What Is WCS?
WCS is a partner (i.e. lead/follow) dance, which means the leader initiates various 6 or 8-count "moves" through his or her connection with the follower (e.g. a held hand), who then knows what to do based on that lead. The beauty of WCS is that it can be danced to a wide variety of popular music. (Personally I like the R&B stuff.) In addition, leaders typically like showing off the followers they dance with, and so the follower has a lot of individual opportunity to show off (if she is daring enough to try). WCS was derived from Lindy Hop, which you may remember from the Gap commercial awhile back.
Some sites that have good descriptions of West Coast Swing dancing include Wikipedia and The 'What Is Swing Dancing?' FAQ. (Go to the latter if you're dying to know the difference between West and East Coast Swing, which is usually the first question people ask me.)
What Does WCS Look Like?
The best way to understand what I'm talking about is to see it in action. You can find a lot on YouTube these days, but here's my latest favorite clip. It's Patty Vo and Nicholas King at this year's Summer Hummer (August).
Of course this is a choreographed routine that's a bit different from doing it socially! For something that looks more like what I do a few times a week, check out this one. It will also give you an idea of how WCS is different from Lindy Hop:
Where Can I Go WCS Dancing?
In Massachusetts there are many places to go dancing on a regular basis. Here are just a few:
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Dancing Feats: W. Newton, MA -- 3rd Saturday dances at Neal's are a blast! And this is the studio where I started dancing. (They're vey beginner friendly.)
Dance Boston: Arlington, MA -- Tuesday nights are smashing, and they have classes nearly every day of the week in some form of dance.
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Longfellow Club: Wayland, MA -- Saturday dances every month.
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Seaside Swing: Danvers or Wakefield, MA -- Larry and Heidi have classes and dances in both locations. Check their site for details.
What Dance Events Are There?
There are dance events (i.e. weekends) taking place all over the country, probably in any given month. The ones I've been to during my "dancing career" are listed below. Each event offers more workshops with great instructors than one brain can reasonably process, fun-to-watch competitions, and into-the-wee-hour social dancing (my record is still 6:00 am, although I'm generally a lightweight).
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New Years Dancin' Eve: Burlington, MA -- December/January
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America's Classic: Houston, TX -- early January
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Boston Tea Party: Danvers, MA -- late March
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Liberty Swing Dance: Newark, NJ -- mid/late June
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Boston Dance Challenge (Champion's Weekend): Woburn, MA -- mid/late July
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Summer Hummer: Framingham, MA - late August
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Swingin' New England: Falmouth, MA -- mid November
Jen's Competition Progress
In March 2005, Arlington held one of their quarterly Jack & Jills (random partners, random music) as a practice for those who would be competing at the Boston Tea Party. I knew that wouldn't be me, but after dancing with Eric, I was convinced I had a shot and entered. Imagine my surprise when I expected to get absolutely nothing and came in first place!?
On November 12, 2005, I dared to compete in the Newcomer division at Swingin' New England. I was hardly nervous, but not very happy when I didn't even make semi-finals. My consolation prize was that my practice partner (at the time) and dear friend Chris took first in his division. Yay Chris!!
On December 15, 2005, those who placed in any Jack & Jill competitions in Arlington throughout the year competed in the "finals". I took third place overall, not bad!
At another quarterly Jack & Jill on November 26, 2006, held in Wakefield, MA, I came in first place. When it came down to the year end competition though, I didn't fare well. I actually came in dead last with my partner, I think because we just didn't click.
The evening of March 15, 2007 I'm in a fog and have a pounding headache from living in a newly painted condo. My ankle/foot is killing me because of the sticky floor in Arlington. I leave before finding out that I came in third place against some very good followers. At the Boston Tea Party this same month, I came in 8th place in the Newcomer Division (there were 90+ competitors, so I can't really complain)!
At Summer Hummer 2007, I made finals in another herd of about 70 people, and came in just shy of placing: 6th. My partner and I had a lot of fun though.
At Liberty Swing in June 2007, I made finals in the Novice division (I had to dance up because they didn't have a Newcomer division). Little did I know this would be the start of something fantastic! That one point in Novice got me dancing in that division at Swingin' New England 2007 -- where I didn't make finals, and again at New Year's Dancin Eve 2007, where I not only made finals, but took 3rd place!! (Also my partner Randy and I made finals in Intermediate Strictly Swing and came in 6th overall. What a fantastic start to '08!) If you're interested, check out my buddy Sam's photos, or some of mine.
