What is West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing is the most advanced form of Swing Dancing because of it’s true "lead-follow" skills necessary to interweave an expression of the music. It’s an intricate and intimate relationship between the partners and the musical phrasing of the song. It’s the only partner dance on the face of the Earth that allows the female the freedom to stylize her movements within the framework of the male lead. This "freedom" is attractive to many female dancers from all dance disciplines including ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and cheer who are looking to "partner dance" within a milieu of relative independence.
The "feel" of West Coast Swing can be seen by the use of "compression" and "leverage," an obvious stretching, rubberband-like, in-and-out movement that creates the energy for multiple spins as well as the texture of sensuous passes. Although the spectator might catch a glimpse of this "feel" and be totally mesmerized by it, only the participants can fully appreciate the combined effort of their mutual creation. And that’s the addictive elixir that grabs the West Coast Swing dancer.
Because of the lead-follow skills necessary for West Coast Swing it is a true social dance in that each partner is a new experience and most dancers enjoy many different partners throughout a night of dancing. West Coast Swing involves the use of the entire body including body rolls, head whips, isolations, and arm and hand movements. There are many intricate foot patterns which are skillfully lead and received by sensitive followers as well as those done individually and independently by each partner according to their musical interpretive expression.
But more so than any other dance, movements are created in relation to the sounds of the music, be they melodic, rhythmic, or vocal. The leader feels the mathematical constraints of good music composition, employs the science of physiology (leading technique), and creates for the follower a playing field with which she can manage her artistry of movement (following technique). In West Coast Swing, more so than in any other dance, there is a definite feeling of union, merging, becoming one with the partner and the music, all done within the immediate, improvisational, moment. It’s such a very hard dance to master, necessitating a large commitment on the part of the participant, and yet the rewards are tremendous for those who achieve success!
This info is from http://www.westcoastswingamerica.com/
West Coast Swing History from Streetswing.com
West Coast Swing History/Definition from Eric and Laura's Site
Clip #1 from Mary Ann Nunez's Site
Check out the 6 clips on Wayne and Sharlot's Site
Check out the 12 clips on The Next Generation Site
Whitney Mcmakin at Jack & Jill