The West Coast Swing Small-Step Drill for Better Connection

The Small-Step Drill Every West Coast Swing Dancer Needs to Master

In West Coast Swing, your baseline step size should be about the length of your own foot. Staying inside that small step is what lets the connection between leader and follower switch cleanly between **A-frame** and **V-frame** — and it’s the difference between a dance that flows and one that fights itself.

Why Step Size Matters in West Coast Swing

When both dancers take small steps, nothing gets missed. Leaders have plenty of time to prepare and deliver their lead, and followers arrive at that lead with the energy and timing they need to execute the figure cleanly. Small steps aren’t about looking dainty — they’re what make the connection legible in real time.

What Happens When Step Sizes Don’t Match

Step size only works as a system if both partners commit to it. If one dancer takes the right-sized steps and the other doesn’t, the dance limps along and most leads get lost along the way.

– **If the follower takes giant steps:** the leader has to work much harder to send strong, clear signals just to get a response.
– **If the leader is the giant-stepper and the follower stays tight:** the follower ends up doing all the work to keep up and interpret the lead.

Either way, mismatched step size breaks the shared timing that West Coast Swing depends on.

The Small-Step Drill: 6-Count and 8-Count Patterns

This drill is built to help both leaders and followers train smaller steps without losing musicality. It runs through the two major footwork patterns in West Coast Swing — the 6-count and the 8-count — and ends with a whip that rewards both partners for keeping their steps small.

The catch: you only make it to the payoff at the end of the whip if you keep your steps small the whole way through. Big steps break the drill before you get there.

How to Run the Drill

1. Get into a normal West Coast Swing slot with your partner.
2. Set the rule before you start: no step longer than the length of your own foot.
3. Run the 8-count whip, focusing on stepping with your partner’s connection on each step.
4. Run the 6-count pattern with the same focus.
5. Finish by leading/following the whole sequence — if your steps stayed small throughout, you and your partner should arrive at the end in sync, with the connection intact.
6. Reset and repeat, gradually adding musicality once the step size feels automatic.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big should your steps be in West Coast Swing?
About the length of your own foot. That size gives both partners enough time to prepare and deliver a lead, and enough time to receive and execute it.

What happens if my partner’s steps are a different size than mine?
The dance loses timing. A giant-stepping follower forces the leader to send harder, more forceful signals to get a response. A giant-stepping leader forces the follower to work overtime to catch and interpret the lead.

What are A-frame and V-frame in West Coast Swing?
They’re the two basic connection shapes between partners — A-frame is a connection with tension pulling the partners together (like the sides of the letter A), and V-frame is a connection where the arms extend outward with space between partners (like a V). Small, consistent steps are what let a couple switch between the two smoothly.

Who is this drill for?
Any West Coast Swing dancer working on connection — beginners building the habit of small steps, and more experienced dancers cleaning up footwork before adding musicality or styling.

Combine what you just practiced with the information from this article series

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*Written by Mr. Jonathan, West Coast Swing instructor based in Salem, NH. A 23 year veteran swing dancer, coach, and competitor.

Want to learn how to swing dance? Join our weekly Thursday night class at the Roma Restaurant 29 Middlesex St, Haverhill, Ma from 6:45-7:45pm with guided practice till 8:30pm…It’s a drop in class with no signups and is pay as you go. Here is a video of the basics

July 27, 2026September 7, 2026

The Power of Stretch in West Coast Swing | Mr Jonathan

Effortless is the way to describe West Coast Swing dancers when they move. There is just something about the dance that attracts so many. Off the top of your head you might be thinking, “Well, it looks cool,” or “There is a wide variety of music,” or even “I like that I can dress up or down for an event and still get a dance in.” These are all great attributes of WCS, but I think the engine that fuels the dance is the stretch in west coast swing.

Every teacher I ever had taught some variation of “back to go forward,” and they all had their own twist on why it’s important. The bottom line is that two things have to happen to be successful as a leader or a follower: energy production and connection.

