Two questions from someone considering WCS

L

lemonade

Member
Hello,

I have never taken WCS. It looks fun and I would like to try it. I was wondering

1- if there are any youtube showdance/showcase videos that WCS dancers could point me to that show what it can look like at its best/most amazing and who are the dancers that are the most fun to watch (i.e in latin Ricardo/ Yulia or Slavik/Karina--even though these two no longer dance together to me their videos are always inspiring)

2-to do a WCS comp is it choreographed with a routine that you and your partner/teacher rehearse or do you go out and do your best to follow your partner (I am female) and are judged that way?

Thanks very much for any replies!!
 
lemonade said:
Hello,

I have never taken WCS. It looks fun and I would like to try it. I was wondering

1- if there are any youtube showdance/showcase videos that WCS dancers could point me to that show what it can look like at its best/most amazing and who are the dancers that are the most fun to watch (i.e in latin Ricardo/ Yulia or Slavik/Karina--even though these two no longer dance together to me their videos are always inspiring)
Click to expand...

Yes, there are plenty of these on YouTube; just by entering West Coast Swing dance for your search. Good ones too.

2-to do a WCS comp is it choreographed with a routine that you and your partner/teacher rehearse or do you go out and do your best to follow your partner (I am female) and are judged that way?
Click to expand...

While I've never competed I believe there are categories for both choreograph and free style and I'll leave it to those who do compete to give more details about this.
 
Never done or have attended a WCS comp, so I'm going on heresay: A big thing for WCS comp is Jack & Jill, a luck of the draw, improvised type competiton that randomly pairs up partners and randomly assigns songs at the time of the comp. Really great stuff happens with the top level performers in a Jack & Jill.

One of my favorites: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3i6kyLLB2g
 
There are divisions for choreographed routines where you compete with your partner and provide the DJ with the appropriate music. These are generally for the professionals, although some competitions have a division for amateurs as well.

As for ProAms, some comps have these too. Whether they allow choreography or not, I am not sure since I have never done one of these. My guess would be that it is not allowed. In any case, the music is chosen by the DJ, so while it would be possible to do a pre-defined routine, it would look pretty silly and disconnected from the music.

The main type of competition at West Coast events is the Jack and Jill where you draw a partner at random, and the music is also chosen randomly. Choreography is explicitly forbidden, I believe.

For the sake of completeness, there are also Strictly Swing divisions where you choose your partner beforehand, but are otherwise the same as a Jack and Jill.

For videos, both routines and J&Js, just search for any of the top Westies- Jordan Frisbee, Tatiana Mollmann, Kyle Redd, Sarah Van Drake, Ben Morris, Melina Ramirez, etc.
 
Benji Schwimmer, son of the creator of WCS.
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Gracie has already pointed out the incorrect information here.

Things we know for sure about WCS are that it was first known as Western Swing in and around the very late 30s, through the 40s and 50s. (As late as 1971 the term was still being used in an Encyclopedia of Social Dance.)

It was first described in writing by Lauré Haile, and named "West Coast Swing" (publically) by Skippy Blair.

The relationship to Lindy has been more and more minimized as the years (and decades!) have gone by, at least by those who define the dance. This has made West Coast Swing pretty much a separate dance, rather than a style of swing (unless you are NOT a "studio dancer"!).
 
Thank you so very much everyone!!! I love those videos, and can't wait to look up more! WCS is sure a great-looking dance! I am impressed beyond belief that any of that happens without a routine!! Coming from latin and jazz, well it sure takes it up a million notches on the difficulty curve. I am sure everyone gets used to it but the thought of going to a comp with no idea who I am competing with, nor what music it will be, nor what my partner will lead is quite frightening. I suppose you just have to throw yourself in and GO! No relying on rehearsing or routine...really amazed and impressed!
 
lemonade said:
Thank you so very much everyone!!! I love those videos, and can't wait to look up more! WCS is sure a great-looking dance! I am impressed beyond belief that any of that happens without a routine!! Coming from latin and jazz, well it sure takes it up a million notches on the difficulty curve. I am sure everyone gets used to it but the thought of going to a comp with no idea who I am competing with, nor what music it will be, nor what my partner will lead is quite frightening. I suppose you just have to throw yourself in and GO! No relying on rehearsing or routine...really amazed and impressed!
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Hope you enjoy WCS...I love it. :friend:


WCS is definitely different from ballroom as far as the emphasis on improv and social dancing skills. In WCS, people at all levels, even pros, are on the social floor a lot. So, in a certain sense, you're not entirely "throwing" yourself in, because, by the time you get to a comp, you should have a lot of social dance experience, and in many cases, you're dancing with some of the people who you will end up competing with at a Jack and Jill. And that's on top of taking lessons and practicing, of course.

Still, if you don't like the idea of improv, there are opportunities to do a rehearsed routine. Some of the comps offer "solo" divisions which means you perform a routine with your partner, with costumes, music and choreography; each couple performs separately on the floor and then you're ranked.
 
So am I correct in thinking that you do not need a partner to do comps? (non pro-am) That you sign up for Jack and Jill and you are assigned someone to dance with thereby eliminating the need for a partner (as one needs in ballroom)? Or is that just one portion of a comp and the other portions require you to have a partner?
 
lemonade said:
So am I correct in thinking that you do not need a partner to do comps? (non pro-am) That you sign up for Jack and Jill and you are assigned someone to dance with thereby eliminating the need for a partner (as one needs in ballroom)? Or is that just one portion of a comp and the other portions require you to have a partner?
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In a jack and jill, partners are assigned randomly in all rounds - preliminaries to finals.
 
I happened across this not too long ago. Maybe you will find it interesting, as I did.
Text by Skippy Blair.

JACK & JILL -
(1) A form of Swing Dance Competition where the dancers do not know in advance who their partner will be. A name or number is randomly drawn to determine the partnership. It is called "Luck of the Draw.” (2) In 1994, the Jack and Jill Competition reached National Championship status. The stakes were high and the "Luck of the draw" was interpreted in a different way. Most Championships now allow two draws for individual "Call Backs" in the Preliminaries. Finalists are usually judged as couples.
Historical Note: At HANK & STANS in NORWALK, California (circa early 1950s), JACK CAREY ran weekly Swing Dance Contests. The top dancers always won, and pretty soon the contestants narrowed down to 3 or 4 top couples. They always won all of the money. New dancers were difficult to recruit. Jack wanted to encourage a variety of new dancers to participate. He had them put their names in a hat and draw for partners.. He called this new kind of contest a “Jack and Jill.” They have now been around more than 50 years.
 
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