This is West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing, the all American dance. 

Should it replace the East Coast Swing in the Professional American Rhythm?

My answer has always been unequivocally yes to this question. In fact I still don't understand why it isn't. It's been discussed for I don't know how many years, and a great deal of pro's are throwing in West Coast influenced steps, although not dancing them with the true slick nature of the dance.  I had even said to others how exciting it would be to see what the top pro's would do with the dance, because as we all know that is when you really see a change evolve in a dance. It's hard to imagine that Cha-Cha started out like it is now. And, think of the Samba, although it is an International Latin dance, it's a far stretch from what the authentic Samba looked like before the English got a hold of it.

Wait...Maybe it shouldn't replace the East Coast Swing in the Pro Rhythm.

Yep, the more I thought about it the more I began to question the idea of it. When I used to think how great it would be to see what top pro's would do with the dance, I was a much younger version of myself, and still a ballroom snob basically. I didn't really understand the West Coast, at least not like I have come to. And I certainly had no insight into what West Coast Swing competitions were all about. These competitions are brilliant in my opinion. The West Coast community if you will, has separated or showcased the difference between social and exhibition with divisions like Jack and Jill. It is very much like the Argentine Tango in that respect, in my opinion. (Which, by the way, the two dances go very well hand in hand. Granted, your not really dancing Argentine Tango, but rather borrowing from its brilliant design.) I think the ballroom community could learn a lot from the West Coast Swing competition formats. Which of course brings me to the new question...

Would placing the West Coast Swing as the new Swing in Pro Rhythm ruin it?

To be honest I am still torn. I am never one to step on the evolution of a dance. I wholeheartedly believe  in dance evolution. But, it's not like West Coast Swing hasn't gone through plenty of evolution over the years. The question is, if your were sitting in on the American Dance Conference, and the topic came up, would you push for this amazing dance to take it's rightful place as one of the defining American Rhythm dances, or would you guide the conversation away in protection of your precious dance that can be danced at amazingly different tempos, to music with limitless different sounds, to remain a dance that has it's own following and standard of competitions?

Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

I don't have any rhythm!

I can't find the beat! 

It's not missing! Why are you looking for it? People make the mistake all the time by trying to hear the beat. We don't hear the beat, we feel the beat. And everyone feels the beat whether they know it or not. But for those that lack confidence they will try their hardest to hear or find the beat. They try all kinds of different methods, and often ask what it is they are listening for. Is it the drum, and which drum sound is it? Others listen to different instruments, while others listen to the voice when there is one.  I have seen this very type of person sitting in a chair and unconsciously tap the foot to the music. 

It's simple, once we make someone think of something that they already do naturally their brain will get in their way. So, number one, it is a confidence or fear issue that lead to number two, over thinking it. 

There are many people that have decided  they don't have rhythm because they find don't clap on time, or they don't clap when everyone else claps. I believe these people have an exceptional feel for music. It means one of two things. They feel the "down beat" so strongly that they want to clap on that beat. Feeling the down beat means you definitely have rhythm. The other possible reason is the entire audience is clapping on the down beat, and wrongly so, as The Voice coach Adam Levine so often points out during the show. 

So what is the "down beat?" To explain I'll be referencing the popular 4/4 timing. The beats go like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. There is no 5,6,7,8, that's just for us dancers who count the second set of 1,2,3,4, as 5,6,7,8. What's important to know is the "1" is the Down Beat. And although the 1 comes around every 4 beats, it is heard stronger every 8 beats, hence the dancers version. Furthermore the 1 or Down Beat, is heard still stronger every 16 beats and stronger yet every 32 beats. It is important to note, my explanation of this is from a dancer's perspective, not a musicians.  

We are supposed to clap on the 2nd beat. This is not very intuitive for most, which is why you will see band members often raise there hands high in the air to get the audience started on time. So, difficulty clapping is in no way a sign of lacking rhythm. 

What's the fix?

If this is something you really want, you should try some of what I'm about to tell you, by your self. NO distractions. Find some good strong 4/4 time music. Rock-n-Roll is a great choice if it suits you. Sit and listen to the music. Bob your head to it, tap a finger on a table, tap your foot if its natural. In fact do anything, however so slight to simply express your feeling to the music.IF IT FEELS GOOD, YOU ARE FEELING THE MUSIC. And hopefully began to get out of your own way. 

