A new WCS podcast, by Benji Schwimmer:

https://youtu.be/lI7t-lqB3OA?si=aWgc1Fm70AAbDwPb

Hi,

You cover the samba whisk in your samba videos, but the version going viral now is more of a solo version, with a lot of hip action and arm movements.  Would love to see your take on it. :)

Would also love to see videos of any of you dancing with other pros, at your own competitions or anywhere. :) 

We’re being replaced:

https://youtube.com/shorts/gOYAfEOeg1Y?si=4A5pduCovvZeFktd

That’s a real robot.

———————————————————

This one is reportedly an AI animation based on the original human lead dancer, wearing a motion capture suit:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Jchw1MqoDFg?si=yXSdT7xnAmdmE4Gt

You demonstrated lead/follow switching in the “Trends For WCS in 2024” video.   I haven’t seen more videos on role switching here, so I hope this is okay to post, since it is complementary and not competitive with your site, but:

On his YouTube channel, Doug Silton recently posted 33 free instructional videos on WCS switches (within the same dance) and steals (“stealing in,” for three-for-all dances, birthday dances, etc.).  These videos were from several years ago, and were previously available for a charge (still are).

 https://youtube.com/@dougsilton?si=7DVAWjWVO1JCfcIA

Click on “Videos,” then scroll down.

Dance aid: 😊
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEITaXrxkkf/
(or alt URL:)
https://www.instagram.com/salseromemes/reel/DEITaXrxkkf/

(If the link doesn’t work, you may have to manually copy it.)

An insightful article about WCS:

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/ben-morris-west-coast-swing-improv-acting-advice-77610/

How does everyone feel about acting out the lyrics in WCS or other dances?  I think it’s called “miming.”  It can certainly be entertaining.

Does anyone else have this pet peeve?

The music from dancers’ videos on TikTok sometimes gets removed for copyright reasons, and sometimes the music is later restored.  But the worst part is when the song is replaced by another one, generally one of a small handful of songs (such as “Shivers,” “Ice Ice Baby” or “Cheap Thrills”).  I assume they are used because of their more open licensing agreement, if not public domain.  Sometimes you’ll even find both the original and altered video versions, posted by different sources.

I don’t know who is doing the song substitutions, but isn’t this disrespectful to the dancers and their videos?  Unless they have somehow given permission.  Non-dancer viewers who don’t know about this process must notice the dance doesn't necessarily match the song.  (Not to mention what they must think of how limited the WCS song playlist is.)  Seems it would be more honest to just leave the dances silent with the “This music isn’t available” note, as awful as that is.

Sorry to hog the conversation lately ☺️, but . . .

I’m curious what would happen if you put tap shoes on a WCS dancer.  WCS dancers don’t take many percussive steps, as tappers do, and I don’t know how well you could spin or slide in tap shoes.  But I think a fusion of the styles in a routine (would it even be allowed in competition?) would be a lot of fun, the way Astaire & Rogers fused tap with ballroom/Latin, and Kelly fused tap with jazz.  We already see many dancers, even in competition, fuse WCS with ballet, shuffle moves, and other styles.

And I do see some WCS routines that include some tap-like patterns, just without the taps—a good example is this one:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8dkbtgq/

I have heard purists say they don’t want other forms mixed in with WCS.  Others say modern swing was meant to continue to evolve.

Anyone have ideas as for making WCS more popular and mainstream?  It seems to me bringing celebrities into it, à la "Dancing With the Stars," would do it, if WCS had its own little version.  Or a mini internet WCS chat show that would bring in a few celebrities.