About
West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing originates in the 1930’s from a dance called ‘Savoy Style Lindey’ in New York. Later, this dance was enjoyed by many, widely known as ‘Rock and Roll’ or ‘Jitterbug’ at the time.
Today, you can find a number of communities dancing West Coast Swing, with a more recent emergence in the Netherlands.
The versatility and creative outlet that this dance provides is something you can’t easily find elsewhere.
The dance floor is your canvas and you and your partner are the painters, creating your small masterpiece of movement. So put on your dancing shoes and let’s bring music to life!
Why we love it-
WCS Eindhoven & Team
We hope that by engaging with people in our community and dancing to our favourite songs, we will foster a vibrant and creative dancing community.
WCS Eindhoven is bringing music to life step by step with those who have joined and participate in our joy of the dance.
Our goal is to bring smiles to peoples lives through West Coast Swing; a partner dance which gives creativity to both the lead & follow.
Claire van Akkerveken
Claire’s dancing career began in 2015 in sunny California, USA. Dancing West Coast Swing swiftly became a solid passion of hers, so she began attending conventions and other dance events across the USA. She learned from multiple Chamion dancers at Boogie by the Bay 2018 and MADjam 2019 with Tatiana Mollmann, Robert Royston, Maxence Martin, and more!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Claire missed that movement and creativity found in West Coast Swing. Thus began her journey to create a new community near home; Eindhoven! Having been an assistant dance teacher in California, Claire began teaching again in 2023 at WCSE!
Her dance experience is rapidly growing as she travels to conventions and dance events across Europe and partipates in Workshops and Private Lessons from multiple Champion dancers. Claire looks forward to where her dance journey will take her!
Beti Tracz
Beti's adventure with West Coast Swing started in 2014 in Cracow, Poland, where she immediately fell in love with dance; noticing how much freedom, fun and variety of music it offers. Before moving to Netherlands in 2019, she was learning from Kasia & Marcin in Cracow on regular weekly course as well as travelled across Europe, attending international events and learning from multiple Champion dancers.
She spent loads of hours on dancefloor, gaining a deep understanding of the fundamental patterns and their very technical details. This solid ground built her ability to connect and adapt her movements to fit a lot of music styles. Her love for musicality reflects in her ability to interpret music creatively, syncing her steps with the rhythm, phrase, and lyrics of the song.
For Beti, West Coast Swing is something more than just a dance — it’s about connecting with the partner, feeling the music together and having a nice conversation on the dancefloor. So don’t hesitate to talk to her on socials!