10 Tips for Improving WCS -- Fast

[pygmalion]

I found this interesting article on westcoastswingamerica.com. I especially like the idea that screwups are always the man's fault, unless the woman steals the lead! :evil: :lol: Thoughts, anyone?

Michael's 10 Tips For Improving FAST!

by Michael A. Harvey

1. Trash all your Patterns and Variations and return to Basics. You will only be as "solid" as your foundations. Men should perfect their Lead and women should per-fect their Follow.

Male Lead: Draw definite lines with your (body and) arm(s), placing the lady in the exact place in the slot you want them in. Consciously hit your "entrance counts." Anchor and be firm on "four" ("six" on eight counts) to allow the woman to feel secure enough to do her playing thing. Don’t forget about your feet; keep your motor going!

Female Follow: The worst sin is "anticipating." The greatest asset is sensi-tivity. Sensitivity comes from the "connection." The man provides the "perch." But the woman is the one who "sits" on the perch. A seat that "slips" is uncomfortable. "Air" between the man's palm and fingers as you sugar-push creates alternating connection/non-connection. The woman should he "rolling" her fingers on this perch creating a constant and se-cure connection. Once the connection is bonded, go where you "feel" him leading you. If his lead is weak you can try to "save" him. If his lead is pure he will he able to lead you through Patterns you’ve never known before.

2. Any screw-ups are ALWAYS the man’s fault, UNLESS the woman "anticipates or "steals" the lead.

Men: The Universe is wide open to trap you in mistakes. Admit it, learn from it, try not to repeat it. Ask her, "how did I throw you off?" She will definitely tell you. Immediately try the move again. Sometimes the woman will be all wet with her answer, but most of the time she will help you a lot. Ladies respect men who show their vulnerabilities.

Ladies: By concentrating on the sensitivity of your follow, you will never be at fault. So when a man does throw you off and "invites" you to help him improve never tell him he is "wrong." Rather, suggest to him that it could he "better," or "easier communicated." Give us one or two "helpful hints" at a time and take the long-term approach with us. A woman who has one dance with a man and hands him a laundry list of improvements will find herself sitting, while the woman who gives a man one tip per night will he dancing with him far into the future.

3. Dance with lots of different partners. Experience is the best teacher. Challenge yourself to Lead (or Follow) strangers flawlessly. I love to travel and walk into a venue unknown and dance with all shapes, sizes, and ability levels. When I get back to the partners I like to dance with at home my lead is improved and I appreciate the "feel" of those I am accustomed to. And ladies, dancing with a variety of men will force you to become a more sensitive Fol-low since you won’t have a clue as to what to anticipate.

4. You can never learn all the patterns and variations that exist in West Coast Swing. Since you trashed them all in suggestion #1 above, go back over what you already know and like. Pick the ones that really turn you on and leave the others in the trash. Focusing on Basics will allow you to learn new moves quicker and easier. But only learn new moves that you really like, ones that suit your body style and vision of the dance. I see moves all the time that I love to watch other people do and know that they just aren’t for me. At other times I’ll see something that I know is just right for me. So through time I’ve developed a wide range of patterns and variations that are exactly my color and flavor.

5. Don’t be intimidated by moves other dancers make. You can admire them with the understanding that those moves are right for THEM but may not be right for you. The moves that are right for you IS your style. This will make West Coast Swing a lot easier for you and give you the confidence to dance with anybody.

6. Limit the number of times you say "sorry" to once per dance. This will force you to save your one "sorry" for when you really need it. After a while you’ll find yourself making it through entire dances without saying "sorry" once! If you keep saying "sorry" with every little flaw it’s very likely you will be perceived as a very "sorry" person, indeed. Are you as tired reading "sorry" in quotes as much as I am typing "sorry" in quotes? Get my ("sorry") point?!

