WEST COAST SWING

“West Coast Swing (WCS) is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop. It is characterized by a distinctive elastic look that results from its basic extension-compression technique of partner connection, and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The dance allows for both partners to improvise steps while dancing together, putting West Coast Swing in a short list of dances that put a premium on improvisation.”

“West Coast Swing”. Wikipedia.org. 4/2017. April, 27th 2017. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Swing.

HISTORY

“The origins of the WCS are in Lindy Hop. In a 1947 book, Arthur Murray recognized that there are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type. Each section of the country seems to have a variation of its own. Dean Collins, who arrived in the Los Angeles area around 1937, was influential in developing the style of swing dance on the West Coast of the United States, as both a performer and teacher. When his wife, Mary Collins, was asked if Dean was responsible for the emergence of the dance, however, she said that Dean insisted there were only two kinds of swing dance – good and bad. According to one of his former students, a member of his last dance troupe, Collins himself said that he had nothing to do with the West Coast Swing style.”

“West Coast Swing”. Wikipedia.org. 4/2017. April, 27th 2017. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Swing.