Here is a series of questions and answers that we anticipate you might have for our 8-week progressive West Coast Swing classes:
Questions about Classes
- Question: Can I join your 8-week West Coast Swing class late if I need to miss the first week or two?
Answer: No. This is a progressive class, so the second week builds on the first week, and the third week builds on the first two weeks, etc. Social West Coast Swing is a complicated dance, so we don’t recommend you fall behind at the beginning. Note that we will have make-up classes prior to the next week’s lesson if you have to miss a class, so that is an option if you need to miss a night.
- Question: Do you really require class members to change partners in your West Coast Swing classes? If so, Why?
Answer: Absolutely, yes. Learning to adjust to your partner is a critical element of swing dancing, and it is virtually impossible to learn to adjust correctly without dancing with multiple partners. If you are married and only want to dance with your spouse, you will both become much better partners for one another if you change partners while learning. Also, when we have extra men or ladies in the class, they need people to dance with.
- Question: Can I come without a partner?
Answer: Yes. This class is geared towards individuals, and we will change partners during class.
- Question: Do you have age limits on your classes?
Answer: Our classes are for adults, or those who have an adult attention span, so we recommend that attendees be age 16 and older (or have an adult attention span).
- Question: If I need to miss a class, can I send someone to stand in for me and communicate the material to me?
Answer: No. We cover a lot of material in class and don’t expect the class material to be simple enough to be well-communicated second-hand. Please use the make-up classes or make arrangements with the teachers to have a separate make-up session if needed.
- Question: How many patterns will we learn during the beginning 8-week course?
Answer: We hope to teach you all 14 basic patterns plus some additional patterns and variations which are often used in the swing dance community.
- Question: I’ve heard West Coast Swing is a hard dance. Can I start with it as a beginner?
Answer: West Coast Swing does require a lot of information in order to get started, and that’s why we need an 8-week progressive course. Most beginners could learn this dance with a little extra effort and practice, but prior dance or movement experience is recommended.
- Question: What if I need to miss multiple weeks in a row?
Answer: If you know ahead of time that you will miss multiple weeks, and they’re not at the end of the course, we recommend waiting for another progressive class where you can make it to all classes. There is a lot of material, and it will be difficult if you fall behind. If you have to miss multiple weeks in a row unexpectedly, please talk with us so we can try to work something out. We want you to learn how to dance well, we want you to get your money’s worth, and we want to be helpful.
- Question: I am an experienced ballroom or swing dancer. Can I just drop in on a class?
Answer: If you haven’t already learned from us, you will probably still be lost if you don’t start from the beginning. Our classes can help even experienced West Coast Swing dancers get much better. Please start at week 1 and keep coming through week 8. We don’t have a drop-in plan, even for West Coast Swing competition-level dancers.
- Question: I have a conflict with your current class from 9/18/25 to 11/6/25. When will your next 8-week class be?
Answer: Likely in Fall, 2026.
Questions about Payment
- Question: When should I pay? Do I pay the full amount up front?
Answer: Payment will be accepted on or before the first day of class. Please pay the full amount up front. Cost is $40 per person for the full 8 weeks (there is a college student discount — the full 8-week class will cost $20 for college students).
- Question: Do you have refund policy?
Answer: You may request a refund if you have only attended one class. All refunds must be specifically requested by the payee and are not automatic.
- Question: Which payment methods do you accept?
Answer: Venmo, cash, credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, personal checks. We don’t currently accept any cryptocurrencies or other digital currencies.
- Question: I can use a variety of payment methods. Do you have a payment method you prefer?
Answer: If you are paying on the first night of class and there is a line of people registering, we prefer Venmo or cash because cash is faster and Venmo can be done without waiting in line. But credit cards and tap-to-pay are perfectly OK with us.
Questions about the venue
(Blackfoot Rec Center)
- Question: Where is the Blackfoot Rec Center?
Answer: The Blackfoot Rec Center is located at 1350 Parkway Drive, Blackfoot ID, Suite 31 (next door to O’Reilly’s Auto Parts). It is right off I-15 exit 93, the middle Blackfoot exit with Walmart, Ridley’s, and McDonalds.
- Question: My maps navigation is taking me to somewhere on the other side of the plaza. How do I get there?
Answer: Many map programs, including Google Maps, are very confused about where in Riverside Plaza the Rec Center is. Your best bet is to navigate to O’Reilly’s Auto Parts next door.
- Question: Isn’t that address called the Blackfoot Community Center?
