Sugarpush: a history of West Coast Swing, race, and gender

West Coast Swing’s history began around the mid-twentieth century, with roots in Lindy Hop. Despite its fascinating history and its formal status as California’s state dance, however, no academic history of this dance and its community yet exists. This project seeks to remedy this, exploring West Coast Swing’s predecessors and its history from mid-twentieth century until early 2019. The author employs extensive primary source documents, including more than twenty interviews, to illuminate this topic. The resulting thesis highlights major themes such as community organization and leadership, expansion and globalization, musical trends and their impacts, and the role of technology. It also provides in-depth analysis of issues of race and gender in the history of West Coast Swing. With regards to gender, it finds that West Coast Swing’s community has, in some cases, experienced more egalitarian sex representation in its leadership but, at other times, has largely followed American trends. Additionally, this thesis examines recent changes in West Coast Swing’s gender dynamics by tracking changes to the gendered lead and follow roles. It finds that the West Coast Swing community embraces dance roles that more closely match modern relationships than do those found in ballroom dance. Ultimately, the author argues that the history of West Coast Swing offers insights into broader Californian and American history.