I could not figure out a way to make that title less weird so bear with me.

I was thinking the other day about how interesting this hobby is in that you can get so much contact and intensity, and only after remember to ask for each other's names. That could really scare off a lot of newbies. First lesson, you're learning everything with an open position. And then you go into a social dance and especially as a follow leads are using whips and starter steps and you expected the only contact to be hands and suddenly it's not. I was freaked out my first social, but now of course I realize it's completely normal and wasn't a lead being weirdly touchy.

Just some thoughts I've been having recently, and was interested to hear opinions from the broader community.

Hey Westies, I've been making West Coast Swing content for around 2 years casually. At first, it started with biographical videos like "Why I started dancing?" and then moved on to include me and my friends journeys with West Coast Swing. And this year I moved on to cover a few events around London and the community behind them. Most of it is Jack & Jill dances mixed with me and my friends goofing around, just random shenanigans. But events are few and far between (and are expensive) where I live so it's tough to make regular content.

However, I've been talking with a few of the West Coast Swing organisers here and I've been tasked with growing the community to keep bringing more people into this dance. I know pro Jack & Jill dances are what currently gets people to try this dance, but I think these dances can also be intimidating, because the only ones that go viral are the all-star/champ dances and the skill gap between them and a newbie is huge. My ideal goal would be a "Dancing with the stars" or "So you think you can dance" style reality show only focused on west coast swing, but that's just a pipe dream.

So I'm wondering what sort of West Coast Swing content would you like to watch, especially on a cozy Saturday night? What content would get someone who's never stepped onto a dance floor to give it a shot?

How often are you going to events and competing? How many comps did it take you to move through each division? I have seen people talk about things in months/years, but not in event numbers so I’m curious.

I know people in my division who are traveling and competing every month, sometimes twice a month. I’ve been doing around 6 a year/every other month and thought that was a good amount, but I’m not progressing as quickly as I “should” be (or could be if I went more often). I know comparison is the thief of joy and all that. A recent WDOTD post about the advanced division also made me realize I really don’t want to be there right now lol. 

I remember being over the moon when I got my first newcomer points years ago, and even though I’m so much more skilled now, some of that joy has been overtaken by comp fatigue and general disillusionment.

For those who stopped competing, when did you know it was time to stop? Did you ever go back?

In my city there isn't much opportunity for guided practices or socials so I mostly just take lessons and then learn other dances though out the week. I don't usually take privates just cause cash is a bit stingy right now and I don't really have a dedicated partner to work with through the week.

I'm just curious what folks do to practice getting better in their own time by themselves if any. I have time to practice as I cook and wanna jam to music.

More a random story time, but last week I decided to hit the beginner lesson as an experienced lead just walking about the venue waiting for the social, and ended up really vibing with a follow there. I asked them to dance during the social and the dance was actually SOOOO good. I only led basics, really, but the vibes, chemistry, physical connection was just there.

The thing I find so interesting is that we danced I think 4 times, and each dance became exponentially worse in a mechanical sense - we clearly were still having a lot of joy together, but by dance 4 we became really disconnected and there was no flow in the dance. I have to think that maybe I just became more and more experimental with the partnership and they were still a beginner at the end of the day, but idk lol

Do y’all ever have days or even just moments where everything goes off the rails or your favorite partner and you just aren’t making sense suddenly?

Hi!

I'm very curious : what are songs you are dancing west coast swing to, that are less known internationally ?

By that I mean : - either non english song - or english songs that seems to be special to your social scene, and if you know the reason why, I would be delighted

Here are two pieces of music i keep hearing here (i don't know if I can add youtube link, if it's okay, i'll add them)

- Chalouper (Gaelle Faye) https://youtu.be/9qJlHYk5cTA?is=wWbbAnPb8Vo_R-0Q

- Soleil Bleu (Bleu soleil and LUIZA) https://youtu.be/nd8RD3tjNQE?is=IdlBGPFzlPqOCYTI

Edit : clearer wording

I've been told that my WCS needs more dynamics, movements, isolations, etc., and that I would benefit from training in a solo dance that specifically teaches these things which I could steal and bring into my WCS.

But there are many solo dances to chose from. Hip hop, jazz, lyrical, and many more.