7. Take a little time to learn the opposite side of the dance. Take someone you enjoy dancing with and teach them your part and ask them to teach you their part. Not only will you gain a better understanding of West Coast Swing, but also open up new areas of fun for the two of you. I discov-ered that the female part is a lot of fun because you can "cruise" if you feel like it or you can "ham it up" if you’re so inclined. It’s also hilarious watching the females panic their way through the male leads as you "faultlessly" try to save their ineptitude!

8. View all lists of advice on "how to improve your West Coast Swing" with many grains of salt. Take what you like, forget the rest. Ultimately, you get better by dancing.

9. Dance more.

10. Have fun.

[Sagitta]

Well pygmalion wrote that it always is the leaders fault and that caught my attention. I prefer the article where it says screw-ups are ALWAYS the man’s fault, UNLESS the woman "anticipates or "steals" the lead. . Follows often anticipate leads!!

I actually like #s 8-10 the best, as people often don't do this....

8. View all lists of advice on "how to improve your West Coast Swing" with many grains of salt. Take what you like, forget the rest. Ultimately, you get better by dancing. [Too many people sitting out for all the rong reasons!!]

9. Dance more. [Dance and dance and dance and dance....]

10. Have fun. [If you are not having fun people don't want to dance with you, so you cannot follow tips 1-9!!]

I also liked:
- make sure your basics are great, and hit the counts on the right beat. Never can go wrong by going back to basics. I periodically do that for all the dances that I'm learning.

- limit the # times you say that you are sorry

- dance with many different people

- leads be follows too -- makes a world of difference, and I want to do more, but too few people are willing for to entertain me :( I actually got my second/third time being a follow at a study break dance on Wednesday night, when there wern't enough follows. (Thanks dnquark!!) I was really nervous as I had to reverse my steps and switch my dance attitude, and probably was a horrible follow, but after that I definitely want more.

[darkoff]

I found this interesting article on westcoastswingamerica.com. I especially like the idea that screwups are always the man's fault, unless the woman steals the lead! :evil: :lol: Thoughts, anyone?

I have been helping a dance teacher teach West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing, country, and salsa dancing off and on for over 7 years, and I have often heard people say that it is always the leaders fault, but that isn't really true. It is USUALLY the leaders fault, but there are many things that the follower can do wrong that can screw up the dance.

Some things the follower (here assumed to be a lady) can do wrong:

1. Not dancing in rhythm to the music, when the leader IS in rhythm (if the leader isn't in rhythm, then it isn't the follower's fault). Being SLIGHTLY BEHIND the beat is okay for a follower, but being AHEAD of the beat or being way behind the beat screws up the lead.

2. Not stepping with the correct foot (such as the follower stepping forward on the left foot on the first beat of a west coast swing pattern).

3. Not placing the foot in the correct place on a step (such as the follower stepping out of the slot to go around the leader in west coast swing).

4. Not making her free hand available for the man to connect to it when he indicates that he wants it.

5. Not giving the proper resistance with her arms and body.

6. Pulling her hand away from the man's hand before he has let go.

7. Pulling her hand away from a place on the man's body where the man has placed the lady's hand (such as pulling her hand away from a man's shoulder after he placed her hand there to duck his head under her arm).

8. Losing her balance because of her bad posture and/or technique (but the leader is often to blame for the follower losing her balance).

9. Not following the lead.

There may be other things that the lady can do to screw up moves, but these are the only ones that I can think of right now. But the leader is USUALLY at fault for screw ups.

[chandra]

I get the reasoning for leaders responsibilty, I do.
Here is how I see it:
There is always something each person could have done better... I feel like if both people take responsibility, neither has to apologize, and the dance goes on.
All responsibility, no blame.

