West Coast Swing 101 (Shawn Trautman Dance Instruction)

I've purchased his West Coast Swing beginners 1 & 2 videos and they are a waste of money; he's extremely poor on being patient and slowly/clearly demonstrating footwork; and his wife interjects too much at the oddest of times ... they are so disorganized - it's like they're demonstrating for people who already know the steps; they've given no thought or understanding to what it's like to be a beginner. I'll never purchase anything from them again.

I just started formal dance lessons and have gone to "classes". What I found was that despite my own flaws, the instructors themselves did not know how to teach the proper fundamentals in order to prepare you for the more advance moves so that your dancing coincides with the music and your partner. I have purchased the Swing 101, and the three Volumes of Moves and Patterns from Shawn and JoAnna and by far they are superlative. Thier style of teaching is outstanding. Shawn and JoAnna's grasp or what students need and the fundamentals that you should obtain first, before moving on to subsequent moves is excellent.... just by watching you can pick up Shawn's footwork for the men, and by watching JoAnne the women can literally see what they have to execute. And they stress over and over that you have to be confortable with the basics before movng on. So my suggestion as a non ranked social dancer who would like to get better is to purchase their series of DVD's and watch, learn and listen to them and then have this supplement your dance lessons with a partner... you will not be disappointed. And on top of it if you have problems they have a toll free number, which they answer, if you have questions. And believe me they are as pleasant to speak with as they are on their DVD's.. They are the real deal.

I can sum it up in a couple of words: "Please, shut up Shawn." He talks far too much...shows too little. A little disorganized, too. He likes to go off on little tangents as he explains things. One wants to tell him, "Get to the point!" Videography is so-so, often not showing the dancing instructors from head to feet...or from a variety of angles. He's congenial, friendly, encouraging...but the dvd is disappointing. I think there are other better options out there.

Hard to follow and not very much instruction for the price. It was close to $40.00. The DVD was dissapointing to me.

The video is easy to learn from, breaks the dance steps down for easy viewing before going on to more complicated steps.

We are enjoying the instruction on the video. With additional practice my wife might even dance with me in public!

I live in California and we often see West Coast Swing on the dance floor. I started with the simple Nightclub Two Step, and just couldn't figure out what they were doing in this more complicated dance. There is no such thing as "West Coast Swing for Dummies", and the best use of this video could be that you will understand that you need to learn more basic dances first. I read a review by some angry dude who probably thought that he was going to be a dancing star in three easy lessons, and I can only suggest that you be realistic in your expectations. Shawn does talk a lot in this particular video, because there is so very much to learn, like six count versus eight count footwork and when to use each. I am happy to have decided to save West Coast Swing lessons for later, thanks to this video. It will live on the shelf until my skill level is higher, and it did not cost me much time or money. If you are a more accomplished dancer, then go for it, and you will not be disappointed. My advice for new dancers, or those guys like me with two left feet, is to start with the more simple East Coast swing or Night club Two Step, and work your way up to this fine video in the future.

So we went ahead and purchased all the Trautman's new west coast swing videos, 6 total, and absolutely love them all. Starting with this 101 DVD was exactly what we needed to get the dance down from both my end (as the leader) and my wife's side of the dance. Shawn and Joanna do a great job of making sure you are right path with easy step by step cues and follow up often with repeating those moves over a few times so you are sure to get them. My wife has always had trouble staying on the beat and we really like that they have a whole section on just the rhythm of the dance. This video was a great deal and by far exceeded our expectations. Highly recommend this video for beginners looking to get into our now favorite dance, west coast swing!