Hi, Tessa here. For almost 20 years, 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 teachers #teachWCSsmarter and dancers #trainWCSsmarter, which we do thoroughly in our Swing Literacy training programs. But these articles are my way of contributing some free, bite-sized education to the community to help inspire and motivate with practical, actionable advice.
Be sure to browse both categories: advice for Dancers and advice for Teachers., and scroll down to load more.
I highly encourage everyone to leverage these free resources by sharing them in your groups and with friends you know who could use them. Enjoy!
It’s great to see students all over the world taking the initiative to practice on their own. Practice of personal movement skills is part of a balanced diet of partner dance learning and skill development, regardless of your ambition level. We are strong advocates of “homework”: once you learn your skills in your lesson, you need
You love your classes and you love your teachers, but it can be challenging to build new skills when the partners you rotate to or practice with have bad habits or bad attitudes, right? So let’s talk about how you can still manage to get meaningful learning from every partner you rotate to in class. Not-so-coincidentally,
Relatively speaking, dance is a pretty financially accessible hobby. Most nights of dancing that include classes and a dance still cost less than a night at the movies. But it’s “pay to play”: if you want to dance more, train more, compete more, travel more, the costs will add up.. So it would be smart
Part 1 and Part 2 of this series have garnered a massive response – when I opened up the floor to take suggestions for more tactical questions, people really unloaded! Well, I’m honoured, because that’s exactly what we’re here for. Not just this article series, but ALL the Swing Literacy programs: to fill a need and
When it comes to social dancing, many dancers ask us questions like “How should I handle it when…?” or “What do I do if…?” These are Tactical questions. In Part 1 of this series, I defined the difference between Techniques, Tactics, and Strategies which are important distinctions to read about to help you get
“What should you do if…”, “What happens when…”, “How can I handle…”, “How do I deal with…” These are all questions that students of all levels batter their teachers with. They are tactical questions – they ask for circumstantial advice, or recommendations for particular situations that have to do with not just the physical
I recently had a set of privates with an older male leader (let’s call him Phil) who was a very nice man and well liked in the community but has received complaints from followers that he hurt them. Many followers would say that they can relate – this is a common issue in many
This is the last article in a 4-part series. If you have read Part 1: Social, Part 2: Skills, and Part 3: Competition, skip down to the Part 3: COMMUNITY section by clicking here. Otherwise, keep reading. It’s the new year – typically a popular time to reassess and take stock, but this year we’re a little more weary, weathered,
This is Part 3 in a 4-part series. If you have read Part 1: Social, and Part 2: Skills, skip down to the Part 3: Competition section by clicking here. Otherwise, keep reading. It’s the new year – typically a popular time to reassess and take stock, but this year we’re a little more weary, weathered, and wise. During this
It’s the new year – typically a popular time to reassess and take stock, but this year we’re a little more weary, weathered, and wise. During this pandemic, we’ve all learned a lot about what really hasn’t been working and is due for an upgrade. We’ve also had time to think about what’s really important
This is Part 2 in a 4-part series. If you have 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 more weary, weathered, and wise. During this pandemic, we’ve all learned
What does it take to have a WCS dance where both partners contribute to the fun? As a leader, do you wish playful followers would let you lead more? Or wonder why more followers don’t play with you they way they do when they dance with other leaders? As a follower, do you
