Talk:West Coast Swing

message: The article says that WCS was originally danced to "sixteen count Blues music". This seems to be incorrect information. Perhaps the original author confused the eight count phrasing with the 12-bar blues form? Can anyone explain why this description is correct?
Also, I note that http://www.dcult.com/Swing-Dances/West_Coast_Swing.php and http://www.swwc.org/page.asp?PID=9 appear to be word-for-word identical with this article. Is this due to a common author (seems unlikely)? Was the article copied from one of them? Or are those sites just improperly using wikipedia material and slapping their own copyright on instead of following the license?
Szarka 16:40, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The dcult page is apparently gone, but the swwc page says "See also: Wikpedia, the free encyclopedia" (with link) under the title "References". I think they can be assumed to have used the Wikipedia text, and the link back I suppose makes the it OK what the GFDL license regards. // Habj 12:10, 25 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Sixteen count blues?

message: Obviously, there are a number of editors who have, or are friendly to, those who have commercial interest in having their websites linked to this page.  Mikkalai, you've been doing most of the cleanup - which of the guidelines is relevant when removing those links Danil Suits 21:22, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The linkspam on all the dance pages can get pretty bad.  The guideline to cite is WP:EL.--Will.i.am 10:10, 26 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Linkspam

message: I have removed lots of unnecessary capitalisations - AFAIK there is no need to write Blues, Lindy Hop, Samba, Chicken Walks etc in the middle of sentences. Regarding West Coast Swing though, I hesitate. It is often abbreviaten WCS, but that does not mean it should normally be capitalised - althogh this is often done. What do you say - West Coast Swing, West Coast swing (if "West Coast" kan be presumed a proper name), West coast swing? I agree that it is very often written West Coast Swing, but when you apply that kind of logics to the rest of the text... suddenly all dance-related terms turn up capitalised in the text. // Habj 08:48, 23 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: This is kind of tricky because many verifiable dance sources use different forms of capitalization.  If you're interested, see  here for a rousing (though long) discussion of it all.  The basic result of the argument was that local consensus should decide whether or not to capitalize dances (using a local Manual of Style, so to speak).  With all THAT said, I believe that we're going to list both "Lindy Hop" and "lindy-hop" in the Lindy Hop article, as per the Oxford English Dictionary.  I'm sure that you're much more familiar with West Coast Swing and its capitalizations.  Cheers!--Will.i.am 20:41, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Capitalisation 

message: Sources state that the WCS slot is 3'x6' or 3'x8'. If  couples dance a non slotted swing style and stay in a circle of 3' diameter, you could fit 16 couples onto a floor that is 12' by 12'. 12/3=4 in each "row", with 4 rows. Using the smaller size slot of 3'x6' you could put 12/3=4 couples in each row, but you could have only 2 rows 12/6=2.  
So, non slotted 12 couples, slotted 8 couples.
Even if the non slotted couples dance in a circle 4' in diameter (equals a square of 4'x4') you could fit 12/4=3 couples in 3 rows, giving 9 couples dancing a non slotted dance where only 8 slotted couples fit.
I conclude from this that the way you get more people on a dance floor is for the partners to get closer to each other, and stay that way. This is in fact what happens in Argentine Tango milongas in the center of Buenos Aires, where people are known to dance in one spot without touching other couples. There is also good ole fashion slow dancing , or buckle polishing as is done in country western places. But dancing in a slot will not in and of itself save space.
Any counter arguments? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Steve Pastor (talk • contribs) 19:13, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The following unreferenced text can be found at  in the Crowded floor section "avoid long patterns with several changes of directions/slots". I agree with this, another reason the crowded dance floor theory doesn;t hold water. Steve Pastor 17:37, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Origin of the Slot

message: I want to add a line to the *music* section that WCS is generally danced to music with an accented upbeat. Thoughts?
207.28.71.66 19:50, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Take a look at this page in Wikipedia . I am not a musician, but I know what I can dance to. I have no idea if I am dancing an upbeat, downbeat, backbeat, etc. Most country songs we dance to now a days have a lot of rock influence. "It has a back beat. you can't loose it"? People even do WCS to "Southern Rock" when they play it. Everything in Wikipedia is supposed to be verifiable. If you have a reliable, verifiable reference, ...which is something we should all have before puttinh things in articles. Steve Pastor 22:25, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Accented upbeat 

