Sugar Push

The sugar push is a 6-count pattern and usually the first one taught in West Coast Swing. The follower walks toward the leader, the connection compresses, and the follower returns to where they started. Unlike most WCS patterns, the follower does not pass the leader.

• 1–2: the follower walks forward (walk, walk)
• 3&4: triple step as the connection compresses
• 5&6: anchor step

The name is misleading, because neither partner pushes with the hands. Thibault and Nicole Ramirez call it "a little bit of a misnomer" and teach the leader to absorb the follower's energy and send it back out.¹ The arms stay relaxed and the compression comes from where the two bodies are.

It is danced with a two-hand hold, the most common in classes, or with one hand: leader's left to follower's right, right-to-right (handshake), or left-to-left. The footwork and timing stay the same.

Naming

Also called the push break. The "sugar" comes from Lindy Hop, where a sugar push included a sugar foot (a follower swivel on the way in) and the version without the swivel was a push break. The two names now describe the same pattern.²

Footnotes

1. Thibault & Nicole Ramirez, "Sugar Push – The Heart of West Coast Swing" at 2:52. ↩

2. Brian B, West Coast Swing Online, "How to Dance the West Coast Swing Basic Steps" at 6:08–7:24. ↩