Sum of the Parts Are Greater Than the Whole

Sprinters are not allowed to cross the start line already moving at top speed. They must have a static start, which limits the energy production at the beginning of their movement, but they have plenty of distance to reach top speed. Swing dancers have a slot that is roughly the length of three regular paces. More advanced dancers can achieve similar speed and power to a sprinter at top speed by using stretch in west coast swing with their partner and keeping their steps short.

Stretch happens in one of two ways: followers sending their hips back in complete opposition to their leader, or followers who simply hold their position in partial opposition until the stretch has occurred. Either approach will build up enough energy in the partnership to achieve real power and speed. That power and speed come out of connection, so we are both on the same page.

The Number-One Connection Killer

The number-one connection killer is the energy-sucking “long step.” This is mostly an issue with followers who are trying to emulate the speed and power they see on the dance floor. The attempt is to drive their bodies down the slot by moving their legs faster through a longer stride, completely independent of their leader. When this happens, the leader cannot feel the energy until it’s too late, because the energy did not start in connection. No one knows where anyone is, and the figure is doomed to failure.

Stella Can’t Lose Her Groove Though

I can’t stress enough the value of practicing solo and with music that you love. Connect something stretchy to a doorknob and practice feeling the band stretch before you move forward with a tiny step. Simply setting your intention on stretching and taking small steps, without the pressure of a partner in front of you, will change how you dance technically without removing the grooviness you have when you freestyle.

When you treat stretch as the true engine of West Coast Swing, everything else—speed, power, connection, and that effortless look—falls into place. Short steps and intentional opposition turn a three-pace slot into pure rocket fuel, while long, disconnected strides drain the dance of its magic. So practice the stretch, protect the connection, and keep the groove alive; the floor will feel bigger, your partners will feel lighter, and the dance will finally move the way it was meant to.

That shared stretch is also how two dancers replace ME with US: neither person forces the outcome, and both listen through the connection.

July 9, 2026July 10, 2026

Club JoEllen Purple Party – Country & Swing Dancing in Boston-My Origin Story

“Club JoEllen Purple Party – Country & Swing Dancing, Sunday Sept 13 2026, Boston area”

Club JoEllen Purple Party – Event Details

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026
Location: Club JoEllen – Longfellow Club (Boston area) 524 Boston Post Rd Wayland, Ma
Theme: Purple Party – celebrating JoEllen and the Club JoEllen dancing legacy. If you have something purple, wear it. If you don’t, then don’t give it a second thought… JoEllen would have wanted you to come as you are!

Lesson: 6:15 Country 2-Step

Dance Party: 7-10pm

Cost: $20

My Dance Journey: From Dive Bar to Club JoEllen and Dancing in Boston

I started my lead‑and‑follow dance journey at the dive bar of dive bars, ten years after line dancing had seen its peak. The White Buffalo, once a staple for Country Music Television’s “Line Dancing Showcase,” was so run down that we 2‑stepped around collection barrels when it rained. You had a 50/50 shot, when asking someone to dance, that they knew how, so the culture was very relaxed and no one thought anything of teaching right on the dance floor. It’s how I learned the 2‑Step basics!

I had the dance bug and started taking private lessons from someone who came highly recommended. After a few lessons, my instructor Cathy took me on a field trip to the Longfellow Club. The dance floor was massive and gorgeous, the dancers ALL seemed to know what they were doing, the music was intoxicating, and the partners were endless… I had found my new spot!

How I Became a DJ at Club JoEllen

After a year, of dancing at the Longfellow Club, I had discovered and collected enough music to ask JoEllen, the dance coordinator, for an audition to be one of her DJs. My buddy Paul let me play six songs after his 2‑Step mixer. I brought my A‑game and landed a 5th‑Sunday trial spot.

At my second audition, I played some music that I had always wanted to dance to, and judging from the response I got, I was in the minority. Before the night ended, I rallied with some old favorites and won the crowd back over, but JoEllen pulled me aside and had some gentle but choice words for me.

