West Coast Swing

West Coast Swing is a smooth, slotted partner dance that grew out of swing dancing in Southern California. It is danced to blues, R&B, pop and contemporary music, has its own international competition circuit, and has been California's official state dance since 1988.

At a glance

Styles

Swing

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

about 20–30 bars per minute (80–120 beats), typical 28 bars per minute (112 beats) · NDCA rulebook WDSF publishes a range for each International dance. The NDCA publishes one figure for each dance it lists and lets the music director move it by one bar a minute (two for Nightclub dances). Where neither publishes a tempo, the range is typical, not a rule.

Hold

Closed and open hold

Competition levels

WSDC divisions from Newcomer to Champions; NDCA Nightclub events

Origin

Southern California 1940s to 1950s; named around 1960

West Coast Swing descends from the Lindy Hop and the jitterbug of the 1930s and 1940s. In Southern California dancers developed a smoother version danced in a narrow lane. The California State Capitol Museum links this to film work: a straight line kept the dancers' faces toward the camera, where a circling jitterbug did not.

By the early 1950s the Arthur Murray studios were teaching this slot swing as Western Swing. According to an account published by the World Swing Dance Council, the word Western made newcomers think of cowboy dancing, so around 1960 teachers began advertising it as West Coast Swing. The same account traces the anchor step to a simplified coaster step in a revised training manual.

In 1988 the California Legislature named West Coast Swing the official state dance (Senate Bill 2460, Chapter 1645), with the square dance as the official state folk dance. Since the 1980s the dance has grown into an international scene with its own conventions, competitions and teaching organizations.

West Coast Swing is danced in a slot: the follower travels up and down a line while the leader steps out of the way and back. The connection is elastic, stretching at the end of a pattern and compressing in the middle, and the dance looks relaxed and grounded rather than bouncy.

Most patterns are six or eight counts long and finish with an anchor step, a settled triple at the end of the slot. Followers have real room to interpret the music, and much of the art lies in lead and follow that adapts to whatever the song does: breaks, accents and changes of feel.

Basic count

1, 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6

Time signature

4/4

Tempo

about 20–30 bars per minute (80–120 beats), typical 28 bars per minute (112 beats) · NDCA rulebook

Hold

Closed and open hold

Socially, West Coast Swing is danced across a wide range of tempos, typically about 80–120 beats per minute, and slow songs are common. In ballroom, NDCA lists West Coast Swing among its Nightclub dances at 28 measures per minute (112 beats per minute), and music directors may vary nightclub tempos by two measures either way.

On the swing circuit the signature contest is the Jack and Jill: partners and music are drawn at random, so dancers must lead, follow and interpret on the spot. Results at registered events feed the World Swing Dance Council points registry, which moves dancers up through skill divisions as they place in finals.

Basic figures

• Sugar Push
• Left Side Pass
• Right Side Pass
• Tuck Turn
• Sugar Tuck
• Basic Whip
• Inside Turn
• Throw Out

Figure names are given as the syllabi write them, in English.

West Coast Swing has its own competition world. The World Swing Dance Council registry tracks skill divisions named Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All Star and Champions, plus age divisions. Dancers earn points by reaching Jack and Jill finals, scaled by contest size and tracked separately for leading and following, and enough points move them up a division.

Events also run fixed-partner contests and choreographed routine divisions. In ballroom, NDCA includes West Coast Swing in its Nightclub style, so it can also appear in Pro/Am nightclub events at some ballroom competitions; see how US competitions work.

Socially, West Coast Swing is danced at weekly local nights, studio parties and weekend conventions that combine daytime workshops with social dancing late into the night. It is popular across the United States and has active scenes in Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Because it suits modern music, it draws many dancers who would never try a ballroom class.

1. Followers walk forward on 1 and 2 at the start of each pattern; do not rock back as in East Coast Swing.

2. Learn to anchor: settle at the end of the slot on 5 & 6 and wait for the next lead.

3. Stay in the slot. Leaders step out of the follower's path rather than steering them around.

4. Keep the connection elastic, not stiff. You should feel your partner through the arm without pulling.

5. Dance to the song in front of you. Listen for breaks and phrase changes and let the movement follow them.

West Coast Swing is danced to music with a strong backbeat and an unhurried groove: blues, R&B, soul, funk, contemporary pop, hip-hop and country. Many favorite songs are slower than classic swing, and dancers prize variety, so a single social night may move through many genres.

• East Coast Swing

  East Coast Swing explained: its Lindy Hop roots, the American Rhythm competition tempo, the triple step basic, key figures and where people dance it.

• Lindy Hop

  Lindy Hop explained: the swing dance born in Harlem around the Savoy Ballroom, the contested story of its name, typical tempos and the swingout.

• Hustle

  Hustle explained: the 1970s disco partner dance from New York, its contested origins, typical tempo, the and-1-2-3 count and where to dance it today.

• Night Club Two Step

  Night Club Two Step, the California partner dance for slow ballads: its 1960s origins, the side basic and rock step, typical tempo, figures and tips.

1. California State Capitol Museum, State Symbols: Dance, West Coast Swing
2. World Swing Dance Council, The Evolution of West Coast Swing (2015)
3. World Swing Dance Council, Registry Event Rules V2026.1B (January 2026)
4. World Swing Dance Council, FAQs
5. NDCA Rules & Regulations, January 2026 v2 edition (IX.B Approved Tempi, Nightclub)

What this page was written from. DanceFlow is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sanctioned by any of these organizations.

Last checked against its sources on November 3, 2026.

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