In the Houston area and really all over the world, Latin dances are very common and then in the Houston area we have a lot of country western dance
and culture. In addition to the Country Western dances like Two Step and Polka and Latin dances like Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia and Tejano,
there is another genre of dancing and that is the SWING DANCES.
It is interesting to note that after Salsa which is the most danced dance in the world, the second most danced dance in the world is West Coast Swing. The swing family of dance and music includes a lot of music that cannot be classified as Latin or Country-Western nor Ballroom. The swing dance genre includes Hip-Hop music, Rock’n’Roll music especially from the 1950s and 1960s and it can be danced to Blues music, Jazz music and Rap music. So, if you have learned to dance Country Western dancing and Latin dancing then the next logical step is to proceed into the swing dances. Then you will be able to enjoy additional different types of variety of music and dancing. In the swing dance category, there are the following four dances, West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing, Jitterbug dance and Gulf Coast Swing. Let us now look at some of the differences and characteristics of each of these four types of swing dances.
WEST COAST SWING DANCE can be danced to any Hip-Hop, Slow Jazz, Pop and Rock music. West Coast Swing dance footwork is more complicated than Country Western and Latin dances but once you understand the basic footwork then the West Coast Swing dance is simpler and allows more flexibility and playing around with less structure and rules compared to Country dances and Latin dances. A lot of women love West Coast Swing dance the most as it allows them to play and be creative, as this is one of the only dances where the ladies can take over and add some ornamental moves and variety and when the woman takes over to do some special moves this is called “Hijacking”. During the hijack process, the lady is taking over and doing some ornamental moves and it is the responsibility of the gentleman to allow the lady to complete her moves before he starts leading again. West Coast Swing can be beautifully danced to any of the modern music, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Rap and it is important to learn to dance West Coast Swing as it is very commonly danced all over the world and the popularity is growing day by day.
EAST COAST SWING DANCE and JITTERBUG DANCE are some of the oldest dances that are out there and still very popular. You can dance these dances to the beautiful rock and roll music that was produced during the 1950s and 1960s. The rhythm and the characteristics of East Coast Swing are very different from West Coast Swing and for maximizing fun and for sake of completion, it is important for any serious dance student to know not only West Coast Swing but also East Coast Swing and Jitterbug in this genre of swing dances. Many songs by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richards and many others popular artists from the 1950s and 60s have music that fits very well to East Coast Swing and Jitterbug dances. The footwork between East Coast Swing and Jitterbug is slightly different but there is a lot of similarity, so both these dances can be grouped as one and have common roots. If you learn East Coast Swing, it is very easy to learn Jitterbug as there is very slight difference in the footwork. All dance rules that we teach you for helping you learn fast and easily remain the same in all these dances.
GULF COAST SWING DANCE is a complete, novel invention by Amazing Dance Studio. It is a new dance that was choreographed by a group of instructors at Amazing Dance Studio and now has gained national interest and reputation. Gulf Coast Swing dance was invented to allow dancers to enjoy West Coast Swing more easily. The footwork and characteristics of West Coast Swing are a little difficult and the aim of Gulf Coast Swing is to allow the dancers to get the flavor and enjoy West Coast Swing more easily without dealing with the complexity and difficulty of learning West Coast Swing. West Coast Swing footwork is also probably one of the most complex compared to all dances. In contrast, Gulf Coast Swing is very simple and has less structure and is much easier to learn than West Coast Swing. Furthermore, Gulf Coast Swing can be danced to really any kind of music including but not limited to Country Western, Latin, Swing, Hip-Hop, Rock’n’Roll - almost anything. The ease of learning Gulf Coast Swing and its remarkable applicability to all music makes it a very desirable, fun and useful dance. At Amazing Dance Studio, we will use our famous rules of dancing which make the learning of dancing much easier and faster. In an amazingly short amount of time, you can get on the dance floor with confidence and dance to any music no matter where you are, in a country western dance club, Latin club or a swing club and even dance this wonderful Gulf Coast Swing dance at wedding parties, Christmas parties and other special events.
