The curriculum

The whole dance,
organized.

Three kingdoms, nine pillars, five levels — every move you'll ever study placed exactly where it belongs in the language of West Coast Swing.

TIMING GROUNDING FRAMING STRUCTURE PATTERNS CONNECTION IBM EOS PCR WEST COAST SWING
The wheel

One picture. The entire dance.

The BLC wheel is your map. At the center: West Coast Swing. Around it, three kingdoms — Individual Body Mechanics, Partnership Communication, and Elements of Swing. And along the outer ring, the nine pillars you'll spend your whole dance life inside.

Every drill, glossary term, and pathway lives somewhere on this map. When something feels stuck on the floor, the wheel tells you where to look.

Core — West Coast Swing

The dance itself. Everything else exists to serve this.

Inner ring — three kingdoms

The wide categories: how your body moves, how partners talk, how patterns assemble.

Outer ring — nine pillars

Where every drill, term, and pathway lives. The vocabulary of your practice.

Kingdom 01 · IBM

Timing,
grounding,
framing.

Individual Body Mechanics — the things your body has to know how to do, regardless of partner. The grammar of every step and every measure.

PILLAR 01
Timing
When you move
PILLAR 02
Grounding
Where weight lives
PILLAR 03
Framing
How you hold space
IBM triangle — timing, grounding, framing, balance
Kingdom 02 · PCR

Music,
connection,
momentum.

Partnership Communication Responsibilities — the dialogue between two dancers. How you listen, how you reply, and how you keep the conversation alive.

PILLAR 04
Music
The third partner
PILLAR 05
Connection
The conversation
PILLAR 06
Momentum
The breath
PCR triangle — music, connection, momentum, tensions
Kingdom 03 · EOS

Movement,
structure,
patterns.

Elements of Swing — the shapes the floor remembers. How the dance assembles itself from raw motion into patterns into phrases.

PILLAR 07
Movement
Travel direction
PILLAR 08
Structure
Slots & shapes
PILLAR 09
Patterns
Pass, push, whip
EOS triangle — movement, structure, patterns, anchors
Anatomy of a pattern

Every six-count pattern is a sentence.

Traveling direction is the noun. The objective is the verb. The anchor is the punctuation. Once you can read it, you can build any pattern you want.

1
Walk
2
Walk
3
Primary +
4
Action
5
Anchor +
6
Punctuation
TRAVEL · set direction · the noun · "let's go"
OBJECTIVE · do something · the verb · "do something"
ANCHOR · stay in place · punctuation · "." "," "?" "!"
The four anchors

Same six counts. Four ways to punctuate.

Every pattern ends with an anchor — and the anchor type is the punctuation that tells your partner what's coming next.

.
Anchor 01

Delay

Stop to stay. A full period — the sentence is over.

Placement · 5 + 6
,
Anchor 02

Rock & go

Stop to go. A comma — there's more coming.

Placement · 5 + 2
?
Anchor 03

Floating

Stopping eventually. A question mark — drift, unresolved.

Placement · 5 + 6
!
Anchor 04

Cut off

Go to stop. An exclamation point — abrupt and decisive.

Placement · 3 + 4 +
Glossary preview · 240+ terms

The vocabulary, sorted.

Every term tagged with its kingdom and pillar. Searchable. Linked to drills, video clips, and the pathways that use them.

Unlock full glossary →
Anchor step
EOS · MOVE
Triple step taken in place on counts 5+6. The conversational period at the end of every pattern.
Connection point
PCR · CONN
Any point of physical contact between lead and follow that conveys information through tension.
Diffusion
PCR · MOM
The controlled dissipation of momentum into the anchor. Catches the moving partner gently.
Frame
IBM · FRAME
The structure of your upper body — arms, shoulders, ribcage — that holds connection without rigidity.
Leverage
PCR · CONN
Connection type that uses opposing pull. Distinct from compression (pushing) — both feel different to lead.
Pocket
EOS · MOM
Momentum pass where the leader's energy stays neutral on 1+2 — calm before the active object.
Post
EOS · PATT
An optional connection point on count 4 inside a sugar push or sugar tuck pattern. Defines the variation.
Slot
EOS · STRUC
The invisible line of travel for the follower. The whole dance arranges itself around this 1D corridor.
Whip
EOS · PATT
An 8-count pattern with two travel/anchor cycles. The biggest, most theatrical pattern in the vocabulary.
Five levels · language learning model

From babble to fluency.

We map every student's progress onto the same arc you used to learn your first language. You always know which stage you're in.

01
Babble Production
Footwork without rhythm. Frame without intent. You're trying everything for the first time.
02
Vocabulary Emergence
Named moves start to land. You can recognize and execute single patterns reliably.
03
Sentence Emergence
Patterns connect. You start improvising small phrases instead of memorizing routines.
04
Intermediate Fluency
Whole songs feel like conversation. Anchors land on purpose. Musicality opens up.
05
Advanced Fluency
You're not thinking in counts anymore. You're improvising stories with your body.

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