West Coast Swing – Accepted WCS vs. ballroom WCS

West Coast Swing (WCS) is taught by instructors from Country & Western, Swing and Ballroom backgrounds.  Each one has some distinct differences.    This became obvious to me last year (more later).

West Coast Swing technique as it’s frequently taught today, was documented by Arthur Murray Ballroom Dance Studios and many ballroom studios today still teach from this material (not all ballroom instructors use this material). 

Two Main Differences

Coaster Step

The biggest point of contention from the West Coast Swing dance community is the Coaster Step.

A Coaster Step (for the leader)  takes place on there 5&6.    The right foot is placed behind the left (on 5),  the left is a step in place (on &) then  the right is placed beside the left again(on 6).  Variations on this exist so descriptions may vary.

The Coaster Step was predominate in the early days of WCS when the dance closely resembled Lindy.   As the dance evolved, it was determined that the Coaster Step was a hindrance to the critical connection between partners.    The anchor step soon replaced the Coaster Step for both partners.

Unfortunately, many ballroom studios still teach WCS with a Coaster Step simply because it has been taught that way in ballroom since it was first introduced.

Tap Step vs Triple Step

Tap Step is simply a tap on 3 (forward for leader, behind for follower) and then a step with the same foot on 4.

In place of Tap Step, many teach a triple Step ( ‘trip – le – step’) on the 3 & 4 count.

And, hopefully not causing too much confusion here,  a variation of the triple step can be done called a Moving Triple Step on the &3, 4 but we can save that for another day.

Tap Step Issues

Momentum – Basics of Connection says the follower should keep moving in the direction led until they are stopped, run out of arm, etc. Tap Step teaches the follower to stop their own momentum.

Balance – More often than not,  I see this done flat footed with the leaders weight firmly on the heal of the weighted (right) foot.  Weighted this way it is possible for the follower to push the leader off balance.

Compression – This posture can cause a couple of things to happen.   If the leader is off balance, there will be no compression.  Also, the leaders elbows may have a tendency to drift behind again affecting compression and connection.

Flexibility – It prohibits, or severely limits, cross slot patterns

So  is Tap Step wrong?  No it is not wrong, but it should be taught with the stipulation that it is not the norm, but executed when led.

The Hard Way

As I mentioned, I had an experience that really punctuated the differences for me.  Last year I attended a Saturday workshop taught by a nationally known instructor.   It was an intermediate class so I felt confident I would be able to handle it.

Up to this time, all my WCS instruction had been from classic ballroom instructors and less than ten minutes into the class I knew I was in trouble.  I could barely get started with the pattern that everyone else was learning with no difficulty.  Why?   In place of my tap step and Coaster step, they were doing triple steps.   I struggled for the entire hour and finally got it with the help of a couple of very kind ladies.

After that, I sought out instructors from the swing community to help me correct this.   My next group class was much more productive.

Conclusion

I’ll be the last person to say that Tap Step and Coaster Step are wrong, but they are clearly a limitation to the dance and should be taught after a student has learned to dance with triples and anchors.

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Tagged as: Swing, Technique, West Coast Swing