Introducing the King Lab
The King Lab is a series where I share the ongoing development of the ideas, tools, systems, and experiences I’m building across the Dallin King ecosystem.
Every week, I’ll highlight what moved forward, what I’m experimenting with, and the concepts shaping the future. Some updates will be small, some big, but all of them reflect the same mission: to design things that make life better, clearer, and more connected.
This series is my way of opening the door a little; showing the work, the process, the exploration, and the evolution.
What Moved This Week
1. Authentication System Foundations
Most of this week centered around building out secure, reliable user sign-up and login functionality.
I focused on:
- Proper password storage and hashing
- Verification logic
- Long-term security considerations
- Structuring the authentication flow so it can scale as more users join the platform
This forms the backbone for everything that follows; accounts, personalization, saved content, dashboards, and future cross-project integrations.
2. Country Swing - Technique Curriculum Development
Country Swing has been moving forward in a big way. I’ve been building the technique curriculum that will serve as the foundational learning structure across three paths: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced workshops.
These workshops are being developed for:
- BYU Country Swing instructors
- Boulevard instructors
- Future online workshops
Each technique is being formalized, categorized, and prepared to teach with clarity and structure. Here’s the current technique set:
Habit Breaking
- Back Leading
Connection
- Connection Points
- Cueing
- Partner Connection
Musicality
- Hitting the Beat
- Phrase Changes
- Playing with Lyrics
- Syncopation
- Tempo Changes
- Timing/Rhythm
- Mapping
Tension
- Body vs Arm Tension
- Control
- Elastic Arms
- Frame
- Tone
Posting
- Tempo Change
- Tone Change
Movement Categories
- Drops
- Footwork
- Hijacking
- Lifts
- Line of Dance
- Rides
- Steals
- Styling
- Turning/Spins
This list will expand and refine as I continue building the structure and flow of the workshops.
Looking Ahead
Next week I’ll continue refining the authentication system and begin integrating the user account model into the broader platform, starting with user features for country swing. On the Country Swing side, the next focus will be clarifying the workshop progression path and beginning the first pieces of content structuring.