East Bay West Coast

east coast vs. west coast swing

The East Bay West Coast club was a social dance club that focused on West Coast Swing. Many people asked us questions like:

But the word "swing" is ambiguous. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it typically referred to either West Coast Swing or to some form of East Coast Swing.

Comparison

Here's some of the similarities and differences between East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing, as we see it:

Similarities
type of dance both are touch partner dances.
both are dances derived from Lindy Hop,
the original swing dance that arose in the late 20's and early 30's.
music there is some overlap in the tempos
and specific music that they can be danced to.
movement neither dance progresses around the floor.
both tend to be spot dances,
though Lindy Hop (which is one type of East Coast Swing)
often involves some traveling.
lead/follow both involve a leader and a follower.
frame both include closed positions (where the partners are holding each other)
and open positions (where they are loosely connected or separate)
Differences
East Coast Swing West Coast Swing
when originated late 1920's & early 1930's. 1940's.
derivative of Charleston &
possibly old time Two Step. 		Lindy
variants in SF Bay Area Lindy Hop,
Lindy,
Jitterbug.
City Swing,
etc. 		West Coast Swing
(no major variations).
overall movement not in a slot,
rounded,
tends to be free,
often has a vertical bounce. 		in a slot
linear,
tends to be controlled,
tends to be smooth.
count for
typical basic step 		Lindy Hop (8).
Lindy (6, 8).
Jitterbug (6). 		West Coast Swing (6, 8).
characteristic music classic swing,
jump blues. 		rhythm & blues.
typical speed
of music 		fast or very fast
(though can be medium). 		medium.

A Request

Since we were a west coast swing club, we request you direct your questions about East Coast Swing/Jitterbug/Lindy/Lindy Hop elsewhere. For example, in the San Francisco Bay area, you might try: the Northern California Lindy Society.

Since we no longer exist, we request you also direct your questions about West Coast Swing elsewhere. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area, you might try: the Next Generation Swing Dance Club.

In either case, you could search on one of the major search engines such as Google.

Notes on the Names of Swing Dances

count as in "6 count step"
the number of beats of music that a particular step takes up
E.g. The under arm turn is a 6 count step. That is, it takes 6 beats of music to dance it.
East Coast Swing
(1) a group of dances that are derivative of the Lindy Hop of the late 20's and early 30's. and which have not become slotted dances. In this broad sense, it includes Jitterbug, Lindy and Lindy Hop.
(2) another name for Jitterbug in its current usage.
Jitterbug
(1) in the early history of swing dancing, another name for Lindy Hop.
(2) currently, a form of East Coast Swing derived from Lindy which includes primarily 6 count steps.
Lindy
(1) in the early history of swing dancing, another name for Lindy Hop.
(2) a name for a form of East Coast Swing that evolved from Lindy Hop and which contains mostly 6 and 8 count steps.
Lindy Hop
The original swing dance that arose in the late 20's and early 30's especially in New York City.
slotted dance
a dance where the follower dances within a linear slot.
Example: West Coast Swing.
Swing
(1) Originally, swing referred to a type of music, and not to a form of dancing.
(2) The names of what we now call swing dances have changed through time, and vary by geographic area, the context of the conversation, etc. In the 1930's "Lindy Hop", "Lindy" and "Jitterbug" were all the names of a single dance which is now often called "Lindy Hop".
step
(1) a pattern that one can dance such as an under arm turn. Typically takes 6 to 8 beats of music to dance.
(2) a weight change where weight shifts from one foot to the other. (This use does not occur on this page.)
West Coast Swing
a slotted dance that evolved from Lindy in Texas and on the West Coast which contains both 6 and 8 count steps.

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