How to dance east coast swing
East Coast Swing Dance Moves for Beginners
East Coast Swing Dance
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. It’s seen everywhere from ballroom dance studios to country dance halls across the world.
There are many types of swing dancing. Swing dancing has its roots in Lindy Hop but you might be familiar with terms like Jitterbug, Charleston, West Coast Swing, Shag and of course East Coast Swing. They are all slightly different forms of swing rooted in swing style of Jazz and they all track back to the Lindy Hop.
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. In this post we will focus on learning the east coast swing basics. Make sure you wear some comfortable dance shoes, and be patient. Ready to start learning? Let’s get started!
East Coast Swing Basic Steps
The east coast swing basic steps are easy to learn. Each basic has 6 count of music and is comprised of a rock step and two triple steps. Now the triple step might be tricky to master but below is a video we did that will show you all the basic patterns you need to learn as a beginner!
Leaders steps start with left foot
Rock step – Step back with left and replace on right.
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
Trip step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Followers steps start with the right foot:
Rock step – Step back with right and replace on left.
Triple step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
East Coast Swing Timing
The timing for East Coast Swing is pretty straight forward for beginners.
We describe it in this video in detail. Wiki has a nice entry showing the ECS timing if you wanna see things written out or better yet look at our description below.
Leaders Timing:
- 1&2: Triple step (chasse) to the left (left-right-left)
- 3&4: Triple step to the right (right-left-right)
- 5: Step backward with your left foot
- 6: Weight shifts to your right foot
Followers Timing:
- 1&2: Triple step (chasse) to the right (right-left-right)
- 3&4: Triple step to the left (left-right-left)
- 5: Step backward with your right foot
- 6: Weight shifts to your left foot
East Coast Swing Beginner Moves
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. Win!
East Coast Swing Dance Steps
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. We’ve laid everything out for you step by step so as you’re confidence and skills improve, you’ll have the perfect moves to learn!
East Coast Swing Music
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. Perfect right?
Other Types of Swing Dance
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! You can learn the basics of west coast swing too!
What’s Next?
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. Head on over and check out the amazing patterns and techniques that will help take your dancing to the next level!
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East Coast Swing Dance Moves For Beginners
Learn East Coast Swing dance moves with our detailed video below. We will show you how to do 2 of the most basic east coast swing dance steps. The basic step consists of a rock step and then 2 triple steps for both men and women.
The best thing about east coast swing is that how many songs it can fit. It’s 4/4 musical structure makes it fit almost any genre!
East Coast Swing Basic Steps:
Summary of the Swing dance moves
Men:
Starting with left foot
Rock step – Step back with left and replace on right.
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
Trip step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Women:
Starting with right foot
Rock step – Step back with right and replace on left.
Triple step to right – Side, close, side (right, left, right)
Triple step to left – Side, close, side (left, right, left)
Technique:
You want to keep the knees working throughout the dance by bending and straightening them. At the end of every triple step you should arrive on a bend leg, with a pendulum action of the hip, and then as you straighten your knee, you prepare yourself to triple step to the other direction.
What is the East Coast Swing Anyway? History & Character
This dance was originated from the lindy hop and it’s main characteristic is the “triple steps” and “rock steps” used through out the moves. This dance incorporates lots of turns, spins and fun hair loops. It can be dances to slow or fast music.
Some of the popular songs today fit the Swing including “Cooler than you” by Mike Posner, and the classic tune “Baby Workout” by Jackie Wilson. Please keep in mind that the East coast swing is different than West coast swing.
How to count the Swing
To keep it very simple, you can count the east coast swing just like I did in the video above “rock step, triple step, triple step”. With numbers you can count “1,2”, “3 a 4”, “3 a 4”. As you can see the triple step is done over 2 counts only, and therefore it’s faster than the rock step (which are full beats). The beat value for the steps would be: 1, 1, 1/2 ,1/2 , 1 – 1/2, 1/2, 1.
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East Coast and West Coast Swing - difference between - Life
Life
Posted on
Author: Lewis Jackson
Created: 5 May 2021
Renewal date: 5 November 2022
Video: West Coast Swing in the Eastern MediterraneanContents
- Definitions
- Comparison Chart
- East Coast Swing vs.
West Coast Swing
A good piece of music deserves a good understanding of compatible dance moves. So, before heading out to a party or nightclub or enrolling in a dance class you've always wanted to try, it's important to understand the basics of dancing. Let's take a look at two of the oldest dance categories - East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing.
Definitions
In the east coast swing is a type of dance in which partners move around the dance floor. This circular motion requires considerable floor space. Usually, the movements of the two partners resemble each other's movements: if one takes a step back to the left, the other steps forward to the right, and so on.
In the west coast swing, , on the other hand, follows a linear motion with partners moving up and down, taking up relatively less floor space. The movements of the two partners usually differ - the lead partner travels smaller distances up and down the "slot" and around the trailing partner, which spins and turns as it moves.
Comparison Chart
| East Coast Swing | West Coast Swing |
| Dancers usually move in a circle | Dancers usually move in a linear fashion. |
| Occupies a relatively large dance space | Occupies a compact dance space |
| Dancers' movements reflect each other's movements. | Dancers doing different things |
| Also known as jitterbug, boogie, jive and lindy hop. | Also known as whip, swing, and push |
| Easier to learn | Relatively difficult to learn |
| Dancers generally move quickly and energetically. | Slightly slower |
East Coast Swing vs. West Coast Swing
What is the difference between East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing? To help distinguish between these two dance styles, let's take a closer look at how each dancer moves, how fast they dance, how easily you can learn these styles, and some variations of each.
- East coast swing dancers move in a circle. This occupies a relatively large dance floor. In addition, the general movement of one dancer is mirrored by the movements of the other. For example, if one partner moves one step to the right, the other one moves to the left.
In West Coast Swing, partners move up and down a specific "slot" using a compact dance floor. The dancers make different movements while performing this swing. The next partner spins and turns as he/she moves up and down the "slot". The lead partner travels shorter distances up and down the "slot" while moving around the follower partner.
- East Coast Swing is older and faster and more energetic than West Coast Swing. It is also very limited in adaptability, unlike the West Coast which can be used with a wide variety of songs. East Coast Swing is easier to master because it has basic moves.
- East coast swing has a number of variations such as jitterbug, boogie, jive and lindy hop, while west coast swing has variations such as whip, swing and push.
Summer dance club
We spend Saturday in the rhythm of incendiary dances and practice English in the open air!
Arts and Culture
We invite you to dance swing, bachata and other exciting dances, as well as practice conversational English with our teacher Manny Ongsing !
East Coast Swing or "Jitterbug" (Jitterbug), - a style of entertaining pair dance. Swing originated in the 1940s and 50s on the East Coast of the United States. Swing has a very simple structure, movement and style. It is democratic and popular, it is often danced to slow and medium jazz, blues and rock and roll.
We will also dance Bachata (Spanish: Bachata) is a dance from the Dominican Republic, which is also widely practiced throughout the world. This is one of the most romantic and sensual couple dances and is very easy to learn.
All elements of bachata are simple, but at the same time they look incredibly beautiful.
It will be fun and bright!
Please remember to bring a bottle of water with you.
In case of bad weather, dances will take place in the Lecture Hall of the Center for Anglophone Cultures (3rd floor).
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