On Budafest, Hungary, 2013

In January this year, seduced by cheap flights and a will to travel to pastures new, I took a flight to Hungary to attend a West Coast Swing (WCS) festival.

This is a dance I have been following on youtube for some time, but faced with relatively few classes at my central London finger tips, I decided to bite the bullet and attend a congress in the hopes that I may jump up the learning curve a little faster. Unfortunately, I booked somewhat last minute and in my enthusiasm to secure a cheap flight, did not realise that the Full Passes had sold out. Not to be deterred, since I’d already bought the flight, I acquired a party pass and booked myself into the congress hotel.

Less than 3 weeks before departure, having failed to convince all my usual salsa-travel-buddies to come with me, I discovered two further London salsa dancers who were WCS enthusiasts. And overnight, there were three of us heading to Budapest!

As a travelling salsa dancer it proved impossible not to visit a salsa club, so upon arrival we went straight to a Budapest salsa party. We got there quite late but were warmly welcomed by all present. From what I could see, the on2 scene is very small, but the men, used to dancing with talented female dancers like Dotty and Lolita, are open to “shaping” (WCS term for hijacking a lead, when the leader creates the space and opportunity for the follower to do something unexpected). Here’s hoping that I get to meet more Hungarian dancers in the future.

We spent the rest of our time at the WCS event. Having only ever been to one, I cannot really compare it to any other such events, but I’d like to make a few points regarding the differences that stood out to me as a salsa dancer.

1. There is a whole lot more joy at WCS events, or at least there was at this one! Upon walking into the dance hall, three nights in a row, I was struck by how many more people were smiling! It’s not that people don’t smile in Salsa, they just seemed to smile a whole lot more in West Coast. This clearly needs further investigation, but being smiled at all weekend and smiling back during every dance was a definite endorphin boost

2. Westie festivals appear to focus on competitions, primarily Jack & Jills rather than on shows. We saw only three standalone shows during the weekend, two of which were freestyle demonstrations with no costumes. The “showcase” division enables candidates to present their shows, but this is also a competition from which one couple emerges a winner. The interesting thing about J&Js, is that they promote dancing with everyone, as participants have their partners selected at random and need to be able to perform at their highest level with anyone else in their band of ability.

3. Ability in the WCS world is determined by points won during these J&J competitions.There is even a test dance in which the judges watch you social dance to determine your level for the workshops! At first look, the scene appears to be fully meritocratic. Whereas in salsa someone may be able to gain some level of recognition through dressing up, hanging with the right people, having a rather sizable ego and acting like they are the sh1t; in West Coast, there is a points system, governed by the Swing Dance Council, which clearly determines who should be ranked a Novice, Intermediate or Advanced dancer. Everyone is encouraged to compete it seems, so to be recognised as Advanced, you essentially need to earn it. Considering the number of hoops the Pros have clearly jumped through to get to where they are today gives you a lot more faith in the experience of those teaching you how to dance!

4. Unfortunately an insider’s view of how this scene works isn’t quite so innocent. It turns out that getting picked out of the crowd and moving up from the lower levels of J&Js is as much about technique as about knowing the judges. Should they recognise you from previously provided privates or constant badgering for social dances, you are far more likely (if technically able) to be pushed forward. Ultimately judging competitions is fairly subjective, so once you have reached a certain level of aptitude, all you need is to be noticed. Repeatedly paying for privates thus becomes as much about getting up the learning curve as putting your face on the map.

5. Dresscodes are more relaxed. I don’t think I saw a single person in a dress or skirt all weekend. People were wearing jeans/pants and tops that varied from simple t-shirts to slightly more dressy numbers. Because the songs tend to be slower than the average Salsa track and the dance itself emphasises pauses, you could also dance many more songs in a row before needing to take a “cool down” break. It was definitely refreshing not to get so sweaty!

6. Like in salsa, knowing the music really helps. After years of listening to Latin music and skiving public radio stations, it was surprising how few tracks I knew. Although I’ll admit that walking through shopping centres and public places with blaring music definitely did help me recognise some of the songs!

All in all, it was a highly positive experience and I can’t wait to attend another such festival. Being anonymous at a dance event and feeling free to ask anyone to dance thanks to my lack of knowledge as to who might be a big shot or artist was strangely liberating. And the dance keeps growing on me as well. I’m not abandoning Salsa, but I’m excited about the opportunity to improve my westie abilities!