To listen to Julie Epplett of the West Coast
Swing dance company
Groovy, Bluesy, Jazzy, Funky,
you might believe that West Coast Swing
gives definition to our concept of freedom.
West Coast Swing is a dance form based in
American jazz culture and involves extensive
partner-dancing. Few dance styles in our
century have had the longevity or dedication
as swing. Today, West Coast Swing is taught
and danced around the world as an evolving
form of entertainment and exercise. In
1988, the State of California declared West
Coast Swing its official state dance in a
senate bill, which gives a detailed
description of the dance. As noted in the
bill, as provided by
Streetswing.com:
SENATE BILL (S.B). NO. 2460:
West Coast Swing, also known as Swing,
Whip, or Jitterbug, came into being in
the early 1930's in response to new
musical forms then sweeping the land. It
was created at the grassroots level of
our people. Devotees of this art come
from every conceivable ethnic,
religious, racial, and economic
background. Age is no factor, nor is
gender. Among the ranks of swing
dancers, one can find Judges, School
teachers, to Lawyers, Waitresses,
Salesmen, Doctors, Students, and so on.
Julie has been dancing since 1968. She
started out with ballet and jazz, including
jazz performances with a troupe in Kuwait,
and later added the Spanish flamenco to her
dance repertoire. However, it was West
Coast Swing that ultimately claimed this
dancer. Since 1996, Julie Epplett has been
a performer, teacher, choreographer and
social dancer of West Coast Swing, competing
throughout North America since 1997. She
won first place titles four separate times
and placed nine times as a finalist. “My
very first exposure to West Coast Swing was
at a live performance by Marcia Ball in New
York City,” Julie said. “I didn’t even know
you could dance to music like that -- like
that! I later discovered that West Coast
works with so many types of music, from the
funk that I danced to in the 70’s to the
latest Justin Timberlake.”
“It’s such a great dance for women because
there’s so much freedom within the dance to
express your own personal style.”
However, Julie will tell you that the best
way to sample this freedom is with
structure. Containing freedom in anything
may seem like a contradiction but to witness
these West Coast dancers stretching their
bodies and hitting the rhythms, it becomes
clear that the sweeter the container, the
sweeter the freedom.
Now, in dance, structure takes many forms.
Julie Epplett teaches us that creative
expression with a structure gives us a path
to follow and a language to speak in order
to find our passion.
“In the last 10 years or so, the issue of
'swing content' started to gain credence on
the competition circuit,” Julie Epplett
said. “At first I wasn't convinced that I
wanted West Coast Swing to have 'rules'.
However, I changed my mind one night when
watching a video with one of my mentors,
Mario Robau Jr. The video was of a
champion-level, competition in Seattle.
With the music turned down, I couldn't see a
single swing pattern. These days most
competition rules specify 80-90% swing
content, which allows other styles but keeps
swing dancers 'honest' about doing the dance
they are meant to be doing. Another
'tradition' that is being upheld on the
competition circuit is that West Coast Swing
is a blues dance, and as such, competitors
are expected to be able to dance to both
blues and contemporary music with equal
skill.”
"Ultimately, if you don't have some kind of
structure, you'll lose the dance
completely.”
However, structure in this form of freedom,
takes another form on a more individual
level – between the dancer and the music.
In
Dance Time Toronto magazine, she
wrote, “Dance to the beat but maintain your
spontaneity! Remain grounded by dancing on
time. There’s a structure to most things we
do, but always remember to make the dance
your own by allowing your own individual
style and creativity to shine through.”
Dance is like a language for the body to
talk to the music. Dance as a language is
particularly key in West Coast Swing because
this is a partner-dance. Learning the
structure, the basic tools of the dance
allows the artist greater freedom and
ability to express their individuality.
Julie Epplett remarked, “For me the dance is
about the magic of dancing with someone new
or otherwise and 'connecting' to each other,
and the music, for an unbelievably perfect
three minutes. My approach as a teacher
emphasizes socially lead-able patterns and
cultivating the ability to dance with
partners of varying skill levels.”
“Dancing can be incredibly healing,” Julie
Epplett said, “Partly because of its
physicality -- just breathing, stretching,
and getting your heart rate up and partly
because you're a member of a community which
can act as a support system. There's just
something enormously satisfying about moving
your body to music.”
On ending our interview, Julie offered her
favourite philosophy learned through the
love of dance, “I have a quote on my
refrigerator that says: "Este mundo es un
Fandango y el que no baile es un tonto".
It's apparently an old Spanish expression
that translates as: "All the world is a
Fandango (a type of dance), and he who does
not dance is a fool". What it means to me,
is that you're crazy not to enjoy life, so
get out there and dance!”
For more information about Julie Epplett,
please visit her website at:
Groovy, Bluesy, Jazzy, Funky.
copyright
lyw
October 2007
