Starter Step

A short two-triple pattern many dancers use to begin a dance: side triple, side triple (or rock-and-triple). It establishes the connection and the slot before the first traveling pattern. Not everyone uses one, and many dancers start directly with a sugar push or side pass.

Thibault and Nicole Ramirez teach it from closed position. The partners first tap the tempo in place for as long as the leader likes, then dance two triple steps, the first to the side and the second opening the position, and go directly into a left side pass.¹ For the follower, the first triple is the signal that the dance has started.² The dance starts on a downbeat, which is an odd count.³

Footnotes

1. Thibault & Nicole Ramirez, "Starter Step – How to Begin Your West Coast Swing" at 0:50. ↩

2. Thibault & Nicole Ramirez, "Starter Step – How to Begin Your West Coast Swing" at 2:55. ↩

3. Thibault & Nicole Ramirez, "West Coast Swing Rhythm & Timing – Start Dancing on Beat" at 1:16–1:55. ↩