How to Organize a Win-Win-Win WCS Workshop

A workshop weekend can serve to inspire your students, boost their improvement, and stimulate your community. Anyone can host one – it’s not difficult, but it is complex and there are many potential pitfalls. Here’s how to do avoid them and put on a productive, professional workshop that benefits the students, the guest teachers, and

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How to Organize a Win-Win-Win WCS Workshop

What’s your favourite event?

This is a question we get asked frequently. People are often curious to know which events we recommend, in order to create their own event bucket list. The underlying message is, “Which ones should I go to?” While we don’t mind being asked, and we are happy to talk about the merits of specific events in

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What’s your favourite event?
It's in all of our best interest to make our WCS more welcoming to its newest members. Here are some great ideas and initiatives! #ourresponsibilitywcs #wcscoachscorner #youweregreenonce

Fostering Newcomer Dancers

I sat down with Kay Newhouse, affectionately referred to as “Community Mama” of the NorthEastern US, and co-director of Swing Fling, DCSX and MADJam, some of the biggest and most-successful events on the WSDC circuit. We were particularly curious about the awesome initiatives she is taking with the Newcomer demographic, and her ideas on catering

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Fostering Newcomer Dancers
A more in-depth look at all those performances you admire: what to watch for, and how to appreciate what you see. #wcscoachscorner #audienceparticpation #youarepartoftheshow

Enrich Your Spectating Experience

It’s easy to get hypnotized by all the sparkly rhinestones, the splashy tricks, and the sick combinations. But after your Newcomer honeymoon phase, your senses are no longer overwhelmed and your brain has the bandwidth to appreciate different elements of the improv competitions and routines you enjoy watching. Some spectators like to analyze the technical elements.

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Enrich Your Spectating Experience
I've been cooking something special just for Event Directors... #wcscoachscorner #evolveordie #worksmarternotharder

Evolving Event Standards & Trends

As WCS spreads and grows exponentially worldwide and the dance evolves, the landscape of dance events is changing too. There are more dance activities available on the market now, so in an effort to compete for attention and attendees, events have to be innovative and offer more value. The tried and true formula is still

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Evolving Event Standards & Trends

What Swing Euphoria Looks Like

There are so many of these weekend experiences that have been personally moving or meaningful to us for different reasons: relationships built, magic moments in performance, hysterical spotlights or all-skates, powerful learning transformations, teaching breakthroughs, etc. But each year, on the third weekend of May, we are privileged each year to be involved in the team

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What Swing Euphoria Looks Like
Another #wcscoachscorner article worth sharing! Be sure to browse the other articles while you're there. #sharingiscaring #wanderingwestie #suitcaseliving

Travel Tips for Dancers

As I write this, we are in travel transition: driving home from (local) Easter Swing and preparing our suitcase turnaround for Singapore and Thailand. Sometimes it feels like travel is as much a part of my job as moving to music. You could say we are Champion travellers. How did we develop our expertise? The

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Travel Tips for Dancers
Curious to hear a professional WCS dancer-photographer's perspective and tips on your competitions and events? #wcscoachscorner #blahblahblahbradisawesome

Interview with a Dance Photographer

Dance event photographer, Brad Whelan (famous for his signature BW watermark) gives us the inside scoop on his photography and some hints for dancers to get their best moments captured. CC: Tell us about your photography business? BW: While I’m now based in Australia, I find myself in another country about 75% of the time. I

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Interview with a Dance Photographer

How to Dig for Gold: The Untapped Value of Workshops

Does this sound familiar? “Workshops are all the same”“I don’t learn well in workshops”“Workshops are only for beginners”“Workshops are only for serious dancers”“I’ll never retain it all anyway” These are all reasons dancers give for why they can’t/don’t need to attend workshops. They sound valid on the surface, but are actually evidence of a global epidemic.What if

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How to Dig for Gold: The Untapped Value of Workshops

Interview with an Event Hotel Specialist

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

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Interview with an Event Hotel Specialist