West Coast Swing Beginner Advice

Something bugging you about WCS as a newbie?

This blog post is actually a reply to an email I recently received. We ask dancers their biggest struggles. READ> 10 Biggest Struggles of WCS Dancers. This was one of the replies from an email we sent with the blog post. I though it was interesting so I wanted to share. I want new dancers to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Got more technical questions about improving as a new West Coast Swing dancer?

CHECK OUT> The BEGINNER RESOURCE Page. It has lots of helpful technical resources!

I wasn’t so much intimidated by the guys who were more experienced and danced better than me. It’s the ladies who i’ve felt i’ve let down by being an inadequate leader!

A lot of times ladies enjoy a nice basic dance with good leads. It really is true. Especially Pros who get tossed around a lot!

I’m a novice dancer who’s well aware of my shortcomings and get very discouraged when a lady has a confused or bored expression during a dance with me. It doesn’t help that my community has many seniors and are very competitive when it comes to contests.

Competition can bring out the worst in people… but it can also bring out the best. It kind of reveals where we are on the inside.

Don’t worry about the bored look. Some people just look that way. Be nice and polite and give the ladies a good dance and you will be a ‘winner’ in the long run! Promise!

I felt so discouraged that i actually quit for a whole year and only mustered the courage to give it another go in a totally different community (coz they were friendlier).

It’s difficult to ‘fit in’ sometimes. I’m not a fan of the word ‘community’ because it sometimes can get cliquish. It’s not that people are bad they are just comfortable with the people that they know. The goal is to find people that you can relate to and find a place in the room. Are you the nice guy? The show off? The welcoming guy? The guy who dances with everyone? All are roles that need to be filled. I’m happy to hear that you’ve found a good group. I HATE hearing that people quit. Congrats on making the journey back to the dance floor!

I’ve been watching your videos regularly and you have been very helpful and encouraging to folks like myself.  I’m still quite shy when asking girls to dance as i feel like its high school all over again.

Thanks for the kind words and Boy ain’t that the truth. Truth be known even though I’m a self assured extrovert and a good dancer… I’m pretty uncomfortable in a lot of social dance circumstances. My pressures are different than yours (I’m the teacher, the performer and the extrovert so I have expectations set for me) but we ALL have some difficulties in this area. You’re 100% normal!

I love music and dance and I must say WCS is definitely one of the hardest to learn and master even though it’s a very relaxed and casual dance style.

Ahhh yes!!! WCS is difficult. It’s also very unique, diverse partner dance that allows for lots of expressing and musical tastes. It’s blessing is also its curse LOL

Doesn’t help that I veer towards the less mainstream side of music.

That’s the nice thing about WCS. We don’t have to dance to every song but there are plenty to dance to. As long as people don’t get too selfish about their tastes there should still be plenty of music and dances left for the rest of us no matter how ‘on the fringes’ we are.

Having said all that, i wanna thank you Brian for being an excellent online Coach who’s working hard to share your knowledge and experience with Rookies like me.

Thanks my friend! I’m just another dancer on the path just like yourself. Like I said to you earlier… I’m trying to use my skills in a way that brings value to people. (Even putting my thoughts and advice our there through this site is nerve wracking. Not everyone will like what I have to offer but we know that beyond the shadow of a doubt that we bring values to the people that do. Not everyone needs to be like someone else…. We just need to learn to be the best versions of ourselves. Congrats on your dance journey so far. I wish you continued success.

Do YOU have questions for me?

I’m always glad to help. Go to the CONTACT page and shoot me an email. I’ll do my best to help any way I can. Best wishes, Brian B

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