Roux's West Coast Swing Pattern Map
RWCS Pattern Map is a collapsible map of patterns from core WCS move families: starter steps, pushes, passes, tucks, turns, folds, whips, musical connectors, and so on. It also contains concepts you might want to learn to get better at dancing WCS. I put it together to help myself figure out what's available to learn next, and give my learning some structure, because I found the variety of moves and concepts to figure out as a leader overwhelming, and there were no great resources online that really helped with that. Note: this is not a curicculum, nor does it replace working with a teacher.
This is very much a work in progress. See bottom of page for feedback instructions.
What should I learn next?
Picks based on your selected filters, weighted by prerequisites you've marked known, and foundational moves.
This section of the site is work in progress, but in beta at best. Use your judgement when figuring out what to learn next as this may simply be wrong.
Feedback
Is there a move you love that's missing? Have a great video link to share for a move? Spotted something wrong or where I can better categorize or describe something? Do you have some other suggestion? Thoughtful and helpful feedback is weclome and appreciated. It's a lot of work to maintain this, and add resources for everything myself. And while I built this mostly for myself, I'm happy if the WCS community can also benefit from it. So, if you've got feedback, I'd love to hear from you: reach out and I'll try address it in a timely fashion. :D
How to format moves and links
If you'd like to send a suggestion in the same shape the data file uses, here's the format. Otherwise just send a plain description and I'll handle the rest.
A single move looks like this:
{
"id": "sugar-push",
"name": "Sugar Push / Push Break",
"type": "pattern",
"level": "beginner",
"timing": "6-count",
"tags": ["push", "compression", "anchor"],
"prereqs": ["rhythm-6-count", "connection-basics"],
"description": "Short summary of the pattern.",
"leaderFocus": "What the leader should think about.",
"followerFocus": "What the follower should think about.",
"practice": "A practice idea to drill it.",
"videos": [
{ "label": "Teacher name(s)", "url": "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..." }
]
}
Nest variations by adding a
children array of more moves.
prereqs are the
ids of other moves in the tree.
level is one of
beginner,
beg-int,
intermediate,
int-adv,
advanced,
adv-pro, or
pro. Everything except
id,
name,
type, and
level is optional.
type tells the app what kind of
thing the node is, so the "Show" filter can separate patterns from
concepts from showcase material. Most submissions will be
pattern (a named WCS figure) or
variation (a named variation of a
parent pattern). The other values are
family (a grouping with
children), connector (a short
transitional pattern), technique,
styling,
musicality,
showcase,
safety, and
category (a top-level branch). If
you're unsure, just put
pattern and I'll reclassify if
needed.
Videos are ideally labeled by the teacher's name(s), so a move with multiple teacher videos lets people pick whoever explains it best. Each entry can be a labeled object (preferred) or a bare URL string, and you can mix the two.
"videos": [
{ "label": "Thibault and Nicole Ramirez", "url": "https://..." },
{ "label": "Studio walkthrough", "url": "https://..." },
"https://youtube.com/watch?v=raw-link"
]Valid types (10)
Use one of these values for the
type field:
-
category- a top-level branch or organizational bucket with no learnable content of its own -
connector- short transitional patterns/tools used to link figures -
family- a grouping of related patterns/variations under a shared name (e.g. "Sugar Push Variations") -
musicality- musicality concepts and accent ideas -
pattern- a discrete, named, learnable WCS pattern -
showcase- dips, drops, rides, lifts, lines — choreography/jam vocab, not normal social material -
styling- footwork/arm/body styling vocabulary -
technique- a body-mechanics or partnering concept, not a pattern (slot discipline, frame, leverage, spotting, etc.) -
variation- a named variation of an existing pattern
Valid levels (8)
Use one of these values for the
level field:
beginnerbeg-intintermediateint-advadvancedadv-proprocategory
Existing tags (143)
Reuse an existing tag when it fits. If you need something new, suggest it and I'll add it.
6-count8-countaccelerationaerialanchorapachearm stylingbarrel rollbasketbehind the backblindsidebody leadbody rollbody stylingcarwashcatchcheckchoreographyclosed positioncombinationcompressionconceptconnectionconnectorcontinuouscontinuous turnscross handcuddlecutoffdecapitivedelayeddipdirection changedouble turndropduckelasticityelbowelbow catchendingetiquetteextendedfoldfollower initiatedfollower stylingfollower turnfootworkfoundationframefree spinfreezegroovehair brushhammerlockhand changehandholdhandshake holdhijackhip catchhustleimprovisationinside rollinside turninterruptinvitationleaderleader movementleader turnlevel changeleverageliftlinemomentummusicalityneckwrapoutside turnover shoulderover-rotationoverheadpartneringpassplaypop outpreppretzelpullbackpushredirectreleasereverse endingreverse whiprhythmriderock and gorollroll in roll outrolling countronderotationrun aroundsafetysalsasame sideseriesshadowsharedshootoutshoulder wrapshowcasesit lineskaterslideslotsnap turnsocialspeedspinspottingstarterstylingsweetheartswivelsyncopationtechniquethreadtimingtonetouch and gotransitiontravelingtuckturntwo-hand holdunderarm turnvariationwaist catchwaist wrapwalkwalkaroundwhipwindowwrapwrist clip