Learn to Swing Dance: A Beginner's Guide to East Coast and Country Swing

Swing dancing is an exhilarating and fulfilling activity, offering a blend of physical exercise, social interaction, and artistic expression. Whether you've been captivated by swing dancers in action or are simply seeking a new and exciting hobby, this guide will provide you with a comprehensive introduction to the world of swing dancing, with a focus on East Coast Swing and Country Swing.

Getting Started with Swing Dance

The first thing you should know is that learning to do any kind of dance will take time and dedication. It's important to understand that mastering any dance style requires time, dedication, and consistent practice. Attending a single dance class per week without engaging in social dancing is unlikely to yield significant progress.

East Coast Swing: A Great Starting Point

I recommend starting with East Coast Swing. East Coast Swing is a popular universal dance that’s very beginner friendly. You can east coast swing dance to a wide range of music and music tempos making it a popular dance for new dancers. Of the various swing dance styles, East Coast Swing is often recommended as the ideal starting point for beginners. It's accessible, versatile, and provides a solid foundation for exploring other swing styles. East Coast Swing is probably the most common form of swing done in america today. You’ll see in on social and competition dance floors across the country.

Finding Lessons and Practice Opportunities

Many swing venues offer beginner East Coast Swing lessons before the main dance, for example, Atomic Ballroom, Lindy Groove, Rusty’s Rhythm Club, and PBDA. Those are a good, low-pressure way to start. To accelerate your learning, consider attending swing camps or weekly swing dances. These events offer immersive learning experiences and ample opportunities to practice with other dancers.

Swing Camps: If you really want to improve quickly, then you can “jump in the deep end” and attend a Swing camp. The biggest one in Los Angeles is Camp Hollywood at the end of August. The biggest one in Orange County is Inspiration Weekend in March. These usually have three or four nights of Swing dancing over the weekend with classes during the day. These events are exhausting but fun, and if you attend all of the classes, your dancing level will definitely go up a notch or more!

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Weekly Swing Dances: There are some big weekly Swing dances with classes before the dance. I would especially recommend LindyGroove, PBDA, Rusty’s Rhythm Club, and Atomic Ballroom.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

I don’t suggest taking Swing classes from corporate places like Arthur Murray. When seeking instruction, it's advisable to avoid large corporate dance studios and instead opt for specialized swing dance venues or instructors with a strong background in the style.

East Coast Swing Basics

Like all Ballroom dances, Swing dancing is based on specific basic steps that once mastered can be applied to all kinds of turns, hand swaps and spins. Below you will learn the 2 main basics steps of Swing. This style of Swing is East Coast Swing which originates from Lindy Hop. It is a Stationary partner dance that doesn’t travel much - Meaning it is pretty much danced on the same spot - As opposed to a traveling Ballroom dance like Waltz. The character of this dance is playful and lively. There are a lot of turns and spins that make this dance really fun for couples.

Basic Steps and Timing

The east coast swing basic steps are easy to learn. The timing for East Coast Swing is pretty straight forward for beginners. We describe it in this video in detail. Mastering the basic steps and timing is crucial for building a solid foundation in East Coast Swing. The basic steps involve a rock step and triple steps, executed with specific weight changes and movements.

We strongly recommend that you count in the beginner way for a while. However, it is important to understand that the rocks step has two full weight changes to 2 beats of music. And the triple steps (3 a 4 Or 5 a 6) have three weight changes to only 2 beats of music.

Leading and Following Techniques

Effective communication between partners is essential for successful swing dancing. Leaders initiate movements and guide their partners, while followers respond to the lead and add their own stylistic flair.

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Leaders: Apply pressure fwd using the entire body but mostly the left arm (For the rock step). Make sure to extend the elbow slightly. Now, after the rock step, using your body weight and right arm connection, lead the followers to triple side steps in both directions.
Ladies, don’t anticipate the lead - Simply connect forward to your partner to feel his lead.

Beginner Moves and Variations

After learning the basics you might wonder which west coast swing moves you should learn next. Don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Inside you’ll learn the Cuddle, Hammerlock and the Shoulder Check for East Coast Swing. These beginner moves are based on the basic steps you already know. Once you've mastered the basics, you can expand your repertoire by learning beginner moves and variations. Common beginner moves include the Cuddle, Hammerlock, and Shoulder Check, which build upon the foundation of the basic steps.