message: This sentence "When the GOLDEN WEST BALLROOM, in Norwalk, California, changed from Country to Ballroom dancing, the dance most advertised on the Marquee was West Coast Swing." most probably written by Skippy Blair can be found here. By the juxtaposition to the previous sentence, you would guess it would be about the same time - 1962 - but it deosn't say that exactly. Steve Pastor (talk) 22:59, 17 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Golden West Ballroom

message: This article is currently in need of some dedicated attention from an expert on the subject.  For example, the sections entitled "ADVANCED TECHNIQUES & STYLING IN WEST COAST SWING..." and "Advanced dancers and moves" seem to be trying to teach readers how to dance WCS, which is an inappropriate goal for a textual medium.  As a dancer even with only a couple years' experience, I can testify that a body-led partner dance such as WCS cannot be taught without, at the very least, a visual aid, though even that will produce improper dancing 99 times out of 100 due to lack of experiential knowledge, taught by an experienced dancer, of the essentials of partner connection.
Therefore, I propose that the compendium of "basic moves that any WCS dancer should know" be removed, along with the two whole sections that immediately follow it, because such solely verbal descriptions of dance steps, posture, and movement have no place here.  However, the first sentence of the "Advanced dancers and moves" section, along with its final subsection, do have relevance to the immediate qualitative feel or look of dance and to the culture which surrounds it, respectively, and should probably be kept and absorbed into more relevant sections ("Styles" and "History"?).  Also, some of the information contained in "ADVANCED TECHNIQUES & STYLING IN WEST COAST SWING..." could be compressed and edited to fit into the "Styles" section, e.g. "WCS is a dance featuring upright posture, smooth movement, and a clear but relaxed connection between the partners."  Also, the description of the "most basic of patterns in WCS" may be extraneous as well, essentially gutting that "Beginning moves" subsection.
I'm sorry I haven't effected these changes myself; I don't want to step on any toes, but I do think something needs to be done about this article.  If someone could flag the article as "in need of attention from an expert", I would also be grateful.  I don't know how to do that offhand, and my time is limited, as I really am trying to spend some time with my family right now.  Honest!  I'm leaving now!  Thanks for reading my suggestions!
~Sam DuVal  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.163.202.206 (talk) 15:57, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Please don't flag the article as needing attention by an expert. I've worked long and hard to make this a good article. The question of including "moves", etc, has been brought up before. The answer to the issue is rather complicated. I don't have a problem with removing everything but the most basic of descriptions, and I can supply that from the 1978 book by Skippy Blair. If someone wants to take the bull by the horns and delete the dance instruction sections, go for it. I will support that action. Sam, if you come back, and want to implment your suggestions, you would be most welcome. Maybe I'll do the deletions myself. Steve Pastor (talk) 20:26, 27 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cleanup 

message: Laure Hailes connection with Santa Monica currently hinges on one article. I've had a chance to actually see one of Laure's dance notebooks. The addresses listed do not include Santa Monica. Lori does not mention where she got the Santa Monica information in her article. On the other hand, Skippy Blair has written the following, “American Couples Dancing” brings Laure' Haile to mind. "As National Dance Director for Arthur Murray Studios in the 1950s, LAURE' influenced thousands of dance instructors."  I am considering making appropriate (minor) changes in the article.Steve Pastor (talk) 00:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Santa Monica?

message: This text is from the Swing Dance National Hall of Fame. http://www.swingdancecouncil.com/halloffame2.html "He grew up in Newark, New Jersey where, at the age of thirteen he learned Swing from his two older sisters. Within a few years he was dancing at every dance spot from Atlanta City to the "Savoy Ballroom" in Harlem, N.Y."
:An article in the Los Angeles Times, "Remembering Swing Dancing's King" by Dean Stewart, page 45 August 5, 1985 contains the following text, " "at the age of 13, Collins was learning the dance from his two older sisters in Newark, N.J." So, that is two sources that contradict the bit about him learning at the Savoy. Steve Pastor (talk) 21:41, 28 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Savoy 

message: Steve, please come the talk page to discuss your extensive additions to the article. References are required for material to be unchallenged. Please work with me and other editors to keep this aritcle referenced. Steve Pastor (talk) 23:03, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  reverted edits by StevePny 

message: There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Lindy hop which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you.  —RMCD bot 07:29, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title: Move discussion in progress

message: There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Lindy Hop which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you.  —RMCD bot 17:44, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title: Move discussion in progress