All-Levels Swing Dance — Latham, NY
East Coast Swing Classes
East Coast Swing with Bob Fullan at Baila Albany in Latham, Thursdays at 6:30 PM, all levels. Learn the six-count basic, then stay for the SalSwing Social at 7:30 PM, free with your first class.
Style
East Coast Swing
Six-count: rock step + two triples
Level
All Levels
First-timers welcome
Format
Group Class
Thursday 6:30 PM · about 1 hour
Partner
Not Required
Come on your own
From the Studio
What You'll Get From East Coast Swing at Baila Albany
The six-count basic
The lesson runs about an hour, 6:30 to 7:30 PM, open to all levels. You work on the pattern behind East Coast Swing: a rock step, then two triple steps. You leave with a basic you can dance that same night.
Partners who rotate
Come on your own or with a friend. Partners rotate through the class, so you dance with different people as you learn. You walk into the room as a stranger and leave having danced with most of it.
The SalSwing Social after class
At 7:30 PM the SalSwing Social starts and runs until 11:30, a mix of swing, salsa and bachata. Your free first class covers it, then it’s $10 for the social alone or $15 with the lesson. You practice what you just learned on a real dance floor.
Learn the rock step at 6:30. Keep dancing until 11:30.
— ¡Baila! Albany Dance Studio, Thursdays 6:30 PM with Bob Fullan
Thursday Schedule
East Coast Swing with Bob Fullan is Thursday at 6:30 PM at 952 Troy-Schenectady Rd in Latham, all levels, followed by the SalSwing Social from 7:30 to 11:30 PM. Your first class is free and covers the social, then $15 drop-in, $50 for a 4-class card or $100 for an 8-class card.
Swing class questions, quick answers
Where can I take East Coast Swing lessons near Albany or Latham?
At Baila Albany Dance Studio in Latham, Thursdays at 6:30 PM. Bob Fullan teaches East Coast Swing for all levels at 952 Troy-Schenectady Rd, about 19 minutes from Albany, and the SalSwing Social runs 7:30 to 11:30 PM. Your first class is free and includes the social; after that, the social is $10 alone or $15 with the lesson. No partner needed.
Is East Coast Swing good for beginners in Albany?
Yes. East Coast Swing was built as an easier way into swing, and its basic is only six counts: a rock step and two triple steps. The Thursday class at ¡Baila! Albany in Latham is open to all levels at 6:30 PM and taught by instructor Bob Fullan, with no partner needed. Your first class is free and covers the SalSwing Social that night too. After that it’s $15 to drop in. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes with a smooth sole you can pivot in.
What’s the difference between East Coast and West Coast Swing, and which is the Latham class?
East Coast Swing isn’t slotted and runs on a six-count basic. West Coast Swing is danced in a slot, a straight lane on the floor, and grew out of Lindy Hop in California. Lindy Hop itself is an eight-count dance from Harlem. The Thursday class at ¡Baila! Albany is East Coast Swing, which you’ll also hear called jitterbug or Eastern Swing.
Do I need a partner for East Coast Swing class in Latham?
No. You don’t need a partner for the Thursday class at ¡Baila! Albany in Latham. Partners rotate through the class, so you’ll dance with different people. Stay for the SalSwing Social at 7:30 PM, a mix of swing, salsa and bachata. It’s free with your first class, then $10 on its own or $15 with the lesson.
How do I book my free first swing class?
Claim the free-class pass on Punchpass, then reserve Thursday’s 6:30 PM East Coast Swing class. The pass is valid for 14 days after you purchase it, and it covers that night’s SalSwing Social, 7:30 to 11:30 PM. Come to 952 Troy-Schenectady Rd in Latham. After that, it’s $15 to drop in, $50 for a 4-class card or $100 for 8.
Thursday at 6:30 PM, swing starts. Claim your free class and stay for the social.
What is East Coast Swing?
East Coast Swing is a lively partner dance from the swing family, built on a six-count basic: a rock step, then two triple steps. It’s danced to big band, rock and roll and boogie-woogie, and it was designed as an easier way into swing. At ¡Baila! Albany, you can learn it on Thursdays in Latham.