Leaders: Just like in the most basic step, extend your left arm to the followers to allow her to do her Rock Step. Immediately after, as you do the side triple step to the left - raise the left arm just above the follower’s head (indicating a turn coming up). Now on count “&” circle the left arm over the follower’s head as she turns underarm.

Expanding Your East Coast Swing Skills

Now that you’ve mastered the basics and you’ve learned some beginner moves you might wonder is that all? Well there are lots of different dance steps to learn for ECS based off of the beginner patterns you already know. You’ve already put in the hard work mastering the basics. Now it’s time to head on over to our video vault where you can learn lots of fun east coast swing dance steps. As you progress, you can explore more advanced steps, patterns, and styling options to further enhance your East Coast Swing skills. There are lots of different dance steps to learn for ECS based off of the beginner patterns you already know.

Music for East Coast Swing

So you’re loving you new ECS moves. You might be practicing at home or even better you might be social dancing at a wedding, dance studio, cruise or even in the park! The next question that might pop up is what types of music can you dance to? We’ve compiled a really helpful list of east coast swing music for you to practice to. You can even download a clickable list of song choices and play them right from youtube. East Coast Swing can be danced to a wide range of music genres and tempos. Experiment with different musical styles to find what resonates with you and enhances your dancing experience.

Country Swing: A Fun and Energetic Style

Country Swing Dancing is now a popular dance style especially in Texas, Oklahoma and California. Really though I’ve seen it in country bars outside the USA in places like Calgary Canada. It’s a super fun dance that can be seen anywhere there is a country or western influence. Another popular style of swing dancing is Country Swing, which is characterized by its energetic movements, playful patterns, and connection to country and western music.

Origins of Country Swing

The likely origin of country swing came as hustle dancers followed John Travolta off the disco dance floor and into the country bar after the hit movie Urban Cowboy. While western swing music tracks back to the 1930’s or 1940’s the dance style of Country Swing as we see it today look a lot like the hustle of the 1970’s. Country Swing's roots can be traced back to the hustle dance of the 1970s and the popularity of western swing music.

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Basic Moves of Country Swing

The basics of country swing are easy! With just a few moves you’ll be dancing the night away. All you need are the basic, some turns, a hammerlock, cradle, the slide and a signature of country swing, the lean! Country Swing is known for its relatively simple basic moves, which can be quickly learned and adapted to create a variety of patterns and variations.

Country Swing Moves and Patterns

Ok this is where it gets fun! There are endless country swing moves and patterns you can do. Again the best part is they are all pretty darn easy. The possibilities for Country Swing moves and patterns are virtually endless. Experiment with different combinations and variations to develop your own unique style.

Music for Country Swing

While we have lists of our favorite east coast swing songs, west coast swing songs and even country slow dance songs, we have to suggest a couple friends for the best country swing dance music. Country Swing is typically danced to country and western music, ranging from classic tunes to contemporary hits.

Beyond the Basics: Exploring Other Swing Styles

As we said at the top of this post there are lots of different types of swing dancing. East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Balboa, Hand Dancing, Shag, West Coast Swing, Jitterbug, Jive and more. One of the questions we often get is what is the difference between East Coast Swing vs West Coast Swing. We’ve covered all the answers you need in several articles and videos! Once you've gained proficiency in East Coast Swing and Country Swing, consider exploring other swing dance styles, such as Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, Balboa, and Shag. Each style offers its own unique flavor and challenges.

East Coast Swing vs. West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing is an eight-count dance derived from Lindy Hop. It’s more “ballroomy” than East Coast Swing/Lindy and is danced to more modern pop music, not old Jazz. One of the most common questions among beginners is the difference between East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing. West Coast Swing is more "ballroomy" than East Coast Swing and is danced to more modern pop music, not old Jazz.

Resources for Dancers

You love dancing - we love making it easy! We’ve created an amazing resource for dancers of all styles. Inside you’ll find videos on different types of dancing! It’s like Netflix for Social Dancers. There are numerous resources available to help you learn and improve your swing dancing skills. These include dance studios, online video tutorials, workshops, and social dancing events. We offer a membership that includes access to 300+ Ballroom and Latin dance videos online.

Continuing Your Dance Journey

Ok so at this point you’re hooked on dancing right? You might be wondering what’s next? Well the dance world is big and there are lots of dances to learn. If you want a step by step way to improve not only your country swing but also dances like country two step, nightclub, WCS and ECS then head over to our video vault. The dance world is vast and diverse, offering endless opportunities for learning and growth. Continue to explore new styles, techniques, and musical genres to expand your dance horizons.

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