Tag: West Coast Swing

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Straight Legs in West Coast Swing: Why It Matters Part 1

The Missing Piece in Your West Coast Swing: Dancing TO and FROM a Straight Leg

You’ve probably heard it a hundred times in class: “Stay soft in your knees.” It’s good advice, but it’s also only half the story. The reason so many intermediate dancers feel like their movement is missing something is because it is…their timing is close but never quite lands. If you only practice your “moves” you miss the most important gateway into advanced dancing: the straight leg.

This isn’t a secret technique just reserved for advanced dancers. It’s a fundamental mechanism that lives at the heart of all dancing and especially West Coast Swing. The feel, its timing, its connection, and yes, even its musicality are all branches of the straight legged Tree. Once you understand it, a lot of things that seemed like separate skills suddenly click into place like multiple gears driven of the same shaft.

What I Mean by “Straight Leg”

Let’s be clear right away: a straight leg in WCS does not mean a locked, rigid, or stiff leg. That kind of hyperextension is hard on your joints and hard on your partner. What we’re talking about is a fully extended, fully weighted leg — a checkpoint you pass through, not a place you park. Think Count 4 in a basic whip…Leaders and Followers driving into the floor so leaders can return the follower back to their starting side with a drive on 5 (Lesson plan example click here).

Think of it like a loaded spring. When a spring is fully compressed, it holds maximum potential energy. Your straight leg is that fully loaded state. The knee is extended, the heel is down, the hip has dropped into the weight, and your body is stacked over that foot. You arrive at straight, and then immediately the machine starts loading the next spring. You’re not stopping there. You’re moving through it…but you have to actually go there for the mechanics to work.

It’s the Beat Landing

Here’s where things get interesting for your timing: the moment your leg straightens IS where the beat is.

Most beginners feel the beat as something that happens as the foot taps the ground which is not wrong…At first that is exactly what is happening. As we develope in WCS, the beat becomes a grounded body event. The pulse happens when your weight fully arrives into that extended leg, and the earth pushes back. That’s the “in the pocket” feeling that separates WCS from many other partner dances. It’s not a float; it’s a landing…an arrival…a pulsation!

When you start training yourself to feel timing as a moment of full leg extension, your counts stop being something you track mentally and start being something you feel in your body. Beat 1 is when that first leg arrives  straight Beat 2 is when the next one does. Triples move slightly so the first two steps have soft knees and the final step of the triple passes through a straight leg.  The music and your center of gravity start having the same conversation. Check out the video below for a great demonstration of Straight legs leading to the pulse of the dance:

Read More on this topic by clicking here

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The Whip: How a Classic Lindy Move Became a West Coast Swing Essential


The Whip is one of the foundational patterns in West Coast Swing, and it has a richer history than many dancers realize. It evolved directly from the classic eight‑count Swingout of Lindy Hop, which took shape at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom in the 1930s. As Lindy dancers migrated west and adapted their style to a smoother blues scene, the Swingout began to transform.

One of the most influential figures in that evolution was Dean Collins, whose dancing in 1940s Hollywood and California clubs helped refine the Swingout into a more slotted, grounded form. Over time, that refinement produced the elastic, directional version we now recognize as the West Coast Swing Whip. Around the same period, regional swing styles in Texas, like the Houston Whip and Dallas Push, were already using similar “whipping” actions. It was the Western Swing scene in California, however, that ultimately codified the pattern as a core eight‑count basic.

In a classic West Coast Swing Whip, the leader sends the follower past them down the slot, then redirects that energy with leverage or compression, whipping the follower back to the starting side in a dramatic but controlled way. This evolution emphasized musical phrasing, body flight, and the signature West Coast Swing extension‑and‑compression technique, which clearly separates it from the bouncier feel of East Coast Swing and many Lindy variations.
By the 1960s, when the dance was officially renamed West Coast Swing, the Whip had become one of four core patterns alongside the Starter Step, Push Break, and Side Pass. From there, the variations multiplied—basic whips, inside and outside exits, double whips, and many more that dancers still love to teach and reinvent. If you want to deepen your West Coast Swing, investing in a clean, musical Whip is one of the most powerful things you can do; it connects you directly to the history of the dance and anchors a huge amount of modern styling.

About the Author: Mr. Jonathan has been teaching and writing about WCS for 25 years. Catch his classes on Thursday nights at 6:45pm at 29 Middlesex st (The Roma Restaurant). Class is $20 and lasts about an hour. It’s an all levels class with built in dance hosts/hostesses that will give you the extra attention you need if you get stuck. Class is followed by a guided practice where everyone takes turns dancing with each other and private instruction happens if needed or requested. Check out his calendar of events on the home page or click here

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Connection is a Universal Language

Connection is a universal language. It’s so universal that when I have one of my main video partners record a figure with me, 95% of the time they do not know what is coming and we tape the figure in one shot. The other 5% is because I forget where I am and have to start over. The leading and following after a certain point becomes second nature and doesn’t need any help for any other language to get expressed.

Just like learning a new language some parts of connection are exactly as they appear and others seem counter intuitive. One thing that connection is not is intermittent. In the same way a pitcher must stay connected to the ball with their follow thru; dancers must stay connected with each other through the entire figure.

Leaders should be looking to be clear and precise so there is no guess work for the follower and no chance they could “pick the wrong direction.” Followers must resist the urge to anticipate any portion of the figure by “riding the leaders lead” aka “staying in the pocket.” Imagine if the baseball was able to anticipate the pitcher’s throw and left the hand early? It would be chaotic!

I have a couple of drills that I do to keep myself in the pocket when I follow that are based on Oppositional Reflex. When pushed a good follower pushes back…When pulled a good Follower pulls back…Every one of my Classes has drills that will get you Connecting Universally!