The swing built for getting started
Swing is a family of dances, and East Coast Swing is the one made for starting out. Its basic runs six counts: a rock step on 1–2, a triple step on 3&4, and another on 5&6. Say it out loud as “rock-step, triple-step, triple-step” and you already know the pattern. You’ll also hear it called jitterbug or Eastern Swing.
How does it compare with its cousins? Lindy Hop, born in Harlem in the late 1920s by most accounts, runs on eight counts. West Coast Swing is danced in a slot, a straight lane on the floor. East Coast Swing isn’t slotted, so any patch of floor will do. It grew out of the six-count versions of Lindy Hop, which is why the two feel related.
Who it’s for
If you’ve never danced, if you’re coming alone, or if you mix up left and right, this class is for you. Thursday’s lesson is open to all levels, so first-timers and seasoned dancers share the floor, and no partner is needed. The studio sits in Peter Harris Plaza on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham and serves Albany, Colonie, Troy, Schenectady, Clifton Park and the wider Capital District. Bob Fullan’s Thursday lesson is easy to join for Albany swing dancers, Troy swing dancers, Guilderland swing dancers and Latham swing dancers alike.
A Brief History
From a Harlem ballroom to ballroom dance studios across America, here’s how swing grew into the six-count dance you can learn on Thursday nights in Latham.
From the Savoy to the studio
Lindy Hop took shape in Harlem in the late 1920s, by most accounts, and the Savoy Ballroom at 596 Lenox Avenue became its epicenter. The Savoy opened on March 12, 1926. It was integrated, and Chick Webb’s orchestra was its house band. When Benny Goodman’s Palomar Ballroom success in August 1935 launched the Swing Era, the dance had a soundtrack to match.
East Coast Swing came next. In the 1940s, American ballroom dance studios developed a six-count version, first called Eastern Swing, because Lindy Hop was seen as too difficult and unstructured for beginners. The name East Coast Swing only became common between 1975 and 1980. Today it’s danced at socials and in ballroom studios alike, and on Thursdays, in Latham.
The Savoy opens in Harlem
The Savoy Ballroom opens at 596 Lenox Avenue on March 12. It's integrated, and Chick Webb's orchestra later becomes the house band.
Lindy Hop emerges
Shorty George Snowden's breakaway at a dance marathon is often cited as the start. The dance takes its name from Lindbergh's 1927 flight and runs on eight counts. Accounts differ on the exact date.
The Swing Era begins
Benny Goodman's August 21 success at the Palomar Ballroom launches the Swing Era, which runs to 1946. Count Basie reaches national prominence in 1937.
Webb beats Goodman
Chick Webb's orchestra defeats Benny Goodman's in a battle of the bands at the Savoy Ballroom, the Harlem home floor of Lindy Hop.
East Coast Swing is born
American ballroom studios develop Eastern Swing, a six-count simplification of Lindy Hop for beginners. The name East Coast Swing becomes common around 1975 to 1980.
Your First Moves
Six terms every new swing dancer hears early. Learn them and any two dancers, in Latham or anywhere else, can find the beat together.
Rock Step
Counts 1–2
Opens every basic. The leader rocks back on the left, weight shifts, then comes forward again. It sets the swing rhythm before any triple step.
Triple Step
Counts 3&4 and 5&6
Three steps in the time of two beats, a side-close-side pattern. East Coast Swing uses two per basic, one to each side.
Basic Six-Count
Rock step + two triples
The foundation: 1–2, 3&4, 5&6. Six counts of footwork over a 4/4 song. It’s what separates East Coast Swing from eight-count Lindy Hop.
Underarm Turn
Turning under the raised hand
The staple move. The leader lifts the joined hand and the follower turns beneath it while the basic keeps going.
Throwout
Also called a send-out
The leader sends the follower out to arm’s length, then brings them back in. Your first taste of dancing apart and together.
Open Position
Opening the connection
Partners move from closed or semi-closed hold into open position, joined by the hands at arm’s length.
Ready for your free first swing class and social?
Bob Fullan’s East Coast Swing class runs Thursdays at 6:30 PM at 952 Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham, and every level is welcome. Your first class is free and covers the SalSwing Social that follows. No partner needed. Questions? Call 518-334-3483.