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!
Hey. You look a little stressed… a little adrift. Maybe it’s time we sat down and had a chat. Pull up a comfy chair, order your favourite hot beverage, and get cozy. Let’s get you feeling anchored. This time of year can be emotionally draining, even pulverizing for some. While I don’t claim to be an
It’s US Open season! This means many competitors are hard at work preparing their choreography, and are turning their attention (if they haven’t already) to planning their costumes. There are dozens of factors to consider when choosing/creating a costume, it’s easy to miss some. But the reality is that little details make a BIG difference. Some
If you haven’t yet seen Part 1, Tough Love: Read at your own Risk (Part 1). You really should read that first, in order to put this article in perspective, and catch the points that are made about aspects of WCS outside of competition. This article is aimed specifically at Competitors. Whenever I start coaching a new student, I
As an educator, I spend most of my time trying to make learning enticing: convincing kids to want to learn more. They want to freeplay, but there are so many life skills that they need to learn that are mundane or challenging. As a dance teacher, most of the time I get to teach people who
Coming out of Sweet Side of Swing, I’m always full of warm fuzzies. I’m reinspired, revitalized, and refreshed. It’s a great way to kick off a new season: bonding with other like-minded, pedagogically invested Pros and creating cathartic epiphanies that in turn serve to bond the community. This event more than any other, puts me in
I love that while our dance evolves as fast as technology, we use technology to evolve our dance. YouTube is a great source of inspiration, but for the most part, a horrible teacher:YouTube doesn’t know what you need to improveYou have to force yourself filter out the entertainment aspectIt doesn’t provide the irreplaceable hands-on learningBut since this
For social WCS dancing, you can wear whatever you want – no one is judging your 3T’s here. So be yourself. Be comfortable. But for competitions, it’s a different story. I wish there were some guidelines like this way back when I entered the scene, so I’m hoping to pass on some hard-earned wisdom.Dress for the gameDancing taught
The inside scoop on the hotel side of dance events:When to book your room and whyHow to save and earn perksHow ED’s can take care of businessMeet fellow Canadian Julie Epplett, hotel wizard to event directors. Julie is the the expert smart Event Directors have in their back pocket when negotiating hotel contracts for dance
I had a workshop student say to me recently, “I so badly want to take private lessons from a Champion like you. I hope someday soon I will be good enough.” “Pardon?” I queried, confused. “Good enough?” He stared at me with a blank expression, baffled about why I was questioning his apparently obvious reasoning. I clarified, “Why
The complete 2015 Westie Wisdom collection! I’ve always been a collector of motivational quotes. Westie Wisdom Wednesdays was originally intended to populate the newly introduced WCS Rising Star Support Network on Facebook, which was created to propagate, support, and motivate the Rising Star movement. But why should Rising Stars have all the fun? Some of the images are native
The best articles you may have missed – you’re gonna wanna share these! It was one year ago that the agonizing wait was over – we finally got the keys to our shiny new website, a much larger than anticipated project due to the sheer volume of content. (If you haven’t yet, browse through the immense WCS
Ever had a mentor? I’m not talking just about somebody you admire and look up to. Let’s be specific: ever had someone who took you under their wing for free and made your goals their goals? Who stuck with you and guided you through rough waters? The rich development experience of a mentorship is one