[It's Wonderful]

Not to split hairs, darkoff, but isn't that entire list things the follow would do if she isn't following? If she is following 100% all the time, then (hypothetically, I've never seen such a follow!) it would always be the leads fault. This is implying however there is a perfect follow and imperfect lead, and don't believe that's ever the case. So, when they say it's the fault of the lead unless the follow isn't following, that's is correct, but a rather confusing way of saying it could be either's fault :roll:

[yola]

Not to split hairs, darkoff, but isn't that entire list things the follow would do if she isn't following? If she is following 100% all the time, then (hypothetically, I've never seen such a follow!) it would always be the leads fault. This is implying however there is a perfect follow and imperfect lead, and don't believe that's ever the case. So, when they say it's the fault of the lead unless the follow isn't following, that's is correct, but a rather confusing way of saying it could be either's fault hm no don't agree at all!! if you say that, imo you underestimate the follows roll in the dance ánd radically undervalue the various techniques a follow has to learn.
as if being a good follow consists only of one technique: to follow. :mad:
Than the same can be said of leaders: he just has to lead perfectly, and that's all there is to it. :-?... blah imo!
'follows: By concentrating on the sensitivity of your follow, you will never be at fault'
pfff... rubbish, you can still be off-beat, losing your balance, step with the wrong foot, miss a cue.... and loose the lead because you're not familiar with a particular step or lead.. (because believe it or not: some steps háve to be taught/practiced/experienced, in order to be able to follow them. otherwise, with a perfect lead, a good follow, who never before danced swing, would be able to follow perfectly well, without any classes. and that's rubbish - although she can do a lot (as i experienced, dancing with Ryan Francois...:raisebro:)...
Putting the responsibility (for the most part) on the leader's shoulders, has lead to classes being taught only from the lead's perspective. It's the easy way out for male teachers: love, the only thing your pretty little head needs to know is to follow properly. Just follow my lead, and everything will turn out nicely..
(and yessss 'some' slight frustration with fellow teachers may be noticable in this reply...hehehe...:p)

[It's Wonderful]

Oops, I was thinking of "Follow" in my post, as in the capital-F Follow that isn't just doing what you're lead through but doing the whole Follow half of the dance. I consider "to Follow", to include all the technique that prevents such mistakes as missed signals, poor balance, poor connection, etc. When people say it's the leads fault whenever there's a mistake, it bugs me to no end because that's saying the follow is performing the Follow part perfect, no mis-steps, no balance issues, no mis-read leads, everything perfect for the follow and the lead's imperfect. Obviously not true!!!

[yola]

I think we agree, it's wonderful, it's just that i would like the various techniques the Follow has to learn/practice, to become a good dancer, be named. other then just 'following'.
I consider some of the techniques you rank among the 'following technique', not purely part of following, but of good dancing.
Balance, rhythm, knowing the do's and don'ts of a particular dance, being able to execute the right steps, improvising while not loosing the connection, being able to execute the right steps although the leader may indicate something the wrong way (and i DON'T mean BACKLEADING!)... it's all techniques that make a Follow a better dancer, and probably more fun to dance with, but are not per se part of following technique.

[Swingolder]

[Dance with lots of different partners. Experience is the best teacher.]
Wish I could do this more. My dh doesn't like to dance much with anyone else so we generally dance most dances together. Therefore, I get very little chance to dance with other leads. My dh doesn't mind if I do and if he wants to sit one out, I will ask another guy (only if I know them, however) but seldom do I get asked back since I am usually with my dh.
I just don't know how to get him to realize that he can have fun dancing with others too.
If we go to a dance with way too many women there without partners, I will tell him he should ask "her" or "her" or "her" to dance. He gives me that "I don't want to" look and then doesn't!
That is just a small gripe about an otherwise great guy.

[yola]

Well.. guys are sometimes just as shy to ask others, as women are. Is he a nice lead? than maybe you can hint to some of the other ladies present, to ask him? in stead of him making the first move?

[Swingolder]

Well.. guys are sometimes just as shy to ask others, as women are. Is he a nice lead? than maybe you can hint to some of the other ladies present, to ask him? in stead of him making the first move?

Our instructor even has had other ladies ask him and he will dance with them but then never ask them back.
And it always pleases me how good he looks when he dances with someone else.

