Hello and welcome to the NMSU Swinger’s blog! My name is Robby Zimmerman and I am one of the instructors for the club.  If you have any questions about swing dancing, technique, music, or anything else swing related feel free to ask me and I will post responses on this page as well as technique ‘tidbits’ for you to think about while you are dancing.

Technique tidbit 1.
Some pros will stress connection through movement and others will stress movement through connection. The concept behind connection through movement is that you need to get yourself moving to ensure that you are pushing towards your partner and compression will occur as a result and when you are really moving away from your partner tension must occur unless your partner is a wimp and lets go. The idea behind movement through connection is that if you focus on making sure you are always in tension or compression and as little neutral as possible you will have to move to make that happen. Either approach works the point is that you need to focus on both your connection and how much you move all at the same time. These concepts are very important for both the lead and the follow and can be applied to all of your swing dances. I recommend you start by trying to implement it in your west coast because it is a slower dance and gives you time to see the small details in you steps, once you can implement it pretty well in your west coast apply it to your lindy hop and blues. If you do this I guarantee your dancing will really improve.
Good luck!

Technique tidbit 2.
There is nothing wrong with simple (this is mostly for the leads but followers it applies to you as well). It is much more entertaining to watch a couple that dances their basics really well than to watch a couple that tries all sorts of crazy moves and executes them poorly. Everyone goes through the wild and crazy stage of trying to do a bunch of cool moves really fast, and we all look silly in that stage. It’s ok to slow down a little bit, do some simpler moves, think about your connection with your partner, and pay attention to your surroundings. Leads, if you get too crazy with your moves and movement your follow is going to get something approaching whip lash. Followers, if your styling and movement gets to crazy you won’t be paying attention to your lead, he’ll want to do something and you’ll probably botch it. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try harder moves or that you should go at a snail pace and dance like a 90 year old man. It simply means figure out where you truly think you are at and try to dance just a little bit calmer than that. Don’t be afraid to test your partner and see what they are able to (everyone likes a little bit of a challenge), but don’t overdo it.
Good luck!