Lessons at the Tucson Swing Dance Club
Every Thursday!
West Coast Swing Fundamentals
7:00 - 7:45pm
Your quick-start guide to dancing West Coast Swing. Gets you ready to dance fast! Think of this as learning a few phrases in a new language.
For Beginners
Working with the same material every month (with each week's lesson covering a different basic pattern/concept), this it the perfect class for first-timers, as well as for those who want to improve on their basics
Everyone Else
Since West Coast Swing is all about "feel", our beginners benefit from dancing with more experienced dancers. We encourage everyone to participate in the intro class.
7:30 - 8:15pm
Concept based instruction allows students to see "the basics" as a series of building blocks that can be used to construct more complex patterns. Mastery of these concepts is critical to advancing in the dance. Think of this as learning the grammar of a new language.
The Foundations class will repeat monthly. Each week, a concept will be introduced and explained through the use of basic patterns.
Beginners
After mastering the concepts in the Intro class, you are welcome to move into Foundations.
Everyone Else
The concepts taught here are the basis of everything. Regardless of experience, anyone can benefit from working on these concepts. Because West Coast Swing is a living dance, it is evolving constantly. We endeavor to keep the concepts we teach fresh and up-to-date.
We expect that developing dancers have full mastery of the material in Foundations before participating in the "Cool Move" class.
Cool Move of the Week
8:15 - 8:30pm
Exploring one concept each month, we demonstrate how new patterns are built using these concepts. Think of this as building more nuanced vocabulary in a new language.
Beginners and Developing Dancers
We encourage you to watch, but please don't participate. We are assuming mastery of material taught in Foundations and will not be slowing down to teach those concepts in this class.
Experienced Dancers
This class is for you. We will be relying on your experience and comfort with the Foundations material. We expect to move at a quick pace.
Moving up to the next class level
To let everyone make the best progress, we encourage everyone to follow these guidelines.
Everything Builds
All of our concepts build on previous concepts. For instance, if you don't have basic rhythms deeply ingrained, more complex concepts are out of reach.
You affect your partner
If your partner is not doing their part, it decreases your ability to learn and grow. Always be mindful of what kind of partner you are.
Habits Matter
We all come to dance with habits. Some of these affect our dance positively. Others can undermine our dance significantly. Our goal is to build the habits which enhance our performance, and eliminate habits which don't serve us.
Ask a Teacher
If in doubt about whether you are ready to move up to the next class, ask a teacher! We will make time each night to assess your progress. We can offer our opinion about whether you're ready to move up and make suggestions of where you can improve.