Tips: Additional Notes on Tension (WCS)

Disclaimer: The notes here are mostly for my convenience. Not everyone will make the same mistakes that I do, so what I state may not apply to you. This is merely stuff that my dance teacher said to me to correct my posture. Check with your dance instructor to clarify your errors. These notes are written in the follower's point of view. Some may work for the leader's point of view but take them at your own discretion.

• As usual, keep your frame. Your shoulder blades should feel like they're opening up like a ballet dancer's and the rest of your hands are loose and free. Remember to get back into it after moves like underarm pass and outside turns where your arms are raised.
• There's a tendency to break from the frame when you use up all your rope from the arms during the anchor. So make sure you have enough rope to give tension. You may have to take smaller steps for this. This means less work for the girls, hooray! 
• The weight of the tension is not by pulling your entire bodyweight back. You're adding tension as you give rope from your arms gradually during the 5 & a 6 & a counts. The "sweet spot" aka maximum tension should be on the 6 & a counts, right before count 1.
• The best way to know if your tension is right is to feel if its right with you and your partner. Ask his opinion on whether the tension is just right for him or if you feel like a truckload. After all, these are just words on a computer screen, which cannot replace the experience of dancing a partner dance like West Coast Swing. So get out there and start social dancing!