Lindy Hop, West coast, East coast swing

[catsmeow]

This thread just reminded me I have to get ready for class!:eusa_doh:

 

[Deleted member 3716]

i took my first swing class last night (east coast swing).
was getting on famously till i had to switch partners also switching from a follower to a lead.and then back again.
i ended up thoroughly confused.

there was social dancing afterwards though so with the help of one or two more experienced dancers i pulled it together! kind of....

out of about 40 people only myself and my friend were dressed vintage.
my boyfriend doesn't dress vintage but at least he managed to put on a shirt

 

[dhermann1]

RANT!

Just a small rant about nomenclature. There is no such thing as "East Coast Swing"! The term only came into use to differentiate classic Swing dancing, more properly called Lindy or Lindy Hop, from the much newer West Coast Swing. Personally, I'm not a fan of West Coast swing. It's not done to swing music, but to R&B. When I see people start to do it I go into a corner and start grumbling about "Square Dancing", and other rude things. However, if you enjoy it, for heaven's sake don't let my curmudgeonliness bother you.
What is now referred to as East Coast was the dance EVERYONE in the country did during the heyday of the Big Bands. There was nothing regional about it at all. It evolved from a dance called the Collegiate, which was done to music like you would hear from Fletcher Henderson's Band around 1931 or 32. It's a fun dance that I'd like to learn, because the music is fun and bouncy. (It's all about the music, after all!)
Anyhow, the advice that's been shared in this thread is all good. Whatever gives you pleasure, whatever dance you do, go for it! (As long as you don't step on your neighbor's toes!)
BTW, the slot dance I DO like is Carolina Shag. VERY similar to WC Swing. It just proves how ludicrous my personal pejudices are that I think Carolina Shag is cool and West Coast isn't.

 

[Chas]

>>There is no such thing as "East Coast Swing"!

Nonsense. I have heard it called that in many places. It's a legitimate term to describe a basic form of swing dancing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_Swing
And west coast swing is a direct derivative of Lindy. Dean Collins had a hand in creating it.

I found that when you integrate the triple step into the basic East Coast Swing pattern, that that was a fast-track to learning Lindy. Rock Step, triple step,triple step....

When I started dancing, I found that the classes locally were not what I wanted to learn; back then there were factions that grew up around style differentiation. I personally was drawn toward what they were doing in LA (hello, Peter. you were one of those dancers), so I took several trips to Seattle where Tonya Morris was putting on dance weekends every few months. She would bring up accomplished dancers from LA and do full-on weekend workshops.

Once I was reasonably happy with my skill I went to Camp Hollywood; and a few more workshop weekends after that, until I got tired of the swing scene altogether. I rarely missed opportunities to take private lessons from instructors whose approaches or styles I admired. That I would highly recommend.

The instructors I refer to were Sylvia Sykes and Rusty Frank.

It takes time, effort and money. And, of course, plenty of social dancing as practice.

 

[dhermann1]

The term has become ubiquitous, but there is no actual East Coast connection to that dance. As I said, it was totally national in its heyday.
The term has been around for at least 15 years now, but it's really a misnomer.

 

[Mr. 'H']

Hellooo!

i took my first swing class last night (east coast swing).
was getting on famously till i had to switch partners also switching from a follower to a lead.and then back again.
i ended up thoroughly confused.

there was social dancing afterwards though so with the help of one or two more experienced dancers i pulled it together! kind of....

out of about 40 people only myself and my friend were dressed vintage.
my boyfriend doesn't dress vintage but at least he managed to put on a shirt

Hi, I just spotted this, I've been off the Lounge for a while....

I have gone to Jessica's class in Blackrock with my wife and it was really fun. I have also been to a workshop here at the Garda club a while back.

he last dance I was at was at the Speigal tent. I drove over in my '41 Buick and we had a blast. Here's a fellow Lounger in my car that night;

 

[SarahLouise]

i took my first swing class last night (east coast swing).
was getting on famously till i had to switch partners also switching from a follower to a lead.and then back again.
i ended up thoroughly confused.

there was social dancing afterwards though so with the help of one or two more experienced dancers i pulled it together! kind of....

out of about 40 people only myself and my friend were dressed vintage.
my boyfriend doesn't dress vintage but at least he managed to put on a shirt

My class is a lot smaller than 40 and nobody dresses vintage either, apart from me and the teachers. It's not really recommended to dress up as you are moving around and get hot so you'll find that most people just wear very casual clothes. I normally wear repro jeans of some kind, which I change into after work, and flat shoes. There's an old guy who always tells me he loves the way I dress and that it reminds him of the dancers in the 1940s which is really sweet. That reminds me, I really need to buy a suitable pair of dancing shoes which are slippery as I can't do the 360 degree spin properly at all with my current shoes!

I also really agree with the points about leading too. I am still an absolute beginner and can only dream of being as good as most people I see at clubs and gigs. I have a real problem of letting the guy lead and am always wanting to do my own thing and it's something I need to snap out of. You've got to know what move the guy is going to do next and I usually anticipate the wrong one! Most of the partners I've had have been awful, they have absolutely no clue what they are doing, and so I kind of feel like I'm not learning as well/fast as I should be. The teachers do step in and help each person which is good but it's only for a few minutes and I feel it should be for longer. Confidence is so important with dancing and that's also something I am lacking.

 

[Paisley]

You've got to know what move the guy is going to do next and I usually anticipate the wrong one!

A few suggestions:

As the follower, you should always be waiting, not anticipating. With a great lead, especially, you never know what awesome move he's going to pull out. Once you learn how to follow fairly well, you can do moves you never learned in class.

You're right about it being hard to learn with other beginners. Stay for the dance (or go to a club) and ask good leads for dances. Since you are a beginner, wait for a slower song, find a good dancer who gives you a good feeling, look him in the eye and ask him for a dance.

Have you read my thread called Learning to Dance? It's in the Golden Era section, around p. 4 now. You might find it interesting.

 

[SarahLouise]

A few suggestions:

As the follower, you should always be waiting, not anticipating. With a great lead, especially, you never know what awesome move he's going to pull out. Once you learn how to follow fairly well, you can do moves you never learned in class.

You're right about it being hard to learn with other beginners. Stay for the dance (or go to a club) and ask good leads for dances. Since you are a beginner, wait for a slower song, find a good dancer who gives you a good feeling, look him in the eye and ask him for a dance.

Have you read my thread called Learning to Dance? It's in the Golden Era section, around p. 4 now. You might find it interesting.

Thanks for the advice Paisley. You're completely right about the waiting and not anticipating point. I'm not confident enough to go up to a stranger in a club and ask them to dance when I'm not good at all myself though! I need to go to more classes for that I think. I'll also have a look at your other thread too.

 

[Snookie]

Thanks for the advice Paisley. You're completely right about the waiting and not anticipating point. I'm not confident enough to go up to a stranger in a club and ask them to dance when I'm not good at all myself though! I need to go to more classes for that I think. I'll also have a look at your other thread too.

No, Paisley's right, you should ask some more experienced dancers to dance. You don't have to ask the best guy at the club -- you won't feel confident enough to have a good time -- but find someone with a little more experience than you. Look for someone who isn't engaged in a conversation, wait for that slower song, and feel free to let him know you're just learning. (But don't apologize for being a beginner - we were all there once, and it's not embarrassing to be new!) He'll realize that you picked him out as someone you really want to dance with, and unless he's a jerk, will be flattered. Rinse, repeat with someone new, and you're on your way!

I didn't have a regular partner for the first 5 years I danced, and had to get good at asking if I ever wanted to dance. I truly think that dancing with so many leads taught me more about following than anything else could.