Gumbo Workshop: Update Your East Coast Swing

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“Update” implies some sense of fashion renewal. The current swing fashion is the highest standard ever of basic choreography with quality action and rhythm. Therefore, for this workshop, “update” also means “upgrade.” Here are the priorities of today’s workshop:

  1. East Coast Swing is in the American Style Rhythm category. It’s a rhythm Show the rhythm in your body actions (except when spinning.) When you perceive a dancer as particularly rhythmic, it is the body rhythm of the dancer that is appealing to you, not the movements of their extremities.
  2. The Characters of the East Coast Swing (ECS)
    What words come to mind when you think of ECS? Emotional descriptive words for swing should include sultry, slinky, smooth, isolated, energetic, laid back, fun, cheeky, romantic/intimate (Remember: One way of paying attention to your partner is to ignore him. Turn your back to him often!)
    The swing world is huge. Show as many of the characters as you can, including Jive and West Coast Swing characters.
  1. Refinement: Everything about your swing should be presented with a high degree of polish and refinement. Many competitive swing dancers do not point their toes when they pick up their feet and dance with many ungainly, open leg positions. These problems will be addressed under “Basic Swing Action” today.
  2. A vital aspect of refinement is isolation. For example, we practiced two warmup exercises to be used for a few seconds before dancing at every lesson or practice:
    1. Turn the body without turning the head. This exercise helps to learn to keep the neck free so the body can move freely.
    2. Swivel the feet and head without turning your shoulders. Keep feet apart and knees slightly flexed. Do not bounce. Just swivel.
  3. To illustrate refinement and isolation we worked on the Basic action:

 

The Basic Swing Action

  1. Pick up one foot along the other leg, moving your other pant leg with the rising foot. Point your toe. Make room for the rising foot by sliding the hips to the side, away from the rising foot . Most of the swing competitors this weekend danced with their legs too open. Daylight is not your friend. Let me hear your fishnets. Keeping the legs closed produces a natural lateral hip action.
  2. Slide your back/ribcage to the side, opposite of the hip action (typewriter back action). Keep your back moving and active at all times in the rhythm dances. Your torso is your emotional center and, along with the hips, always part of rhythmic body action.
  3. Do not start a chasse with a big step. Do not move out to the side until the last step of each chasse. The last step of the chasse is the accented beat in swing. (Beats two and four are accented rhythmically in the three dances with music of African-American origin: Foxtrot, Quickstep and Swing/Jive. )
  4. Keep the hand connections with your partner low and stable, not high, overextended or bouncy. Use pressure changes to lead whenever possible, not movement of the connected hands.

 

  1. The leader’s three priorities
    1. Keep her safe (particularly from other couples)
    2. Keep her comfortable. Ask her in lessons or practices is the hold is too tight or loose. Only she is the expert on how she feels.
    3. Make sure she’s having a good time. Entertain her well.
  2. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” (Pablo Picasso)
    Unfortunately, dancing often teaches the exceptions before the rules. Once you have mastered rules, breaking them will be fun and effective. Use Jive techniques and actions in East Coast Swing and vice versa, for example.

 

Two figures were danced in class:

  1. Fifth Position Breaks (1,2 3&4; 1,2 3&4)
    Back rock, releasing the hold with one arm; then, chasse to the other side to back rock. Then, chasse to original side to repeat original back rock to start again.
  1. Back Walks and Points
    1. Use Merengue hip action throughout the ECS, but especially on these back walks.
    2. On the points, alternate the spacing between close to partner (intimate and “cheeky” with back to partner, giving your partner a little hip bump) and apart (turn to face partner to see the reaction).
      The points are more fun with lots of lateral hip swing, rotation and even “porch swing” (forward and backward pendulum action of the body).

Thank you for helping to make this workshop so much fun. See you at next year’s Gumbo!

 

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