ok, so i've got this big date with my girlfriend this monday and i would like to impress her by showing her i attempted to learn swing dancing. she's been taking classes for a few months and has been begging me to learn with her.

it's really not working for me, not even the basic step, i grew up playing music and love having everything fit into counts of 4. but all these dance steps are in counts of 3 or 6? where's 4 & 8?

ok left 1, right 2, right left right 3&1.

that means that the restart would be on the 4th beat of music, then the next would be on the 3rd, so on.

or does it go... left 1, right 2, left right left 3&1, right 1, left 2, left right left 3&1?

i've tried to find youtube videos of people doing basic swing slow with music so i can count it to the music, but have had no luck.

any advice is greatly helpful!

"ok left 1, right 2, right left right 3&1.

that means that the restart would be on the 4th beat of music, then the next would be on the 3rd, so on."

If you start with the rock step on 1, it would actually be 1, 2, 3a4, 5a6 with the chasses (side-close-side) being the syncopated parts. That's a 6 beat unit, not a four beat one... the next repetition of that pattern would come out as 7, 8, 1a2, 3a4 and only then for the third repetition do you get back to starting on the same beat as originally.

Just dancing 6 count patterns won't phrase very well, but for now just worry about the fundamentals of the dance and partnering. Later you will get some patterns with other timings that you can mix in to come out on phrase (and if like many with musical backgrounds you can hear where you are in the phrase based on the chord progression without having to count, you'll be in far better shape to deal with that than many beginners).

But just worry about the dancing itself for the next few days. When you have some experience and confidence there you can deal more with the musical context.

so just plow through it?

this dancing thing is a bit trickier than i thought it would be!

Lol! Much to learn, this padwan has!

delmar, if you can't dance then you're not going to learn to do so on this message board.

If you truly want to make her happy (ALWAYS a good idea) then take some dancing lessons WITH HER. You'll have to save up a bit and you may only be able to do a few lessons and classes but, trust me, that investment will really pay off in the long run.

Over the years, I have seen some young fellows doing so with what I presumed to be their girlfriends. While the reactions of the guys to these lessons was mixed, the sheer joy displayed by the girls was unanimous. I remember being a bit envious of those fellows as they left with their girls lit up like christmas trees.



jj

I'm with JJ on this one, start taking lessons! Yeah, it's hard. You can not pick it up by watching other dancers. Check out the learning center here on this site. Look under East Coast Swing. You might be able to get a few moves under your belt by Monday.

If you think you can learn by watching video, just look at the swing videos on this site and others.
Then, you may at least be able to look like you TRIED to learn something.
But yes, the lessons are the only way to go. The swing, in my opinion, is easier than some others because it tends to be stationary, in that it doesn't move along line of dance, or have a lot of spinning action while aso moving LOD (like the Viennese).
I guess if there was one tip I'd pass along in hopes you can at least look like you tried, it would be to keep your hand above her head while initiating and completing turns on the swing. You don't want long, looping, wild arm movements on any dance, but it is particularly sloppy on the swing because everything must be tight and on spot for it to look good. Because it is a fast dance, guys who don't dance a lot like to resort to just "winging" it, and that results in wild arm motions on turns.
As you get better, there are some moves in the Swing, like the Throw Out, that call for a more looping feeling to the turn, but in general it is best to understand how to turn your partner as if stirring a cup of tea right over her head.
Good luck. When it clicks in, you'll have a blast.