Events at the Fort Wayne Westies

To find upcoming events, check our homepage or our Facebook links to the right.

Our number one goal with our events is to create more WCS opportunities to …

  • Learn West Coast Swing
  • Practice West Coast Swing
  • Dance West Coast Swing

Every event that we host will hit one or more of these core goals of mastering West Coast Swing. From new to experienced dancers, we’re providing opportunities for aspiring Westies to gain more exposure to and master the art of West Coast Swing.

Every event is a great opportunity to learn and master WCS while making friends and creating memories.

Find upcoming West Coast Swing events on our Facebook Events Page or join us in our Community Facebook Group.

To find other West Coast Swing events happening in the region, check out the FindA.Dance Community Calendar.

We’re creating WCS opportunities through 3 core event styles at the Fort Wayne Westies:

Westie Night

Our Westie Nights are geared towards providing a WCS lesson with a 2-3h “open dance” dedicated to WCS-suitable music. You’re always welcome to dance any style that the music inspires you to dance.

Westie Nights cater to “Learning” and “Dancing” West Coast Swing as a way to practice what you’re working on, socializing, making new friends, and having a good time.

The Westie Night is very similar in structure to other local dance events in WCS and ballroom, but with a heavy/exclusive musical focus on WCS styles.

Dancers that want to practice and get feedback of their dancing are never discouraged to do so at Westie Nights, although our Practicas and PLAYgrounds may be better suited for getting direct 1:1 or group feedback.

LEARN + DANCE

Westie Practica

The Westie Practica is an event that is heavily focused on practicing specific elements within West Coast Swing. There may or may not be a lesson prior to the practica, but those in attendance are encouraged to share what they know, offer and ask for feedback, and more.

Normally it’s discouraged to provide feedback and “instruction” on the dance floor, which is applicable during our Westie Nights, but during the practica, it’s open grounds as dancers in attendance are acively looking to accelerate their personal dance growth.

Songs will be available so that you can practice to music of varied styles, or practice a song on repeat.

Everyone will have something they can work on independently as well with a partner.

LEARN + PRACTICE

Westie PLAYground

PLAYgrounds for our Westies involves a light lesson, typically taught by Austin or other instructor the group decides to bring in, followed by a brief “practica,” and then ends with a practice dance of 1-2 hours.

This is a mix between both a Westie Night and a Westie Practica by providing you with a lesson + chance to practice and get feedback + dance environment to work what you’ve been practicing in a social dance setting.

The “PLAYground” is inspired by PLAY within West Coast Swing, and encouraging dancers to embrace their creativity and express their personality within their dancing.

LEARN + PRACTICE + DANCE

Always Evolving at the Fort Wayne Westies

More opportunities will pop up over time as we experiment with new ideas, get new insights with the community, and more. For example, we would like to take our Westie expertise outside of the studio and surprise and entertain the public with what we know by “Westie Bombing” bars, clubs, and other public venues. We’ll also look at bringing in new and returning guest instructors, hosting bigger events, and more.