Move · Videos · Technique · 7 min

West Coast Swing Basics: Five Essential Patterns

West Coast Swing Basics: Five Essential Patterns — video by Thibault and Nicole Ramirez Play · 6:34

Video by Thibault and Nicole Ramirez on YouTube · Open on YouTube

World champion West Coast swing dancers Thibault and Nicole Ramirez teach the five basic patterns: the left side pass, underarm turn, sugar push, sugar tuck and the eight-count whip, starting from the six-count rhythm, then dance them to music. Best with a partner.

  • 7 min
  • Beginner
  • Low impact (no jumping)
  • No equipment
  • Swing

Good forDancing for fun

Open in VideosLog it in Train

Step by step 6

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Six-count rhythm: walk, walk, triple step, triple step; leaders start left, followers right. 0:14
  2. Left side pass: the leader steps back on 1 and to the side on 2 as the follower travels down the line. 0:36
  3. Underarm turn: the same footwork, with the follower turning under the arm as they pass. 1:27
  4. Sugar push and sugar tuck: compress on 2 and triple in place; for the tuck the arm lifts into a turn. 2:12
  5. Whip: an eight-count pattern where the leader brings the follower around and back. 3:36
  6. Dance the five patterns together to music. 5:10

The steps are a summary in our words, checked against the video — the coach shows every move.

Form cues from the coach

  • Walk, walk, triple step, triple step: leaders start left, followers right
  • Leaders mostly stay in place and give the follower a line to travel along
  • In the sugar push, compress on 2 and finish with a triple in place

What it works

Tap an area for more videos that work it.

Joints it uses light on the joints

  • Hips moveswalk-walk, triple steps, anchor in place
  • Knees moveswalks, triples, pivots and turns
  • Ankles & feet movestriple steps, side and cross steps

A guide to the joints this video’s moves load, from what the coach does — not medical advice. Some ache is normal; stop if a joint hurts sharply. How joints are rated

More like this

Browse all 764 videos

Video by Thibault and Nicole Ramirez; the summary, steps, cues, body areas and joint notes are Notbroken’s, written from what the coach actually does in the video and checked a second time. Warm up first, take the easier options until a move feels easy, and stop if you feel sharp pain, chest pain or dizziness. General instruction, not advice for your body. About & safety