West Coast Swing 101
A beginner West Coast Swing course that will have you mastering the rhythm, timing, connection, basic steps, and more of West Coast Swing with ease.
West Coast Swing 101 starts with you seeing & experiencing 'West Coast' to get a good feel for how it's danced. From there, West Coast Swing is broken down into simple, yet manageable lessons that make the instruction easy to follow along with. You'll soon be dancing West Coast style by working through several rhythm & timing drills both for the men & the ladies in place to ensure you understand and feel it the way you should. Next, you'll get 'hands-on' as you work your way through the specific West Coast Swing connection points (these are different for West Coast Swing) & style tips that help make you look the part! It's easy to overlook a lot of the detail, so pay attention to the "little things" as you go (i.e., posture, compression, timing, hand connections, anchor steps, size of your steps, where to look, etc.). When you're ready, you'll learn & test your skills with several fun moves like left side passes, inside & outside turns you can use with anyone & take to the floor immediately. Plus, you'll have a full soundtrack of great West Coast Swing music playing through the entire lesson that doubles as a practice tool each time you use the DVD afterwards - just turn it on and practice until you're ready to go out.
7 reviews for West Coast Swing 101
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Don G (verified owner) –
I find the West Coast Swing Dance Lessons in particular have these three plusses:
“1) They are clear, showing and talking about the moves from different angles. There’s opportunity for people with different learning styles to pick them up. 2) The progression of moves is sensible. Many group lessons and U tube videos are mostly independent of the previous week’s lesson. These dance lessons follow a logical progression, so the viewer feels a gradual but continual improvement. 3) Most of the curriculum is about groups of related moves: different whip variations, different exits, etc. This makes it easier for the beginner to feel that he or she is going on the floor with a decent number of alternatives.”
Sam J (verified owner) –
Exceptional
“This video is exceptional in that it provides both a great beginner lesson for West Coast Swing as well as a lot of detail that either my instructor never shared or didn’t know. We wish we had started with this video before our lessons as it would have made for a much smoother entrance for us. The only trick to this is that you have to pay attention to the details the instructors go through as there are quite a few. The information is there and well presented, you just don’t have an instructor watching your every move and helping you real time. Given the choice, we’d definitely go this route again.”
Ms. Happy (verified owner) –
Great Way to Learn West Coast Swing!
“The Shawn Trautman West Coast Swing 101 dance video really helped me to learn this dance from the very beginning. I’ve been trying to learn this dance for a long time. These instructors have a great method of teaching the steps by introducing the counting in a clear and easy way so that there is a good understanding of how the rhythm sequences are used later in the dance. I especially liked the transition from the basic walking steps to the step counting in more complex combinations. Before I even realized it, I was actually dancing these steps confidently through each section of the video. This is a great lesson and the best part is that it can be taken again and again just by playing the video for review and practice!”
Yorkie Mama (verified owner) –
Super Duper!
“My husband and I picked up this video hoping to better learn West Coast Swing. Despite my husband’s background in swing and receiving professional instruction, we never were able to get our our proper timing together. We would dance together and have fun but not without frustration! The methods and techniques shown in this video have brought the correct rhythm and steps into view for the both of us! The instruction starts at a very basic level so one can understand the fundamentals and true roots of West Coast and allows you to move on, step by step, at the pace you are comfortable with. It’s very similar to math…if you don’t understand the very first beginning steps, you will soon become very overwhelmed and LOST! Not here! Both Shawn and Joanna show the woman’s and man’s steps while you are moving though the steps with them creating lots of confidence for the both us. I definitely would recommend this video to anyone who is interested in learning how to West Coast or even brush up on the very basics of steps! Thanks guys..very well done and looking forward to seeing you both in the next dance lesson video!”
Don S (verified owner) –
First Rate
“I recently made a decision to learn West Coast Swing. I have taken a few basic lessons but was still having some problems with the basic steps and moves. This video solved that problem. Shawn and Joanna’s presentation of the basics is very understandable and easy to follow. They very effectively demonstrate the steps and moves they are teaching and how it should look when you are on the dance floor. The video can be used as the sole source of instruction or as a way to review and reinforce what is covered in any lessons you may be taking. I recommend this video to anyone who either has made the decision to go for it and learn West Coast Swing or to anyone who may be thinking of giving it a try but wants to learn more about the dance before making the leap. This video will provide a great start.”
D. Browne-Hunter (Austin Texas) (verified owner) –
Easy to learn from
“The video is easy to learn from, breaks the dance steps down for easy viewing before going on to more complicated steps.”
J. Apgar (Florida) (verified owner) –
An excellent DVD if you are starting out
“I have been dancing West Coast Swing for a few years, but I still like to go back and review the basics before I go out dancing, or learn new moves. As a teacher I know the importance of having a good foundation, and this dance lesson video provides that foundation. I feel more confident after reviewing the basics with Shawn and Joanna’s dance lesson.
As with all of their dance lessons (I own several), they clearly are having fun teaching, and their humor makes it more enjoyable to learn with them. This is an excellent video if you are starting out, or reviewing the basics. You can clearly see where your hand placement should be, and what your feet should be doing, and they review everything they taught.”