Dance Movies
Saturday Night Fever – 1977
Tony is an uneducated Brooklyn teenager. The highlight of his week is going to the local disco, where he is the king of the dancefloor. Tony meets Stephanie at the disco and they agree to dance together in a competition. Stephanie resists Tony’s attempts to romance her, as she aspires to greater things; she is moving across the river to Manhattan. Gradually, Tony also becomes disillusioned with the life he is leading and he and Stephanie decide to help one another to start afresh.
Contributing Author
Who is Mark Traynor
Mark has been involved with the Dance Industry in every capacity for over 31 years. Since concentrating primarily upon West Coast Swing (WCS) for the past 20 years he has helped establish many techniques now being taught and used throughout the WCS circuit nationwide. Because he has never been a competitor on [...]
The FloorPlay Swing Shift: The Story
I recently was exposed to a ‘West Coast Swing Mixer Dance’ idea by Bobby Caudill of Tampa. This is a concept that hundreds of dancers around the country have probably thought about at sometime but never took the time to develop. Well, the time has come!
After studying his original step pattern for the mixer, I [...]
FloorPlay Swing Shift Method: Introduction
After intensive study on the ‘Swing Shift” idea, I’ve now designed a new Teaching System I believe will be the best way forward to learn this great Dance form in a group lesson or workshop format.
I’m hoping and expecting that as this method proceeds it will accelera’e the WCS learning process. I had used my [...]
The FloorPlay Swing Shift Instruction Method
I found it best to teach the Shift immediately after the Sugar Push. This way, even after just learning a sugar push, students can keep switching partners after a few repetitions, but is always the last step for switching partners
Instructors may add appropriate level ability variations in each level, teaching proper techniques throughout.
The Politics of Dancing
As West Coast Swing grows in nationwide popularity and more people are introduced to it’s social circle, there are certain issues dancers new, old and Professional should be made aware of. I wish to address several of these issues that are spoken of quite frequently thru out the West Coast Swing Dance Community but never [...]
In Defense of Qualified Dance Instructors
I’m sure most of you have seen them, perhaps even taken a few lessons from one of them. There seems to be one or two in almost every community who see an opportunity and try to capitalize on it. I’m speaking of those dancers who have managed to maybe win or place in a few [...]
The Tao of Dance
The Way of your dance is within
Perspective is where it begins
Are you in the right shoes for the partners you choose?
Can you tell the difference what you gain or you lose?
Is the consequence difference at all?
Be aware how each sound gives you sight
Be in proper position,
Is transition ambition?
Or conditioned volition?
It’s your song
Understanding the Anchor ‘Action’
Renowned WCS Instructor of Instructors, Skippy Blair, who is known to have actually named WCS around 1958 and credited with inventing the ‘anchor step’ sometime ago, is a wealth of knowledge and information on WCS whom I admire and respect tremendously. However, none of us know everything and over the past 20 years many WCS [...]
‘Unconventional’ Whip lead, Arm & Hand Leading
There seems to always have been a ‘disconnect’ between what is taught and what is actually used and generally accepted as proper lead technique. This is as true in whip as many other steps. While whip has been taught primarily as a ‘center’ or body lead by the man stepping off to his left and [...]
Loading ...