Answer: Up until recently, it was. However, it has new ownership and a new name; it is now the Blackfoot Rec Center.
- Question: Is child care offered?
Answer: The owners of the Blackfoot Rec Center may be willing to work something out for child care during classes. Please call Brittin at (208) 760-6730 to make arrangements with the Rec Center, and let her know you are looking into “child care for the West Coast Swing class”.
Questions about our Teachers
- Question: Do you dance/teach any dances besides West Coast Swing?
Answer: Absolutely. Both Jeremy and Sydnie have danced and taught a variety of ballroom, social, nightclub, and country dances. Jeremy performed as a member of a prominent ballroom dance formation team in college and was part of a performing country dance team, and Sydnie taught at, and was a supervisor at, an Arthur Murray dance studio for years.
- Question: Are either of you top professionals / champion competitors in West Coast Swing?
Answer: No, we are just well-taught and experienced dancers who have been trained in dance teaching, theory, and competition judging. We are both skilled and competent social dancers, but we aren’t big competitors or performers. In fact, Jeremy gets a pretty nasty case of stage fright on the competition floor.
- Question: If you know and teach so many different dances, why call the site West Coast Swing Blackfoot?
Answer: One of the reasons is to honor the memory of a recently departed teacher of ours, Skippy Blair, who is credited for popularizing the name “West Coast Swing” from the late 1950’s until about 2015. She passed away shortly before we launched this website. This teacher was possibly the greatest influencer of West Coast Swing for those 5+ decades, so the site name is a small shout-out to her hard work and influence. Rest in peace, Skippy.
Questions about West Coast Swing
- Question: Is West Coast Swing the same thing as “Country Swing”?
Answer: No, the local dance that people call “Country Swing” is actually in the same dance family as Hustle and Melange, whereas West Coast Swing is a complicated, modern dance in the classic Swing Dance family. This classic Swing Dance family includes many very similar dances such as Texas Whip, East Coast Swing, Imperial Swing, Carolina Shag, Lindy Hop, Southern Jitterbug, and DC Hand Dancing.
- Question: Is West Coast Swing a good dance for beginners?
Answer: If you have other options, No, not really. West Coast Swing begins as a high Level 2 / low Level 3 dance. Level 1 dances are the best place for beginners to start as they are simple and get straight to the lead-follow part without a lot of ramp-up. Level 2 dances require a lot more up-front education and training before you can comfortably lead and follow. All dances in the classic Swing Dance family start as a Level 2 or Level 3 dance.
- Question: How many patterns are there in West Coast Swing?
Answer: There are at least hundreds, probably thousands, of well-documented patterns in West Coast Swing.
- Question: What is the “basic” in West Coast Swing.
Answer: There is no pattern called the “basic” in West Coast Swing, but there are 14 patterns, as defined by the World Swing Dance Council which are “the basics” of West Coast Swing and a few of them will have the word “basic” in them. There are also about 22 patterns in West Coast Swing called Foundation Patterns which include the basics and add a few other important patterns for beginning students to learn in order to get a good feel for the dance.
- Question: I already learned West Coast Swing at BYU/BYUI/UVU, so I already know everything in your basics class, right?
Answer: No, not really. Those schools teach more of a showy Broadway-style of dancing with a couple of small bits and pieces that intersect with actual West Coast Swing. West Coast Swing, at its core, is a lead-follow social dance with a lot of simple, grounded techniques and a lot of patterns, and it takes a lot of practice and real-world dancing to master the basics. If you learned it in a local college or high school, this is a very different dance, and you will learn a lot in the basics class.
- Question: Where can I dance West Coast Swing locally?
Answer: There are no dedicated West Coast Swing dances in East Idaho yet. You may be able to practice at local ballroom or country dances through. One good resource to find local dances is the Facebook group “East Idaho Dance With Me” located at : https://www.facebook.com/groups/EIDdancewithme/.
If you are willing to travel to Salt Lake City for dancing, or you want to find West Coast Swing in another region, see the resources at the bottom of the About West Coast Swing page for more information.
- Question: Are there places I can go to see top experts and professionals compete or where I can learn West Coast Swing from the best of the best?
Answer: Yes, there are a lot of weekend swing dance events that happen all around the world. You can find a large listing of these events at https://www.worldsdc.com/event-list/. An alternate list of events, with a stronger focus on international listings, can be found at http://weekenders.dance/.
West Coast Swing Blackfoot 