“You have some amazing music, but tonight you played stuff that was ‘too cool’ for the room. We have plenty of Boston country and swing dancers that enjoy newer songs, but just as many love the old favorites. I need you to consider making a bunch of sh*t sandwiches if you are going to experiment. Play an old stand by then a new song and finish with another old stand by. Music is the most important thing in dancing, and if you can’t play to your crowd, you can’t play here. I have you booked for the next 5th Sunday and I trust that will be enough time for you to figure your set out.”

She was coaching me and at the same time warning me as to how important my next showing was. Back then, Sunday nights drew 150–200 dancers, and the program was vibrant. Every year, three or four new DJs would try out and the rotation almost never changed unless someone quit or moved away.

My next showing, I played to my crowd. I paid attention to how many people danced to each song, and I wore them all out. That performance cemented every 5th Sunday for me and eventually earned me a residency on the second Sunday of every month.

JoEllen’s Legacy and the Birth of Club JoEllen

JoEllen passed tragically in 2005, and the club was renamed “Club JoEllen” in her honor. Her favorite color was purple, so our DJ tablecloth was purple and proudly displayed “Club JoEllen” on the front. Her favorite 2‑Step was Shania Twain’s “Forever and For Always,” and to this day it will pack the dance floor in that club.

COVID ended my 16‑year residency as DJ and my eight‑year run as the Sunday night 2‑Step/WCS instructor. Club JoEllen lives on with the help of Steel Shane and Alan Gaskell running dances when they can, but the program is not what it used to be.

Rebuilding the Boston Country & Swing Dance Community

My hope is to bring back all of the old friends that danced back in the day and introduce them to the new batch of dancers that enjoy all of the same dances now. Together I think we can rebuild this community!

Lesson and Dance Schedule

The lesson at 6:15 pm will not only be 2‑Step, but it will be the very first lesson plan that I ever taught in that space.

The party after will run from 7:00–10:00 pm and will feature:

2‑Stepping
East Coast Swing (ECS)
Waltz
Night Club 2
Cha‑Cha
West Coast Swing (WCS)

We will have a 2‑Step mixer and will all dance a tribute to JoEllen with her favorite song.

Invite Your Dance Friends

My hope is that if you are reading this, you send it to someone you know who used to attend those parties or someone who would appreciate great music in that epic dance space. Share this event with your Boston‑area dance friends, country dancers, and West Coast Swing folks So we can celebrate JoEllen’s Boston dancing legacy….Together we can fill that floor again and celebrate everything JoEllen built.

If you want to improve your WCS dancing check out my 3 part series on dancing with straight legs, how to, and the body mechanics behind the why.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

July 6, 2026September 7, 2026

Straight Legs in West Coast Swing: Slot, Axis, and Musicality (Part 3)

Link to Part 1 of the series (foundation of straight legs):

Link to Part 2 (connection / compression):

Slot Clarity and Axis

The straight leg is also a weight commitment bookmark.

Every time your leg extends and your weight fully arrives in West Coast Swing, you’ve made a declaration: I am here. Your axis is over this foot, on this line, in this spot on the floor. That clarity is what keeps you in your slot.

Dancers who habitually avoid the straight leg — who stay perpetually bent and bouncy — tend to drift. Their weight never quite commits, so their slot wanders. They look floaty, or vague, or slightly off-balance even when they’re not falling. Leaders lose track of where their partner’s weight is. Followers feel like they’re chasing a connection that keeps moving.

Committing to the straight leg is committing to where you are. It gives your partner something real to work with, and it gives you a clean platform to push off from into the next movement.

Musicality Starts Here

This one surprises dancers when they first hear it: your most interesting musical choices in West Coast Swing launch from a straight-leg position.

Breaks, body rolls, pulses, syncopations, freezes — all of these have maximum impact when they come out of a fully loaded, extended state. The straight leg is the cocked hammer. When you accent a musical moment from that loaded position, the movement has snap and intention. It reads as a choice.

When you try to do the same musical accent from a perpetually bent, unloaded position, it looks accidental. The audience — and your partner — can’t tell if you heard the music or just stumbled. The difference between looking musical and just looking busy is often exactly this: are you launching from a loaded state?