[DWise1]

Swingolder, your husband might be like I used to be. The main reason why I started learning to dance was to be able to dance with my wife. In my mind, she was the only person I ever wanted to dance with. I had absolutely no interest in dancing with anybody else.

I was cured of that attitude, but you don't want to apply it to your husband: the divorce and the years of abusive neglect she inflicted on me. When she dropped out of the WCS class (the instructor was too gruff for her) I continued the class anticipating her return, but then also dropped out since she was forgetting it already and I would never have anybody to dance with. I got her back into a Lindy class, which she dropped because it was the only time I ever got to hold her anymore and she couldn't allow me even that little. After another year of Lindy classes (mainly for the therapeutic value), I finally realized that I had to start going out and dancing with others if I was ever going to learn those things that you can never learn in class but only by going out and dancing.

So maybe you're too special to him for him to want to dance with anybody else.

[Swingolder]

Swingolder, your husband might be like I used to be. The main reason why I started learning to dance was to be able to dance with my wife. In my mind, she was the only person I ever wanted to dance with. I had absolutely no interest in dancing with anybody else.

I was cured of that attitude, but you don't want to apply it to your husband: the divorce and the years of abusive neglect she inflicted on me. When she dropped out of the WCS class (the instructor was too gruff for her) I continued the class anticipating her return, but then also dropped out since she was forgetting it already and I would never have anybody to dance with. I got her back into a Lindy class, which she dropped because it was the only time I ever got to hold her anymore and she couldn't allow me even that little. After another year of Lindy classes (mainly for the therapeutic value), I finally realized that I had to start going out and dancing with others if I was ever going to learn those things that you can never learn in class but only by going out and dancing.

So maybe you're too special to him for him to want to dance with anybody else.
I know, I should be please that he only wants to dance with me...that is a lot better than wanting to dance with everyone else instead of me! I just think he would get a little more confident (maybe he doesn't have the confidence since I don't tell him how well he is doing often enough) or maybe try harder if he did dance with someone else.

Anyway, no drastic cures to this like your situation. And it really isn't much of a problem. We have a really good time out dancing together!

[pygmalion]

Swingolder, your husband might be like I used to be. The main reason why I started learning to dance was to be able to dance with my wife. In my mind, she was the only person I ever wanted to dance with. I had absolutely no interest in dancing with anybody else.

I was cured of that attitude, but you don't want to apply it to your husband: the divorce and the years of abusive neglect she inflicted on me. When she dropped out of the WCS class (the instructor was too gruff for her) I continued the class anticipating her return, but then also dropped out since she was forgetting it already and I would never have anybody to dance with. I got her back into a Lindy class, which she dropped because it was the only time I ever got to hold her anymore and she couldn't allow me even that little. After another year of Lindy classes (mainly for the therapeutic value), I finally realized that I had to start going out and dancing with others if I was ever going to learn those things that you can never learn in class but only by going out and dancing.

So maybe you're too special to him for him to want to dance with anybody else.

Wow. :(

[pygmalion]

I know, I should be please that he only wants to dance with me...that is a lot better than wanting to dance with everyone else instead of me! I just think he would get a little more confident (maybe he doesn't have the confidence since I don't tell him how well he is doing often enough) or maybe try harder if he did dance with someone else.

Anyway, no drastic cures to this like your situation. And it really isn't much of a problem. We have a really good time out dancing together!

I think that, sometimes, dancing can be scary for guys. Especially guys who are relatively new. There's a lot of risk of feeling stupid, which guys almost never want to do.

Your husband sounds pretty normal, to me. Especially if he started dancing because you asked him to.

[yola]

And it always pleases me how good he looks when he dances with someone else.
Have you told him this? That you love to watch him dance, because he looks so good dancing and giving the other ladies a great time. and that you're proud to be his wife, to be the one to have landed such a handsome catch and be the one he goes home with after? :D

Or maybe he really just loves dancing with you, and watching you dance with others....