When you feel bold enough, get up and simply walk to the music. NOTHING FANCY! Just walk and bounce (if the bounce helps)  to what you FEEL. DO NOT try and identify with an instrument. Doing that is trying to find the beat. And remember, it is not missing.  

Here are some links to good strong beat music that suits well for giving it a try:  

Back in Black

Bon Jovi Living on a Prayer

Billy Joel For the Longest Time

All three of these picks have a strong down beat, as well as a strong 2 beat. AC DC's Back in Black  uses a predominant snare drum (I think) on the 2 beat, and the same goes for Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. Billy Joel's For the Longest Time expresses the 2 beat with finger snaps. This is one of the type of things that confuse  people when they try and hear the beat. They pick out a predominant instrument that isn't the  down beat. But, if you feel like clapping, IN THIS CASE, those instruments or snapping fingers will work.
The entire point here is to break down that belief system that you don't have rhythm. Because YOU DO!!! Now go prove it to yourself. 

Blackpool 2010 Ballroom Dancing Pro Final - Waltz

Is this a formation or a competition? These two couples at the start look like they may be working with the same coach. I understand trends and in my competitive career I fell into the same trap, only I was dancing in the American division so starting trends were no quite as obvious. It even seems the camera man pulls away as if to say, "This has gone on long enough." In fact, if you were to pull back the camera you might find there were more more than two couples doing that opening, but that is especially the nature of Standard. Having poked fun enough, you can't deny the enjoyment in watching such flawless technique danced side by side, and the skill to manage their floor craft so effortlessly. You less seasoned competitor would have become flustered in that corner I assure you.

Quick Fix for the Rumba Box Blues

TIP FOR BEGINNER OR TEACHER

Rather than do the Rumba box step, simply step side-together-side, to the timing of quick-quick-slow. Begin turn to the left very very gradually while thinking of doing most of your turn on the slow. In no time you will be doing the box, and you can skip that troublesome part of remembering which foot to move forwards or backwards with. Once you begin turning the side-together-side figure, the slow step will gradually and naturally begin to become a forward or back step. As long as you don't think about when it it begins to happen you'll be fine. But, don't be surprised if the moment you begin to get it and realize you doing the box that you may make mistake. However you will have proved to yourself you can do it, and beating that belief system is the whole battle. 

For teachers accustomed to dancing slow-quick-quick, rather than quick-quick-slow, I say, "Get over it" for now at least, until your student gets accustomed to a box. If you are reading this and thinking, "What's the difference between QQS vs SQQ?", there is none that matters. Some start one way, others start the other. For those that were not thinking that because you know the difference, then you already know, it doesn't matter in social dancing (Or competitive for that matter).

The reality is that the box step is hardly natural. If you find it difficult in the beginning it is not you. Having a person bring their feet together, then asking them to chose the correct foot next is just asking for trouble. If you ask anyone that has their feet perfectly together, which one they are standing on, they will either  have trouble answering, tell you "both", or lie and pick one. The truth is they are standing on both, which gives that a person a natural choice as to which foot to "Pick" next. And choices are bad! Bad choice! Bad! Dancing the step side-together-side alleviates most of this issue, as the foot that runs into the other tends to allow us to kick out the other, should we be moving in that constant direction, and not having had to put the brakes on to get our weight to stop moving and prepare to go forwards or backwards.  

This tip really only works with rumba, and doesn't really work with Waltz. But, if it can get you over the hump with the box, then later a box, is a box, is a box. And a little secret, way down the road, it's all a box. 

ALL MEN SHOULD KNOW AND USE THIS

Most male students, especially beginning to intermediate, but not limited to,  should take this into account when dancing with someone that is new. Guys, if you're out and about and you ask someone to dance that doesn't know the box step, you could stop and show them the box if your goal is to completely humiliate her with additional plans for her to never dance or even talk to you again. Or you could try out a simple side-together-side action. Personally, truth be told, I wouldn't even do side-together-side if I were in any setting other than a ballroom dance setting. I'd clutch and sway and twirl her lightly now and then. But, in a ballroom setting, where you run into the beginner that has not had any lessons yet, this is the gem. 