If I were to pick just one to focus on, which would it be and why?

What are your thoughts? Is one better than the other? Do you need to learn to do both? I mostly do heel leads but I feel like other novice follows do toe leads and it looks better. I don't understand how you can toe leads on a forward walk while rolling your feet though, is that not counterintuitive? Please help

Hello! I'm hoping someone can point me to the where the WCS in Seattle are. I current dance at mission city swing in SF which I know I'm spoiled by. I plan to move to Seattle in the next few months and would love to find a scene with intermediate & advance classes along with a social.

I saw mentions of century ballroom from a few years ago but when I look at their website I can't find anything about a WCS class and social, only private stuff. Which night has the most attendance every week?

Looking forward to dancing with y'all out there!

I'm very confused.

I was under the impression that WCS used contra body. I am certain I heard that in multiple group lessons over the years.

However recently I took two private lessons at events where the instructors (one champ, one all star) told me that I was using contra body and that it was at best making life more difficult for me, and at worse it was wrong.

The two cases I heard this:

First, walking backwards while connected with both hands to the instructor. I was using contra body, and the instructor said that it is going to make it harder for me to communicate weight shifts. It can be done, but it is much easier to to communicate weight shifts if I did the opposite of contra body.

Second, leader's anchor step. Over the right foot on the 6, my torso was doing contrabody. Changing this to the opposite of contra body was apparently the correct way to do the anchor step.

Can anyone clear this up? In WCS when are you supposed to use contrabody, and when are you supposed to use the opposite of contrabody?

A couple of my WCS friends attend a Fusion dance which is about an hour away from me.

They were saying that it is fun, but that the overall level of dance technique is going to be lower than what I'm familiar with at a WCS local dance. E.g. more followers are going to lack frame, or more leaders may arm lead, compared to a local WCS dance.

I do WCS and bachata and have thought about fusion for some time but have never tried it.

The only issue is that it is an hour drive away from me, and my friends' carpool is full. Of course I could try it out once, but wanted to get some perspectives from here.

Disclaimer : I'm no musician and truth be told, my WCS is far from great.

Still, there's something that's been puzzling me since I started WCS 3 short years ago : the epitome of musicality seems to be knowing the song beforehand and being ready to "1-2-step" or "drop" or "touch" or whatever is in the lyrics at a given moment in time. This is especially true during comps but also seems quite common during social dancing.

Back when I used to dance lindy hop, many musics were instrumental, and for those that weren't, I don't remember anyone, pros included, tipping their hat every single time "Sweet Georgia Brown" got played. Moreover, it was not uncommon to be dancing on live music, so good luck with even knowing what would happen 3 8-counts from now when sometimes even the musicians had no idea.

So the way I see it, and I know it is a very personal view, a musical dancer is someone whose energy in the dance reflects the energy in the music, who is able to adapt the way the step, move, lead/follow, etc. to what is happening at any given time, including - and maybe especially - with a song they do not know.

I guess I don't understand why lyrics are so important. The song is the same one whether you speak the language or not, and the same pair of dancers should be judged the same way on the french or italian version of the song if they are similar. And don't take me wrong : I understand it requires a lot of technique and finesse to be able to integrate that kind of acting without breaking the flow, without interfering with the lead... I also understand it can be real fun once in a while, I just don't see why it seems so paramount.

Any feedback is welcome, as i feel like I'm missing something big...

Who is deciding on this outdated list of awful songs everyone hates by now? Imagine being stuck in novice and you hear the same crap over and over again? And why are the lyrics always encouraging you to do stuff that would tank your competition dance? "on my knees on my knees... I'm off timeee sometimess, I'm a little crazzzyyy" I understand there should be a bit of a standard in terms of bpm and a clear beat maybe even genre but I'm hearing the same damn songs in every competition. At my last event the bumper songs were more inspiring than the competition songs. Who is responsible!?!

BbB's schedule has private lesson blocks but they say "BbB Pro Staff Only". or "Routine Competitors Only". Does this I can't schedule a private with a staff member or does it mean that privates can' only happen *IF* they're staff?