The Most Common Mistake: Confusing Straight with Stiff

Let’s talk about the thing that makes dancers nervous about this concept. The fear is: if I straighten my leg, I’ll look stiff or jerky. This is a real risk — but only if you stop there.

Stiff means you lock the knee and hold it rigidly. Straight means you extend through it and keep moving. The difference is in the intent and the continuity. Your body is always traveling — you arrive at straight and immediately begin the transition to the next step. The straight leg is a moment in a flow, not a pose.

A Quick Self-Check Drill

Here’s a simple West Coast Swing straight‑leg drill you can do without a partner.

1. Walk your WCS walks slowly — slower than music tempo.
2. On each step, consciously feel for the moment your knee fully extends.
3. Notice whether your heel connects with the floor at that same moment.
4. Now add music and see if those moments line up with the beats.

If your heel-down-and-knee-extended moment is landing on the beat, you’re feeling it. If it’s not, you’ve just discovered what to practice next!

Start Feeling It Tonight

The straight leg isn’t an advanced concept — its the most basic part of our walking steps and tends to get skipped a lot in beginner classes. But now you have it. On your next social dance or in your next class, give yourself permission to fully extend into each step. Let your heel land, let your hip drop, let gravity do its job.

You don’t have to make it big or exaggerated. Just let it happen. The timing will sharpen, the connection will get cleaner, and that “in the pocket” feeling you’ve been chasing will start to make a lot more sense. That physical clarity supports the larger journey of letting go and finding US in the partnership.

If you want to work on this in a structured way, this month’s class is a great place to get feedback in real time. Or check out our article on the WCS anchor step to see exactly how the straight-leg principle shows up in one of the most important movements in the dance.

You’ve got the missing piece, it’s time to use it!

June 24, 2026June 20, 2026

Straight Legs in West Coast Swing: Why It Matters Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, we covered what a straight leg actually is and why it’s the beat-landing moment in WCS. Now we go deeper: into the mechanical cycle that makes that extension matter, and the style payoff that comes for free.

The Stretch-Compression Cycle

West Coast Swing runs off of elastic tension and oppositional reflex — the same principle behind how a rubber band snaps back (stretch) or how a puppy leans into a bum scratch (compression).

Every step in WCS follows a stretch-compression cycle. First, your leg reaches and extends (stretch). Then you collect and compress through the knee (compression). Then you extend again (stretch). The straight leg is the maximum stretch point of that cycle. It’s the moment of peak loading…and it’s the moment your partner can most clearly read you.

This is why bent-knee-to-bent-knee movement collapses the connection. If you never fully extend, you skip the loading phase entirely. Your partner feels mush instead of tension, and the shared elasticity that makes WCS connection so satisfying just isn’t there.

(If your footwork mechanics are still developing, Footwork First: The Simple Fix That Transforms Your West Coast Swing is worth reading alongside this series.)

Where the “Settle” Comes From

You’ve seen videos of great WCS dancers and perhaps noticed that gorgeous hip drop, that low, grounded settle in their body. You might have tried to imitate it as a style choice. Here’s the truth: the settle is not something you do. It’s a natural occurrence from choosing to settle all of your weight over one straight leg.

When you fully extend into a straight leg, gravity does the rest. As a result, the hip drops because the pelvis has no more leg bend to hold it up. The body gets low because the weight has fully committed. In other words, the “settle” is a result of the straight leg, not a flourish.

This means if you’re working hard to manufacture that look, you’re doing extra work for a byproduct of something much simpler. Place all of your weight over only one foot as you pass through a straight leg, and the style takes care of itself.

This commitment to one foot is also why taking smaller steps makes WCS feel so much cleaner — there’s less distance to travel before you’re fully settled.

The settle isn’t a move. It’s a confirmation that your technique is working.

This is one of my favorite video examples of using straight legs to achieve better connection. There are a ton of cool tricks in this routine but non is better than the finger spin arm catch Starting at 1:13. She is 100% committed to his lead, timing, and where that stop is going to be. Her standing leg could not be more straight. His catch and send back down the slot is elastic. In spite of all that is going on in the routine no one seams stressed or rushed. It’s fun to watch and amazing to experience!