Easier single step swing moves?

[mrrumba]

I have taken lessons for triple step swing, but at the dance I go to the music often seems too fast for that. I'm trying to teach myself single step swing.

Are there "moves' that are simpler to do with single step? Since there are fewer steps than triple step, so I assume more complex moves would be harder to do. I suppose some moves might have to be altered for single step swing.

In my triple step lessons I learned the underarm turn, he goes she goes, the sweetheart, the arm slide, the whip, stop and go, and a move that I think is called a Lindy sweetheart.

[nucat78]

I'm not a swing expert, but we use all of our ECS, 4-count hustle, and single-count (aka jitterbug here) steps interchangeably.

[Steve Pastor]

It's been a long time since I did "East Coast" single swing, but the names of moves in your list that I recognize are ones that I remember doing. Whip can be two different moves: one "eight count", and the other is just an in out thing sort of pulling and pushing each other.

[mrrumba]

I'm not sure how to convert some of the moves I learned in triple step to single step, since it has less steps. For example: moves like the whip or stop and go, which are more complicated than an underarm turn. I'm guessing there are simpler moves, that I'm not familiar with, that I could be doing instead.

[kpm]

In general they should be interchangeable. Once in a while you'll find something that won't work or feels awkward when going between triples and singles, but that's fairly rare.

[Ray Sison]

I would agree...

[Jim Chad]

Where I go on Tuesday they play a lot of fast jazz and we dance single swing to it. Where I go on Fridays is slower and almost all triple swing. My experience has been that anything I can do in triple swing will work in single swing, but only some things will transfer the other way.

I just had a new thought. I wonder if that is because I lead single swing better or the skill of the ladies involved. On Tuesdays, the ladies specialize in swing. On Fridays, the ladies dance all of the smooth and rhythm dances.

[bjp22tango]

In my triple step lessons I learned the underarm turn, he goes she goes, the sweetheart, the arm slide, the whip, stop and go, and a move that I think is called a Lindy sweetheart.

Triple time swing allows you to progress over the floor more in the tri/ple part of the triple step, while you are more stationary in the Single time swing but the leads stay mostly the same between the two styles.

In fact, many times one dancer can be dancing triple step and the other single step and not break the connection between the dancers.

[Flat Shoes]

Both single and triple steps have the same single weight change during two beats. So they are interchangeable. But as bjp22tango says, triple step lets you travel more across the floor. The triple step are also called a shuffle step, since you shuffle along the floor. Which can be a plus when dancing to fast music.

[tsb]

Both single and triple steps have the same single weight change during two beats.

.......um... not necessarily, i say that because i've seen triple swing taught with the emphasis of the weight shift being on TWO & FOUR vs. ONE & two, THREE & four, rock step, (i personally don't like this, but i can't control how other people teach) in which case the single step devolves to tap-STEP tap-STEP, rock step, which, if led, could confuse a follow used to moving on ONE & THREE.

[Flat Shoes]

tsb, you're right that the dynamics of the weight change may be altered. But the point is that both single timing and triple timing are a single weight change, and thus accomplishes the same thing when it comes to this.

Like a step-step results in not shifting weight from one foot to other, although in order to get to no total change you might (but not necessarily) have performed two weight changes.

So if you have eight count patterns, it's like this:
1-2: No total weight change
3-4: Change weight from one foot to the other
5-6: No total weight change
7-8: Change weight from one foot to the other

So on 1-2, "hanging", "kick-ball-change" and "step-step" will accomplish the same thing weight change wise.
And on 3-4, "single step", "tap-step" and "triple step" also accomplishes the same thing.

But the dynamics of the move does change. It can for example be difficult for a leader to lead the follower to move forward on 1-2 while "hanging".