Practice to a Metronome
When you are working on any technical element of the dance, you want to be able to concentrate on the technique rather than what the music is doing. However, you also need to be able to keep a consistent pace … Read more
Looking for help with musicality for west coast swing? We’ve got you covered. In the articles below we cover topics like counting the music, staying on time, learning to hear music and more. Once you’re comfortable you’ll learn the #1 key to musicality so you can connect your steps to the music!
Musicality can be difficult if you’re not natural. Don’t worry. We’ve taught tens of thousands of dancers to hear music better. Take a look around! We’re happy you’re here :-) Start this interview on the history of west coast swing!
When you are working on any technical element of the dance, you want to be able to concentrate on the technique rather than what the music is doing. However, you also need to be able to keep a consistent pace … Read more
An important skill in musicality is being able to maintain the connection while changing your footwork. In this drill, you will practice taking out weight changes in order to show lower-energy moments in the song. Most dancers are exposed to … Read more
Many dancers habitually syncopate their triples. Instead of dancing 3&4, they dance &3, 4. While there’s nothing wrong with a syncopation when done intentionally, doing it all the time is a bad habit that should be corrected. Syncopating the triple … Read more
Many beginners struggle to dance rolling count songs because they don’t hear many rolling count songs played. But, while blues music is played much less frequently than 10 years ago, a lot of contemporary music has opportunities to dance rolling … Read more
When you’ve mastered hearing upbeats and downbeats in music, you are ready to bring that skill into your pattern work. West coast swing is a two-beat dance, so all patterns are built on the downbeat-upbeat structure. If all you dance … Read more