One of the most difficult elements in west coast swing is the triple rhythm. Most dancers struggle with the body control necessary to do three weight transfers in two beats of music because the body has to syncopate. As a newer dancer we must first master the basic timing of the triple step. More advanced … Read more
In last week’s post, we practiced using two-beat extensions within basic patterns. Now it’s time to apply that technique in order to phrase the music. The Drill: First, listen to Sweet Sixteen by Junior Wells: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phf40x5XiSc In the last four beats of each major phrase (musical paragraph), there is a clear bass drum on the … Read more
WCS is a two-beat dance. As a result, it is easy to extend patterns by two beats in order to phrase the music. In order to remain on the same foot, we’ll use a double rhythm unit to extend the pattern, and we’ll put the extra double between the rhythm units of the base pattern. … Read more
The biggest difference between straight and rolling count is when the weight transfer between the beats happens: either directly in the middle of the beat, or closer to the upbeat. However, there is another significant difference between the two forms of counting. Each method of counting naturally links the & with a different beat of … Read more
In the post on rhythm units, we described double and triple rhythms. To wit: a double rhythm has two weight changes within 2 beats of music, and a triple rhythm has three weight changes in two beats of music. One way to make your dancing fit the music is to dance triples when you hear … Read more
by Brian B at west coast swing online
Brian & Megan 
