To answer it, I want you to answer a question. "What is Swing?"
Here is a picture of a swing. You know what it is and how it works. You sit on the seat, and start swinging.
Now, think about the motion. You don't move at even speed on the swing, do you? You 'swooosh" and say "wheeee" at the bottom, and you gradually slow down and there comes a moment of pause at the end. Then you start swinging backward. Slow, then fast (wheeeee), then slow, and a pause. Repeat.
Yes. Swing motion has built-in quietness (pause)-slow-quick contrast. And that motion should appear in the swing dance.
West Coast Swing is a member of the swing dance family. It is danced in a slot. When you see the WCS from side (from the viewpoint a slot looks longer), you should be able to see the swing motion.
In the view, the leader is the support of the swing. The follower's motion resembles to that of the seat of a swing. She is the moving part, and the man provides solid and less-moving support.
WCS leaders use compression and release to create the swinging.
Great WCS leaders such as Kyle Redd or Jordan Frisbee are particularly good at creating the swing motion. I love to watch the WCS dance by these guys. Especially, Jordan Frisbee makes big contrast in the pause-slow phase and fast phase in his routines, resulting mesmerizing swing effect.
However, the effect cannot be achieved by the leader or the follower alone. Both should know what to do to create the "Swing" illusion. She should be able to move fast and slow, and take time to pause. Leaders. If you move around too much, sometimes it can work against the swing motion as a couple. You got to give immobile reference point for her motion. Beginners often end up looking sluggish or some kind of struggle, because they don't know this notion....yet.
Personally I like swinging in WCS. However, WCS has differentiated to many styles. There is a group of WCS followers whose style is more oriented toward precise foot positioning. There is another group of followers who like to wiggle and roll in place. Some of the followers may not like too much swinging, probably because they feel rushed. Since I prefer to create swinging, it takes extra care and slowdown to dance with them. You see, know your style preference does help to diagnose your partner's style and to get the dance work.
If you think your swing dance is not swingin', give this swing concept a try.
