Whipping in Style
By: Dustin Hunt
Whip is a popular style of swing dancing that originated in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. This style of swing dance is most popular in the area of Houston, Texas, and is danced to Rhythm and Blues music. The sources from knowledge.com say that, “It is known as a slotted dance extremely similar to the West Coast Swing” (l. 1-2). Yet, Whip is believed to be more sensual, as well as, use more body work than the West Coast Swing.
First of all, Whip originated shortly after World War II when the GIs had came back home. As members of the most popular club in the Texas Whip club properly state, “The GIs wanted to try out a new dance they had learned on the West Coast of the United States, which is now called the West Coast Swing” (L. 2-3). But, in South Texas, where many of these GIs reported home, the most popular music was Rhythm and Blues. Therefore, they customized the West Coast Swing to fit the music most popular in South Texas. Since Rhythm and Blues had a much slower beat, this left extra time in the music using the West Coast movements. Consequently, Texas dancers began adding more body movements and sways to fill into their style of music.
Next, I chose to write my paper on this particular style of swing for various reasons. I wanted to choose a dance I could learn the basic steps to, because I believe actually performing it yourself is the best way to learn about a specific dance. For example, I did not know how extreme the body movements or sways were until I watched a basic video and learned the steps myself. Also, I chose the whip dance, because I found the history of this particular style of dance to be exceptionally interesting. The fact that two different cultures had imbedded their styles to make a very original and fascinating dance is hard to believe. Next, I watched quite a few styles of swing and this dance stood out as a dance I would enjoy taking part in. Although this particular dance would takes years to perfect, I enjoyed learning the basic steps, the music, and moves that go along with this style. Lastly, another reason I chose this dance was, because in order to stand out as an exceptional whip dancer you must include improvised footwork and body movements. Therefore, I enjoy a dance that is not all staged and gives each partnership an opportunity to add their own moves and style to their dance.
In addition, I found the whip to be a spectacular dance with more sensual and finesse moves than many of the other swing styles. As I watch the dance performed by several professionals, I am amazed at the differences incorporated into each partnership’s routine. Although the first and last two counts must be on the correct beats in time with the music and as long as the patterns are phrased properly to the music, advanced patterns can be of any length and improvised. Therefore, I watched numerous videos on this West Coast Whip style, because each performance was different in some way and never got repetitive. .
My personal experience of this dance tells me that the original creators of this dance had a passion for originality and improvisation so that during war they would never be bored with the whip dance. Therefore, they took a new style they learned in the West Coast, and added Rhythm and Blues music to create a never before attempted style of dance. Overall, I found whip as a very original style of swing dance that enables the dancer’s to include their own emotions, feelings, and approach into their performance. Whip is brand new to me and not well-known, therefore has broadened my knowledge and experience of dance. I found the Whip’s dance history, improvised moves, and creative style to be unusually interesting and fun. The whip is unlike any other style of swing dance, and I hope that one day it will expand and become much more popular in other states besides Texas.
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