Balboa

This past Sunday, Zendah Grotto (www.swingang.com) in Tampa hosted a great Balboa workshop taught by Tim Adams and Christa Stepp. A focus was on fundamentals, with some additional moves such as turns, lollis, and transitions. It was incredibly well taught; Tim and Christa are talented teachers.

It is surprising how many people haven’t heard of Balboa, or how difficult it is to find decent videos of Balboa, even among dancers. I was speaking to several talented dances at a dance studio Tuesday evening (although primarily a ballroom studio, they teach swing, salsa, and other rhythmic dances as well)  and I mentioned that I spent Sunday at a Balboa workshop and received polite blank stares. I also then realized that it is quite difficult to describe Balboa, even to other dancers. Simply saying that is danced in a “close embrace” with “full body connection” doesn’t really convey any idea of the intricacies of the dance. I can’t say that I am any more qualified to attempt to explain it, being rather new to Balboa dancing (again, it goes along with it being mostly unheard of in many areas), and many ways i’ve heard it explained are crude at best.

Either way, it is a very advanced dance due to the subtlety of the lead and follow, one can take quite a while to be comfortable with. Other forms of dancing, such as East Coast swing, are relatively simple to explain and teach to beginners. The leads are easier to follow, the steps easier to follow, and you don’t have to worry about stepping all over your partners toes, or bumping into any potentially harmful areas. Though not as interesting to watch as Lindy Hop or the other, more elaborate and fast paced swing varieties, to a more keen observer, or a more experienced dancer, you can really appreciate the subtleties.

For information about the popular Balboa event, All Balboa Weekend, check out www.allbalboa.com

Below are some videos of Balboa dancing

Joel and Lenka Green (www.swingnsalsa.com)

The above are exceptionally good teachers as well, they taught a very unique lesson when I visited UCF’s Friday swing dance last month.

Joel and Alyson Plys at All Balboa Weekend in 2003

~ by Spirit on July 27, 2007.