I'm very excited that our West Coast Swing Intermediate/Advanced class will be learning the International Rally West Coast Swing 2024.
The International Rally West Coast Swing is an annual global event that unites West Coast Swing dancers from around the world. Participants learn a choreographed routine created by top West Coast Swing dancers and then perform it. The purpose of the event is to promote West Coast Swing, foster community, and provide a fun, shared experience for dancers of all levels.
Key aspects of the International Rally West Coast Swing
Choreography: Each year, a new routine is created by renowned West Coast Swing professionals, Olivier & Virginie Massart. The choreography is designed to be accessible to dancers of various skill levels.
Global Participation: Dancers from numerous countries participate, with local dance communities organizing practice sessions to learn and perfect the routine before the rally day.
Performance Day: On the rally day, some communities gather in public spaces or dance venues to perform the routine simultaneously, often recording and sharing their performances online to showcase their participation. Our community will be performing and recording our performance on the last class of August (Thursday, August 29, 2024).
Community Building: The rally serves as a way to connect West Coast Swing communities across the globe, providing a sense of unity and shared passion for the dance.
Expectations
Attendance: It is imperative that students attend all 5 weeks of the Intermediate/Advanced classes in August (Leaders, this is especially important for you).
Practice: In order to truly make the choreography look its best, you will need to practice at home using the online videos (see below). Our goal is to learn the choreography quickly and use the class time to add polish, style, and excitement.
Partnerships: You will need to be open to dancing with anyone. I may sporadically arrange temporary partnerships for presentational purposes.
Locations: You will need to be open to dancing in various areas of the dance floor. I may move people around for spacing and presentational purposes.
SwingShoes Shirt: To create a sense of uniformity and community, it is required to wear your black SwingShoes shirt on our performance date (Thursday, August 29). If you don't have a shirt, please purchase your SwingShoes T-Shirt here.
Videos
Please use these videos to review and learn the International Rally West Coast Swing 2024. Please note that there are discrepancies between the performance and instructional videos, and I will be clarifying these issues in our rehearsals. For example: the first "air guitar" is counted as 7&8 in the instructional video—however, when performed, it occurs on 6&7. When I taught this during our Week 1 class, I taught it as it was performed (on 6&7).
