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!
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
If you haven’t heard about this psychological concept, you need to. Understanding it can have a profound effect on your dancing, but also other areas of your life you may be self-sabotaging. Let me give you a little definition first, then I’ll discuss how this could be… the most important thing you ever learn in dancing.Defining Growth
Do you live in a community where there’s not a lot of dance resources? (dancers/dance parties/instructors) Do you have a bunch of keen dancers that want to practice outside of class but aren’t sure where to start? Are you starving for feedback to know that you are on the right track? You don’t need to wait for the
Do you hear feedback from teachers and judges that you need to work on your timing? Or maybe you can feel you’re off time a lot but don’t know how to fix it? Being off time could be referring to 10 or more different issues. Whenever a teacher or judge tells you you are off time,
Private lessons are a mystery to many dancers, not just the newbies. Veteran dancers tend to forget this valuable resource that can help guide them through the tough phases in their dance development and achieve their goals. Let’s demystify and help you understand exactly:Who can benefit from Private LessonsWhy you should bother considering themWhere you should
Something doesn’t add up….How many WCS patterns do you think you’ve ever learned?Just calculate how many patterns you learn per week, then multiply that by how long you’ve been dancing.Now, how many of those patterns have you actually adopted into your social or competition dancing?Oof. That’s a big difference.That’s a lot of money and time
Fashion, just as West Coast Swing itself, evolves as trends change and new technology becomes available. Let’s discuss WCS shoe fashion!
Before you get all scared, let me clarify: I’m referring to a diet of dance, not a diet of nutrition. This sadly misrepresented word is technically supposed to refer to a regular balance of fuel, not a short-term restriction of it. So, using the original intention of the word, ask yourself how your “dance diet” is
Whether you are a starving student or just fund-conscious, here are some practical tips for making your moolah stretch as much as your connection should… (LOL see what I did there? )
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 wiser…Have you actually taken
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