East Coast Swing - Basic Technique

Basic Technique

Single-step Swing

East Coast Swing has a 6 count basic step. This is in contrast to the meter of most swing music, which has a 4 count basic rhythm. In practice, however, the 6-count moves of the east coast swing are often combined with 8-count moves from the Lindy hop, Charleston, and Balboa.

Depending on the region and instructor, the basic step of single-step East Coast Swing is either "rock step, step, step" or "step, step, rock step". In both cases, the rock step always starts on the downbeat.

For "rock step, step, step" the beats, or counts, are the following:

Steps for the "lead" (traditionally, the man's part)

Rock Beat 1 - STEP back with your LEFT foot Step Beat 2 - STEP forward with your RIGHT foot (to where you first started) Step Beat 3 - STEP with your LEFT foot Beat 4 - Begin to shift your weight back to your right foot Step Beat 5 - STEP with your RIGHT foot Beat 6 - Begin to shift your weight to the left and back

Steps for the "follow" (traditionally, the woman's part which mirrors the lead's part)

Rock Beat 1 - STEP back with your RIGHT foot Step Beat 2 - STEP forward with your LEFT foot (to where you first started) Step Beat 3 - STEP with your RIGHT foot Beat 4 - Begin to shift your weight back to your left foot Step Beat 5 - STEP with your LEFT foot Beat 6 - Begin to shift your weight to the right and back

For "step, step, rock step", the rock step occurs on beats 5 and 6, but the overall progression remains the same.

The normal steps can be substituted with a triple step or double step "step-tap" or "kick-step" instead of a single step. This is commonly used during songs when a slower tempo makes the single step difficult (an example progression would be "rock step, triple step, triple step").


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