Hi, Tessa here. Since 2002, I've been writing advice articles for West Coast Swing from my perspective as a WCS Champion and 30 years as a professional teacher and coach. My mission is to help dancers #trainWCSsmarter and teachers #teachWCSsmarter, which we do thoroughly in our Swing Literacy training programs.
These articles are my way of contributing some free, bite-sized education to the community to help inspire and motivate with practical, actionable advice for your dancing & teaching.
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I highly encourage everyone to leverage these free resources by sharing them in your community groups and with friends you know who could use them. Enjoy!
This is Part 2 in a 4-part series. If you have already read Part 1: Social, skip to the Part 2 section by clicking here.It’s the new year – typically a popular time to reassess and take stock, but this year we’re a little wiser…Since the pandemic, we’ve all learned a lot about what really hasn’t
It’s the new year – Have you taken stock of what you really want out of your West Coast Swing lately? Because now’s a REALLY good time to do that!Consider this your opportunity to do a philosophical audit of your WCS, and “clean your closet” so you can dump some dead weight in your dance
Did you have an amazing time at the event this weekend? Feeling blissfully “swungover” and basking in the afterglow of soul-filling social dancing, thrilling shows & contests, and brain-nourishing workshops?It is inevitable that this afterglow will wear off after a while, just as any vacation effect wears off after coming back home.But wouldn’t it be
So you’ve decided it’s time to try competing and you are getting ready to to compete for the first time? The advice you will often hear is “just have fun!”. But while encouraging, this is not actually that helpful. You don’t need to try to have fun – you will have fun organically if you
Etiquette is a part of the culture of social dancing that is often taken for granted. We all assume that since we feel like we are doing fine, that others will perceive us the same. Everyone assumes the advice applies to everyone but themselves. …but are you SURE? You may have heard
So you’ve been learning WCS for several months now and you’re curious: the other dancers you admire seem to be doing a lot of exploring and playing outside the box of basic patterns – how can you get some of that creativity in your dance? We use this graphic to guide dancers in their
How is your brain sabotaging your dance progress.? There are many aspects to The Mental Game of dancing – here’s just one: cognitive biases. A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information. A learning bias is a pre-determined assumption or mindset
Feel like you’re working hard but not reaching your goals yet? Enjoy this little “photo story”. I created this because it provides perspective and answers a ton of questions and concerns that students have, that actually have nothing to do with dance itself, but rather the mastery journey. I found that when I first
Dance feedback is like hugs. Everybody can benefit from them, but no one will admit to it, and it can get awkward to ask. An no one likes an unwanted hug. This article is your go-to source on how to gracefully GET and GIVE feedback. Read on to discover: The 3 conditions required for feedback
Watch this 2-minute video pep talk to give you some realistic coaching and encouragement when you are lacking confidence because you think your skills aren’t good enough yet. Watch the video: Do you feel like you can only have confidence when you are competent? Are you thinking, “I’ll feel more confident when I get more
Watch this 3-minute video pep talk to give you some realistic coaching and encouragement when you are feeling disappointed with your “score” at the end of a dance party. Watch the video: Want to know how you can instantly score more “good” dances you have each night? Easy. Change your criteria for what qualifies as
Watch this 3-minute video pep talk to give you some realistic coaching and encouragement when you are struggling to learn a new dance skill or move. Transcript below. Watch the video: Isn’t it frustrating when you’re trying a new dance move and you still can’t get it after 10 tries? Let’s entertain an analogy: There