Oh, and one more tip for our gentlemen dancing with newcomers. I always start in promenade with a beginner in dances like Foxtrot or Tango. No need risking stepping on a foot. Promenade is the gift from the Foxtrot mixer gods. 

Please leave a comment, or ask a question. 

Ballroom Dancing Makes a Difference

Social Dancing makes you Smarter

It sounds like an absurd statement, but the truth is a study was done at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study looked at numerous activities, both physical and non-physical, and their effectiveness to protect against dementia.

Reduced Risk of Dementia

• Bicycling and Swimming - 0%
• Playing Golf - 0%
• Reading - 35%
• Doing Crossword Puzzles Regularly- 47%
• Dancing Frequently - 76%

No other physical activity offered any cognitive benefits, and dancing ranked higher than all the other activities by a significant margin. Google the cognitive benefits of ballroom dancing, and you will find there is no shortage of information on the subject. In fact this was not the only study on the subject. This is a link to the TAP site (The Alzheimer's Project), one of the many google results you can find on the subject: http://thealzheimersproject.org/2014/12/ballroom-dancing-and-alzheimers-can-dancing-make-you-smarter/  

Social, or partnership, dancing offers greater cognitive benefits than other types of dancing. Richard Powers from Stanford University has written a great deal on the subject explaining social dancing as  "Intelligent Dancing."

The bottom line is it is due to the "leading and following" factor. Dancing with a partner keeps you on your proverbial toes, so to speak. Both partners must think and respond accordingly while they dance, as opposed to dancing by memory. He also points out the process in which a person is taught and therefore learns social dancing makes a difference in the cognitive benefits they might receive.

Process, Process, Process

I have been teaching ballroom dancing for 30 years, and I can't stress enough the importance of process. It's true everyone's process is a little different, and some people might have a more difficult time learning with a particular process. It is also true that certain processes produce certain results. For instance, if a man learns 5 dance figures and reinforces his memory of the steps by putting them in a particular order, he will most likely retain those figures quicker than if he were forced to mix them up upon execution. Unfortunately, should someone get in his way on the dance floor, essentially blocking him from doing the next step on his list, he won't be able to handle it. Naturally his leading won't be very strong as a result, and for guys....well, leading is kinda the whole point.

It is even worse for ladies. If a lady works hard to master a figure, making sure to be able to dance it correctly every time, she will run into equally tough issues. She may practice tirelessly to bring her feet exactly together on her basic box step, but if her process of perfection leaves no room for alternatives, he perfect footwork will buy her nothing but trouble when the gentlemen she is dancing with does an open box, where the feet do not come together. I'm not saying don't practice bringing your feet together in a box, nor that practicing on good technique of any kind is bad. I am saying women should put much less stock in figures, especially long showy figures, and much much more on elements. 

Those long American style school figures are terrible for dancing from a lead and follow perspective. Women develop following skills that are by recognition rather than pure following and men try to lead these steps that are impossible. 

The point is people should be dancing from as creative a place as they can, and the only rules that are truly important in ballroom dancing are the ones that pertain to providing your dance partner with the best partner you can. Any steps learned are only meant as a vehicle to learn to move your body in a variety of ways. Ultimately social dance steps teach us how to rotate left and right with a partner, enabling us to move around the dance floor efficiently and with ease so that we may express the character of the music and share this with a partner. 

Notice I did not say while expressing the character of the dance. When the dance and the music have been paired together purposefully it is assumed the dance's characteristic movement will fit the music. But, it is an assumption nonetheless and you shouldn't consider expressing the characteristics of a Foxtrot more important than the music. (The exception might be competing, as the type of dance may be a better option than the poor music your given. lol) It is not about repeating what you have been taught, but rather taking what you have been taught and applying it by expressing what you are feeling, and enjoying sharing that with a partner. 

I could go on and on, but I will leave you with this. Ballroom dancing can really make a difference in your life, and the benefits go far past the cognitive benefits that help protect against dementia. There is truly something mystical about the healing powers of dancing with a partner. And, to get the full set of benefits, the process in which you learn is important. Don't learn a dance, learn To dance. 

Check out these other fantastic articles by Richard Powers. 

http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/musings.htm