Brief Bios
Paula Wilson • Ken Kreshtool
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Some videos of us. These are pure lead-follow dancing — we are making it up as we go along. Not choreographed. Typically for a demo like this, we hand the DJ 5 or 6 songs and say "you pick - play any one of them."
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Ken Kreshtool
Internationally ranked West Coast Swing competition dancer. Also has advanced degrees in psychology, education policy, and law, and formerly taught ballroom, salsa, swing / lindy hop. Ken is compressing what he has learned from over 200 dance teachers into the best classes you'll find anywhere. "The best instructor I've ever had in ANYTHING!" — Harvard Univ. students' comments 6 years in a row, for Ken's on-campus dance classes (while working on a PhD there). |
Paula Wilson
Internationally ranked West Coast Swing competition dancer. Graduate of the Alvin Ailey School's Professional Division. Professional modern dancer and internationally traveling Argentine Tango teacher for 12 years. Award-winning former early childhood education teacher. |
ANECDOTE: Some years ago, a woman had taken several Level 1 classes with other teachers, and wanted to visit our Level 2 class "to see if it would be good enough" for her. (That's literally how she phrased it.) Of course, we said yes. She came to visit during our 4th week, but accidentally arrived before our Level 1 class was finished, was welcomed in, and sat and watched. After 10 minutes, I announced, "OK! Level 1 class, we're done! Level 2 people, come on out and let's begin!" The woman rushed over and said, "Wait – I came to visit Level 2, not Level 1." I replied, "Yes, sorry, you caught the last 10 minutes of our Level 1 class. But Level 2 is about to begin, so please stay." She looked upset and replied almost angrily, "Are you sure? That was Level 1 I was watching? Not Level 2?" I assured it was Level 1, and apologized again. She said, "But … but … but they were so GOOD!"
She enrolled in our next Level 1 class.
She enrolled in our next Level 1 class.
Every Month: Private Lessons
We are available for Private Lessons.
Ken's NYC hourly rate is a sliding scale, based on ability to pay. The simple formula is 1/1000 of your annual income. Ken used to be an attorney. And recognizes the extreme disparities in wealth in NYC. Example: if your annual income is $90,000, then Ken's rate is $90/hr. If your annual income is $3.5million, then Ken's rate is $3500/hr. Simple formula.
Ken's rates outside NYC: in line with local private lesson rates.
Paula's private lesson rates: Inquire directly.
We are also available for semi-private and small-group lessons, as well as corporate and private events.
Contact us here.
Ken's NYC hourly rate is a sliding scale, based on ability to pay. The simple formula is 1/1000 of your annual income. Ken used to be an attorney. And recognizes the extreme disparities in wealth in NYC. Example: if your annual income is $90,000, then Ken's rate is $90/hr. If your annual income is $3.5million, then Ken's rate is $3500/hr. Simple formula.
Ken's rates outside NYC: in line with local private lesson rates.
Paula's private lesson rates: Inquire directly.
We are also available for semi-private and small-group lessons, as well as corporate and private events.
Contact us here.
WHAT IS WEST COAST SWING?
In very short: West Coast Swing (WCS) is Swing and Lindy Hop moves done to R&B and contemporary Pop music.
More thoroughly: West Coast Swing (WCS) is a partner dance, a smoother and highly sophisticated form of Jitterbug or Lindy Hop-style Swing dance. It spun off from Lindy Hop in California during the post-WW II decades when Lindy Hop itself went nearly dead or dormant for 50 years. It has continued evolving dramatically even today, adapting to new music and new dancers. Over the years, it has "borrowed" (stolen and adapted) almost every cool move, turn, dip, and styling from Lindy Hop, Salsa, Hip Hop, Country, and booty-shakin', and even some Ballroom, Zouk, Tango and Blues. West Coast Swing has one of the biggest vocabularies of moves and combinations of any partner dance — and the widest range of music styles. At the same time, WCS Followers have more freedom for improvisation than in any other partner dance. WCS is the easiest of the Swing dances to learn (if you have the right teachers — that's us!), while remaining one of the most fun and challenging to fully master. Come get in on the fun!
WCS and Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop and WCS are cousins. They are the same … but different. What's the difference? In addition to the very obvious smooth style & music differences, there are 2 main dance differences:
(1) WCS dancers do zillions of variations in the MIDDLE of moves, and almost no variations at the beginning and ends — while current Lindy Hop is exactly the opposite. (You'd think they'd merge their insights, but it hasn't happened.)
(2) In the mid-1980s, WCS reversed the follower's swivels from "out, in" (contrabody) to "in, out" (unibody) as a result of adapting lots of cool moves from Salsa, especially Salsa's Cross-Body Lead moves. The surprising but natural result is that Turns start one beat earlier or later, and therefore you are on the other foot — which freaks people out until someone points it out. Which we just did. And then you go, "Oh. Feels weird for a few minutes. But no big deal." Once you try both, you realize that both work fine — and at that point, you stop worrying and become a much freer, better dancer.
Also, (3) Lindy Hop has both Rock-Step and "Forward-Forward" to start moves. In WCS the Rock-Step vanished in the early-1990s so the followers always start forward-forward.
See you on the dance floor!
WCS and Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop and WCS are cousins. They are the same … but different. What's the difference? In addition to the very obvious smooth style & music differences, there are 2 main dance differences:
(1) WCS dancers do zillions of variations in the MIDDLE of moves, and almost no variations at the beginning and ends — while current Lindy Hop is exactly the opposite. (You'd think they'd merge their insights, but it hasn't happened.)
(2) In the mid-1980s, WCS reversed the follower's swivels from "out, in" (contrabody) to "in, out" (unibody) as a result of adapting lots of cool moves from Salsa, especially Salsa's Cross-Body Lead moves. The surprising but natural result is that Turns start one beat earlier or later, and therefore you are on the other foot — which freaks people out until someone points it out. Which we just did. And then you go, "Oh. Feels weird for a few minutes. But no big deal." Once you try both, you realize that both work fine — and at that point, you stop worrying and become a much freer, better dancer.
Also, (3) Lindy Hop has both Rock-Step and "Forward-Forward" to start moves. In WCS the Rock-Step vanished in the early-1990s so the followers always start forward-forward.
See you on the dance floor!