The West Coast Swing

The West Coast Swing

The glamour of Hollywood has sent out its siren call to movie star wannabes of all kinds for generations. They make their way to the Gold Coast with little more than dreams in their pockets. Most never make it, some get steady work, and some really make an impact.

When Sol Ruddosky made it to Tinsel Town in 1936, he was determined to be in the latter category. At age 19, he was already quite well known as an accomplished dancer around the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York. He started taking dance lessons at 14 in his home town of Newark, New Jersey and was a wizard at the Lindy Hop. Named Dancer of the Year in 1935 by one of America's most prestigious magazines, The New Yorker, Sol felt it was time to head out to Hollywood to try his luck. Upon arrival, he wasted no time and soon found a job as a janitor in a local diner.

The movie studios hired hundreds of dancers to support the myriad of musicals they were churning out at the time. Most dancers never made it out of the chorus. Determined to make a name for himself, Sol literally did just that, and took Dean Collins as a stage name. He worked at the diner and made his way through numerous dance contests, working on his craft. In 1939, RKO pictures hired him for a movie called Let's Make Music as a choreographer. He would eventually teach routines to such notables as Shirley Temple, Cesar Romero and even famed dance instructor Arthur Murray.

Dean went on to work in nearly 40 films as a dancer or chorographer, or both. He had the good fortune to team up with Jewel McGowen - known to this day as the greatest female Swing dancer in history. Not only was she incredibly smooth and light on her feet, she was absolutely gorgeous. The two danced in numerous contests and movies for 11 years, including the 1941 Abbot and Costello comedy, Buck Privates, which also starred the Andrews Sisters.

While the movies gave them some recognition and fame, it was the dance contests that sent them over the top. Dean was known for his version of the Savoy Style Lindy, and he put his own spin on it, so to speak. Everyone wanted to learn the new dance, which came to be known as the West Coast Swing. Being a choreographer for the movies, his dance was shown to people around the world thanks to the predominance of the silver screen. Soldiers danced it in Europe and the Europeans caught on as well. In 1988, it was still going strong and the State of California declared the West Coast Swing the official state dance.

The West Coast Swing is the quintessential "slotted dance," which means it is danced within an imaginary rectangle. This allows dancers to easily stake claim to their own parcel of dance floor. If the floor was crowded, the rectangle didn't change, but if there was more room, you could move the rectangle at will.

So remember Sol Ruddosky, lace up your dancing shoes and hit the clubs. Maybe the next big dance craze will be developed by you!