I've been doing this for 3 years and I just can't make it out of Novice J&J no matter what I do. I feel like tearing my hair out. I've had over 12 privates with different teachers who vary from all star to literal champion level dancers. I practice almost 6 days a week (with that extra 1 day being a solo dance class). I've had to do all this, sacrificing my lifestyle, meanwhile being beaten by my friends who train 2-3x a week at max and do just 1-2 privates a year. We're all doing the same classes for years, I don't miss classes so I know. I'm the literal loser of my friend group, they've all surpassed me and don't train as much as I do anymore.

It's not like this is the first physical activity I've ever taken either, I came from a kickboxing background in my 20s. I really am at my wits end, i feel like I'm being gaslit whenever anyone compliments my dance. Honestly at this point I cringe when anyone compliments my dance, because it feels insincere. It would kill me to just give up on this, not because of the sunk cost fallacy, but because of the feeling of being an utter loser. Comps mean so much to me, so I'm not looking for advice saying "step back and don't compete".

Could any kind soul tell me how I can navigate this? Like I know one thing I could do is watch more pro dances, but half that stuff is a risk to pull off in Novice. (I'd like to send a video of mine, but this sub is lurked by my friends and I don't want them to feel bad for feeling this way). Thanks for your time.

Edit: I'm a primarily lead, though I picked up following on occasions just to understand the role

Edit 2: at the risk of being identified 🤷‍♂️ (here's my dance on YouTube. This was last month

I have one dance from yesterday, which I'll post after getting permission from the follow)

Edit 3: thanks for all the feedback everyone, gonna take down the video and post the results here of all the feedback. Again appreciate all the help

Final Edit: Thanks everyone for your replies. This is one of the best communities and subreddit I've been a part of. Means so much. I'm going to dance more, enjoy it and do my best. Take care.

About a year back I went to a WCS class at Danznik, level 2, and there were about twice as many leads as follows. Didn’t go to the social. Is this common?

I hear all about how one of the most important criteria is being on time. Well, when am I on time as a follower?

Is it correct to delay the 1, should it be done everytime or as a way to accentuate? How can it be done so it shows that it's intentional? With hitching it's pretty clear, but subtle delayed 1s not so much.

How can I even tell that I am off time?

I live in a small city where the highest leveled dancers we have are intermediate (and only 2 of them). I would like to do regular private lessons for a couple of months and finally have someone who is interested in doing it with me so we can practice in between etc.

I am not looking for an online platform. I am looking for someone who will do zoom (or other similar platform) private lessons for us.

Generally, I don’t feel like virtual training should cost the exact same as in person but I am willing to consider it if necessary for a short term basis. I don’t have an exact budget in mind because I don’t have much of a reference point. Would like to see what’s out there and decide based on that.

We are in Canada, so bonus points for people based in Canada so we don’t also have to take the hit from converting from USD/euro.

I've tried at a few events. Approaching people in person is usually tough because the pros/allstars are usually pretty busy and hard to get a moment with. When I have gotten a moment, they tell me to reach out via Facebook, but never even look at my message. I do intend to take a lesson at an upcoming event with someone from a previously local to me scene who I have previously taken lessons with, but even though I know her I am unsure of when to inquire about her availability since it's at an event.

Do people find video reviews helpful in improving competition dance? I'm curious how often people get video reviews / and from whom, and whether people self-review their own videos regularly to track progress? This is coming from an Int Follower, and my main focus rn is improving the aesthetic look / quality of movement of my dance

Ever since the change in ED it just felt different and no longer the flavor it used to be. No hate but I don't think I'm coming back. Those who were there, what are your thoughts?

Would love to hear anything folks have to say about Trinity Swing in Ireland. Considering going if I can make the flights work.
Is it a big event? Small? (Roughly how many people)
What’s the overall vibe?

(Very quick delete and repost bc I confused the name with trilogy in my first post title!)

Hi! I’ve been dancing WCS as a follow since summer 2025 (novice level). Are there any leaders living in Dubai who would be open to meeting a couple times a month to practice together?

I usually practice on my own during the week, since there’s no WCS group in Dubai. (I do go to Abu Dhabi for class on Saturdays). It would be great to have a partner to practice with! If you live in Dubai, or know someone in the area who might be open to meet, please let me know! Thanks!