on most at the beginning, any tips, advice?

Edit: guys you're the best. Thank you for all the help in the comments, you gave me some really really good tips and things I've not heard before so I'll take all of it into account the next practice session!

https://reddit.com/link/1ueesb3/video/s4ta7u7tn89h1/player

<Click to see a video Demo in the comments...>

It means you can set a timer to perpetually fade songs in your playlist one after another to keep the social dance moving through the playlist -- or use it without the timer to fade out exactly on-phrase at the time of your choosing.

Problems this solves:
- I can set the first 3 songs after beginner classes to automatically fade after 90 seconds.
- If a song has a long outro or weird ending, I can fade it early.
- If I'm running a contest or competition and every group is supposed to get the same amout of time, I can set the timer and it will auto fade at the right time.

The total time for song play and fading is customisable. Is this helpful to any other DJ's out there? What else should I add?

After emailing 5 WCS teachers and dance clubs in my area without results, I turn to you! My partner and I are looking for someone to help us design and learn a WCS choreopraphy for our wedding dance.

Is there someone that offers online private lessons for this purpose? Able to accomodate evenings and/or weekends in the European timezone.

Feel free to pm me! Thank you!

Kind of a silly comparison, but have you all ever felt like meeting dancers in the scene feels like unlocking characters in a video game? Like, you go in and start off with a limited list of characters (the people who specifically ask noobies to dance or are super extroverted and just ask everyone) to start off with, and then after gaining some experience YOU ask someone to dance and they just kind of exist as an option from then onwards.

I've noticed in 2 different dance styles that people will go months to YEARS not even looking your direction at socials, but if you ask them a singular time then all of a sudden they're "unlocked" and will start to ask you to dance.

It doesn't even have to be an "oh wow this person is actually really good, I guess they're worthy" type of sentiment; I have fairly mediocre dance friends with whack connection and timing issues (love 'em, but just being honest lmao) get asked by higher level folks just because they've been asked before by said friend. I've also noticed that dancing in classes doesn't count towards this, it HAS to be a social dance experience.

Y'all know what I mean?

Hi - I'm considering a last minute plan to attend either half or all of WOTP in 2ish weeks and would really appreciate hearing from people who have attended in the past. I would be going alone and I'm at a level in my dance where I can follow patterns decently but get panicky about creativity and musicality. Would WOTP be a good learning experience and okay as an introverted solo attendee?

I'm a main follower but have been leading a lot in the past few years.

In Bachata at least there are certain movements where you lead with hip rotation. I.e. you rotate your hip one way while leaving your torso relatively straight, which causes a rotation in the follower.

Of course your torso goes with your hip, but the point is that 1) your hip rotates more than your torso and 2) your hip rotation is the cause of your torso rotation, not the other way around.

Beginners will often make two mistakes 1) rotating their torso and not their hip, or 2) rotating both their torso and their hip equally.

Does WCS have any movements where the leader uses hip rotation to perform a lead?

The only one I can think of, potentially, is on the redirect of a whip. I personally do not use hip rotation here, I'm using torso rotation, but I wonder if that is wrong.