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!
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
Since dancing tends to slow down during the summer and winter holidays, it can be stressful wondering how you’re going to pay the bills before classes start up again. You also may fear losing the momentum and enthusiasm that you worked so hard to foster in your community during the regular season.So how can a
No one wants to be the person that everyone complains about. It’s easy to make the assumption that since you “never get any complaints” that your partners are satisfied enough. But since people don’t usually complain to your face, how do you know if people are complaining about you or not? One method is to take private
Ah, the eternal competitor question… “What are the judges looking for?” Consider that judges are not necessarily “looking for” positive elements of your dance as much as they are “looking to eliminate” negative elements. We call these “red flags”: bad habits or errors that prevent judges from giving you a callback to the next round. Judges
No matter your level, when it comes to dance instruction, nothing gives you more bang-for-your-buck than private lessons. Private lessons are a part of a balanced dance diet. The one-on-one feedback fills your bucket with encouragement and homework to last you a few weeks to a few months of social dance practice. BUT, there
MEN! You have questions, maybe you’re too shy to ask, or maybe you’re afraid of being judged for asking. Myles has heard it all, and is here to provide the answers! Champion leader Myles Munroe answers 21 probing questions from men who dance West Coast Swing, including 5 questions that everyone wonders about but avoids
“One day, I hope to speak Egyptian Arabic well enough to visit Egypt” This makes no sense, right? You don’t need to be fluent in Arabic in order to visit Egypt. In fact, the Egyptians would probably be pleasantly surprised if you even tried “Hello” and “Thank you”. When it comes to language,
Post-pandemic, as you have been reassessing your priorities in dance, you may have noticed you have had a bit of an imbalance. Focusing too much on training and not having enough fun, or the reverse – focusing so much on the party aspect of our dance that your skills are suffering… Regardless of your
Whether you are a seasoned recreational dancer or keen rookie, you are probably looking for the best way to improve your dancing in the most time- and cost-effective way. Let’s compare your dance progress to a fitness program. If your goal was to get in shape, you would go to the gym and have a