I did not want to cause too much thread drift. However, the Champions thread going on has me thinking. What changes have all of you observed in WCS over the past decade? There is always an impression of a rapidly evolving dance. However, it seems pretty consistent to me. Even the champions seem to be mainly the same people. So I thought I would see what changes all of you have been observing?
WCS Changes In The Past 10 Years
- Thread starter kayak
- Start date
I gave up watching other people a long time ago.
One thing I notice with the women is that there isn't much of an anchor. Is it them or is it the leaders who don;t pay attention to the music?
If I find someone who is so incompatible with what I've been doing since my Skippy Blair update, it's unlikely that I'll be dancing with them very much.
I DO feel, though, that the CW place where I dance has been pretty much immune to "popular music" influences with older shuffle based songs being the ones most danced to (and the only ones that get ME out on the floor.)
One thing I notice with the women is that there isn't much of an anchor. Is it them or is it the leaders who don;t pay attention to the music?
If I find someone who is so incompatible with what I've been doing since my Skippy Blair update, it's unlikely that I'll be dancing with them very much.
I DO feel, though, that the CW place where I dance has been pretty much immune to "popular music" influences with older shuffle based songs being the ones most danced to (and the only ones that get ME out on the floor.)
Mr 4 styles
Forum Master
Yeah the tap step is for late in the night or if you have had too many... 
By the time I started, the tap was already out. Handy for some moments, but I always learned to do all the steps. Hand grip seems to adjust slightly, but the difference seems pretty marginal to me. There seems to be a bit of a movement to an hourglass slot, but that seems to have more to do with space than anything else.
When I learned in the early 90s we did a tap when we went from the closed position East Coast like starter to an open position. And of course it's used for Sugar Pushes (still? is where I dance)
LateToTheDance
Active Member
Hey!
My "update" was attending Skippy's "West Coast Swing 101" intensive - twice.
Let's see if I can provide you with some links...
This is a place to start, but if you could be more specific...
https://www.swingworld.com/
I don't really know what "current pros" are teaching, and I know that Skippy's dvds have materials that differ from what I learned back in the 90s... But I haven't gotten any negative feedback for a long time when I've pretty much stayed with with how she teaches things.
The thing that hooked me on her was when I heard her talk about how the music and dance go together. YOu might think, duh, of course, but I don't see it around me, and no one really covered it like she did.
My "update" was attending Skippy's "West Coast Swing 101" intensive - twice.
Let's see if I can provide you with some links...
This is a place to start, but if you could be more specific...
https://www.swingworld.com/
I don't really know what "current pros" are teaching, and I know that Skippy's dvds have materials that differ from what I learned back in the 90s... But I haven't gotten any negative feedback for a long time when I've pretty much stayed with with how she teaches things.
The thing that hooked me on her was when I heard her talk about how the music and dance go together. YOu might think, duh, of course, but I don't see it around me, and no one really covered it like she did.
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I've had some really good dances the past two Saturdays. I'll say this about the younger women. I feel that they dance more assertively.
After one dance Skippy Blair's 1995 statement that, "West Cost Swing is literally a "High Tech" GAME played to music," came to mind and I had to bite my tongue to keep from sharing that with my partner. And she had even been the one to ask me to do the next West Coast with her.
After one dance Skippy Blair's 1995 statement that, "West Cost Swing is literally a "High Tech" GAME played to music," came to mind and I had to bite my tongue to keep from sharing that with my partner. And she had even been the one to ask me to do the next West Coast with her.
LateToTheDance
Active Member
DanceMentor
Administrator
I guess measuring what has changed is no simple feat. I danced with a lady just last week that has even recently been competing (in ballroom) and only knows how to do anchor steps, and asks me to lead her in Chicken Walks. I know her teacher and he came from the franchises of yesteryear you might say. I guess my point is that some people don't choose to change. Ha
I know it's easy to criticize past "ideas" about what should be discarded, and replacements are supposed to be better,but, are they ? .
"New " doesn't always mean better .
Changes in all dances over the years, have been brought
about primarily thru music, and a good ex is QS, that was 2/4 and became 4/4, affecting how the dance was "danced".
Same can be said about Salsa, in the more modern approach to the music .
It took a long time for me to decide that "chicken walks" are pretty much the same thing as swivels.
Haile listed them as # 13 Swivels in Silver Level of Western Swing (aka WCS).
a: under that item was Sugar Foot - actual Sugar foot is on the walk - walk
Her description sounds at lot like what I remember from early 90s, but haven't seen or heard from since.
Every now and then I've had a partner who threw one in there as a variation. I usually exclaim "swivels," but don't know what the partners would call them. Gotta think mostly about Jewel McGowan.
Haile listed them as # 13 Swivels in Silver Level of Western Swing (aka WCS).
a: under that item was Sugar Foot - actual Sugar foot is on the walk - walk
Her description sounds at lot like what I remember from early 90s, but haven't seen or heard from since.
Every now and then I've had a partner who threw one in there as a variation. I usually exclaim "swivels," but don't know what the partners would call them. Gotta think mostly about Jewel McGowan.
