How to Do West Coast Swing Dancing

West Coast swing is the state dance of California. It's a jitterbug type of dance, with the partners moving toward and away from one another in the open position. It can be danced in a slow and sexy fashion or faster and with a lot of energy, so it's a good choice for almost any song in 4/4 time.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Begin by learning the basic 6-count and 8-count dance patterns. These basic patterns should be practiced without a partner until they can be done smoothly and easily.

2. Get a partner and practice the sugar push. The man walks backwards 2 steps while pulling the woman toward him, then pushes her away while he walks forward 1 step and ends with the anchor step. The woman walks forward, waiting for the man to pull her forward rather than moving at the same time as the man.

3. Learn the left and right side passes. The man steps out of the way while the woman walks past him. For the left side pass, the woman walks under her own arm as she walks past the man.

4. Practice the locked and open whip steps. In the locked whip step, the woman walks forward, pauses and then walks backward without turning. The open whip step requires that the woman turn as she passes the man and then turns again to return to her original position.

5. Add syncopation moves such as the point and the ronde with hip circle. These can be added to the ends of the sugar push, pass and whip steps.

6. Put it all together. Add music and practice allowing the man to lead, giving the woman cues about what steps he wants her to perform. The woman should be careful to follow the man's lead instead of deciding what steps she wants to do and forcing the man to follow her.

Tips & Warnings

• The woman's job in West Coast swing is to dance in the slot, the rectangular dance space. The man's job is to get out of the woman's way as she passes back and forth.
• West Coast swing is also known as sophisticated East Coast swing.
• Unlike most ballroom dances, the backward movement begins on the left foot and the forward movement begins on the right foot.