West Coast Swing is a modern social dance developed in California sometime during the ’40s and ’50s and is constantly evolving as popular music changes. Like all swing dances, its roots are in Lindy hop, originating in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City.

This dance prioritizes connection and conversation with your partner, musicality, and improvisation. It is characterized by being danced on a slot, using an elastic redirection, and delayed weight transfers. The West Coast Swing community has become worldwide; dances and events can be found in most major cities and beyond.

In the sixth week, we begin exploring the music we dance to and how we can connect to it on many levels. This could include how to express different genres of music, hearing the phrasing of the piece, extensions, “rock and go’s,” accents, landing moments, and more. This is a big topic and is at the heart of this dance! If you are looking to attend for the very first time, this class might not be the best one to jump into. Never fear; there is always a new series on the way!

Instruction will last from 2-3 pm, and the last half hour will be for practice, repetition, questions, and feedback. The “Next Steps” intermediate class participants will be invited to join starting at 3 pm to practice with us.

In the full series, we will explore pushes and passes (week 1), tucks (week 2), starters and throw-outs (week 3), whips (week 4), spinning (week 5), and musicality (week 6). For the last two weeks of this series, you are strongly encouraged to have attended a few of the previous classes or have some experience.

Registration is optional but strongly encouraged as details are always subject to change. Please reach out to me to let me know you are coming.

Six weeks - $72 (this can be used for any fundamentals class)

Drop-Ins - $15