What Is WCS?
WCS is a partner (i.e. lead/follow) dance, which means the leader initiates various 6 or 8-count "moves" through his or her connection with the follower (e.g. a held hand), who then knows what to do based on that lead. The beauty of WCS is that it can be danced to a wide variety of popular music. (Personally I like the R&B stuff.) In addition, leaders typically like showing off the followers they dance with, and so the follower has a lot of individual opportunity to show off (if she is daring enough to try). WCS was derived from Lindy Hop, which you may remember from the Gap commercial awhile back.
Some sites that have good descriptions of West Coast Swing dancing include Wikipedia and The 'What Is Swing Dancing?' FAQ. (Go to the latter if you're dying to know the difference between West and East Coast Swing, which is usually the first question people ask me.)
What Does WCS Look Like?
The best way to understand what I'm talking about is to see it in action. You can find a lot on YouTube these days, but here's my latest favorite clip. It's Patty Vo and Nicholas King at this year's Summer Hummer (August).
Of course this is a choreographed routine that's a bit different from doing it socially! For something that looks more like what I do a few times a week, check out this one. It will also give you an idea of how WCS is different from Lindy Hop:
Where Can I Go WCS Dancing?
In Massachusetts there are many places to go dancing on a regular basis. Here are just a few:
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Dancing Feats: W. Newton, MA -- 3rd Saturday dances at Neal's are a blast! And this is the studio where I started dancing. (They're vey beginner friendly.)
Dance Boston: Arlington, MA -- Tuesday nights are smashing, and they have classes nearly every day of the week in some form of dance.
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Longfellow Club: Wayland, MA -- Saturday dances every month.
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Seaside Swing: Danvers or Wakefield, MA -- Larry and Heidi have classes and dances in both locations. Check their site for details.
What Dance Events Are There?
There are dance events (i.e. weekends) taking place all over the country, probably in any given month. The ones I've been to during my "dancing career" are listed below. Each event offers more workshops with great instructors than one brain can reasonably process, fun-to-watch competitions, and into-the-wee-hour social dancing (my record is still 6:00 am, although I'm generally a lightweight).
If you're interested in more photos from events, check out my buddy Sam's web site, or my Picasa albums.
New Years Dancin' Eve: Burlington, MA -- December/January
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America's Classic: Houston, TX -- early January
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MAD Jam: Tyson's Corner, VA -- early March
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Boston Tea Party: Danvers, MA -- late March
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Liberty Swing Dance: Newark, NJ -- mid/late June
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Boston Dance Challenge (Champion's Weekend): Woburn, MA -- mid July
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Swingin' New England: Falmouth, MA -- mid November