West Coast Swing 101 (WSDC) **Bonus Video**

This DVD isn’t a garden variety “how to dance” DVD; it’s more a reference document and historical record. As part of a 2009 effort to promote, let’s say, “pure” WCS, this disc was created for a then upcoming “West Coast 101” competition so that everyone interested could see the moves for the competition and how they were expected to be done. It has 14 - 15 common WCS moves, such as the Left side Pass, plus some not always common but useful moves such as the Turning Basic and the Push Break.

Actually, the Push Break is the formerly named Sugar Push – one of the “nuggets” on the disc is Skippy Blair mentioning what the Sugar Push was, and why they decided it needed to be renamed… Meanwhile, the Turning Basic is a necessary lead up – as she explains in the DVD – to the 8-count Whip. Beyond just showing steps, then, there is a clear concern for “how to teach and preserve WCS” throughout the presentation. Still, it’s not a “how to” disc so much as a “what to” disc – there’s no dancing on the disc, no music demos – just walkthroughs and some discussion of points to pay attention to…

The last ten minutes or so of the DVD is a short presentation of Skippy’s “Universal Unit System.” This is her many-decades-long effort to get everyone to see and learn her way of notating dance steps and rhythms – along with the music – to speed along and deepen a dancer’s learning and understanding of “dance.” It’s not part of the 14 - 15 moves covered on the DVD, or, the competition, really, but it is a nice introduction to the system if you haven’t seen it before.

This isn’t a “how to dance” DVD… It’s really intended for someone who knows the moves fairly well and who can understand the point or two discussed in each move and why those points would matter. It’s also for those who are just fans of Skippy Blair, or, who are curious about this icon of dance; it’s of value to both groups that Skippy Blair – who has promoted WCS “forever” - is present for all the disc discussing what she sees as important about dance, the dance, and about the moves within the moves of WCS.