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West Coast Swing Patterns

·5 mins
Dance West Coast Swing

I have been going to the Bay Area Whip Dance Club for a couple of weeks. Classes are divided in levels and instructors rotate so they can teach different levels. So far our instructor for level 1 classes has been Chuck Anders. He knows how to dance Salsa, Bachata, Tango, Polka, Waltz, Rumba, Two Step, West Coast Swing, and East Coast Swing. If I remember correctly, he said he began dancing when he was about 14 years old. Luckily Chuck was also my instructor for Level 2.

I have learned or reviewed the following steps there:

  • Sugar push
  • Left side pass
  • Sugar tuck
  • Reverse sugar tuck (right side redirect)
  • Reverse sugar tuck (right side redirect) to close position: put fingertips in between shoulder blades as she
  • Right side pass (underarm turn)
  • Right side pass to close position: put fingertips in between shoulder blades as she rotates
  • Right side pass with male turn: drop hand on 4) and turn left on the 5&6
  • Closed position to passing tuck turn
  • Close position to the left side pass
  • Basket whip
  • Whip
  • Inside turn AKA left side pass with an inside roll (left side pass variation)
  • Passing tuck turn (left side pass variation)
  • Free spin

West Coast Swing elements #

There are many elements in West Coast Swing dancing:

  • Musicality: are the dancers synchronized to the music?
  • Rock-and-go: are the dancers able to combine patterns without doing an anchor?
  • Repetition: Are the dancers able to take a basic pattern, split it into increments, and repeat those increments?
  • Tension and compression: Is the leader and the follower connected? Are they reacting to each other or dancing independently? Is the leader prepping correctly?

General dance knowledge #

  • Aim to have fun, stay safe, and dance every song
  • An inside turn is a left, counterclockwise turn
  • An outside turn is a right, clockwise turn

General West Coast Swing knowledge #

  • There are 5 pattern types:

    • side passes (6 beats)
    • sugar pushes (6 beats)
    • side pass with a roll (6 beats)
    • wrap in and wrap outs (6 beats)
    • and whips (8 beats)

  • A prep does not happen on step two, it happens between step 1 and 2, when the follower’s left foot is floating and pulling on the arm would cause a rotation on the follower’s right foot. In other words, it is 1-prep-2-3&4 as opposed to 1-prep-3&4.

  • Side passes are named from the leader’s perspective. For example, in a left pass, the follower passes by the leader’s left side.

  • The forward and backward directions are named from the follower’s perspective. When a follower and leader move forward, it means the follower is moving forwards while the leader is moving backward.

Musicality #

  • A major phrase is 32 beats
  • A minor phrase is 16 beats (usually) or 8 beats (rarely)
  • Music is commonly composed using the 4/4 time signature, which has 8 beats
  • All ballroom dances can be danced to music based on 8 beats (4/4 time signature) or 4 (2/4 time signature)

Rhythm #

Not really WCS related, but …

I have been told contradictory information about Rumba and Waltz:

  • Rumba and Waltz have a box step, but the Rumba rhythm is slow, quick, quick, while the Waltz rhythm is even because all steps are the same speed
  • Rumba and Waltz have the same rhythm: slow, quick, quick

Rock-and-go (RAG) #

A rock-and-go (RAG) combines the last two steps of a pattern with the first two steps of the next pattern.

A RAG reduces the beat count by 2, e.g:

  • two 6 step patterns become 10 counts instead of 12
  • an 8 beat whip and a 6 beat basic become 12 counts instead of 14
  • an 8 beat whip and an 8 beat whip become 14 counts instead of 16

When leading a rock-and-go, do not let the follower settle back on the anchor step. The RAG must happen quickly so the anchor step — which usually happens in place — turns into triple step that moves the follower forward:

  • In a basic 6 count pattern, the RAG replaces steps 5&6 and turns into the count 1 2 3&4 5&2 or 1 2 3&4 rock-and-go. The RAG must happen quickly so the follower does not settle on steps &6, but instead moves forward.
  • In a basic 8 count pattern, the RAG replaces steps 7&8 and turns into the count 1 2 3&4 5 6 7&2 or 1 2 3&4 5 6 rock-and-go. The RAG must happen quickly so the follower does not settle on steps &8, but instead moves forward.

Handhold configurations #

Handhold configurations do not have formal names, but I refer to them like so:

  • right to right: handshake handhold
  • left to left: scout handshake handhold
  • left to right: regular handhold
  • right to left: goofy handhold
  • left to right and right to left: double handhold
  • left to left over right to right: cross-up handhold
  • right to right over left to left: cross-down handhold

From a cross-up you may do an inside turn and from a cross-down you may do an outside turn (sugar tuck, for example).

From a double you may do a sugar tuck and release the left hand so you will end in a goofy handhold.

Pattern count combinations #

Many popular songs are composed such that each phrase is 32 beats. The leader can use this knowledge to sequence his/her patterns such that they add up to 32 beats, leading to sequences that consistently end on a phrase change.

If you start dancing at the beginning of a phrase change, then you must sequence your patterns to add up to 32. If started late by two steps, then you sequence must last 30 beats, etc.

The equations below split up the total number of beats into chunks that can be translated into specific patterns. For example, the equation \(32=6+6+6+8\) could be translated into \(4\) basic patterns and \(1\) whip.

$$ \begin{aligned} 32&=6+6+6+6+8 \\ &=6+8+8+10 \\ &=8+8+8+8 \\ &=8+12+12 \\ \\ 30&=6+6+6+6+6 \\ &=6+8+8+8 \\ &=6+12+12 \\ &=8+10+12 \\ &=10+10+10 \\ \\ 28&=6+6+6+10 \\ &=6+6+8+8 \\ &=8+10+10 \\ \\ 26&=6+10+10 \\ \\ 24&=6+6+6+6 \\ &=8+8+8 \\ &=12+12\\ \\ 22&=6+6+10 \\ &=10+12 \\ \\ 20&=6+6+8 \\ &=8+12 \\ &=10+10 \\ \\ 18&=6+6+6 \\ &=10+8 \\ \\ 16&=8+8 \\ &=10+6 \\ \\ 14&=? \\ \\ 12&=6+6 \\ &=12 (RAG) \\ \\ 10&=10 (RAG) \\ \\ 8&=8 \\ \\ 6&=6 \\ \\ 4&=? \\ \\ 2&=? \\ \end{aligned} $$