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Balboa today is commonly used as a general term for dances that come from southern California during the 1920's and 30's. Which makes the history very confusing. The Original Balboa dancers have long passed and many of the swing dancers that followed continued to use their steps and sometimes styles to integrate into their "swing" dancing which some people today call "bal-swing".

Balboa is a form of swing dance that started as early as 1915 and gained in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The term " swing dance " commonly refers to a group of dances that developed concurrently with the swing style of Jazz music in the 1920s '30s and '40s although It is danced primarily in close embrace, and is led with a full body connection. Close embrace is a term used in Partner dances It refers to a position where the leader and follower stand facing each other chest-to-chest In partner dancing, the two partners are labelled as the leader and the follower, or lead and follow. Connection is essential to all partner Dancing.In Argentine Tango, Lindy Hop, Balboa, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing The art of Balboa is the subtle communication between the lead and follow, like weight shifts, that most viewers cannot see. As a result, Balboa is considered more of a "dancer's dance" than a "spectator's dance".

Balboa is danced to a wide variety of tempos. Because the basic is so small, Balboa can be danced to fast music (over 300 beats per minute). Balboa is also danced to slow music (under 100 beats per minute), which allows more time for intricate footwork and variations.

Contents

Forms

Balboa involves chaining two-step movements together while shuffling the feet on the floor. The leader often wears leather soled dress shoes, while the follow often dances in high heels.

The dance was originally a response to overcrowded ballrooms where the break away (a move popular in lindy hop at the time) was often difficult, if not banned by the venue. Lindy Hop is an African American dance that evolved in New York City in 1927 Balboa is often perceived as a restrained or introverted dance, with most movement below the knees.

History

Balboa came from Southern California during the 20's and increased in popularity until World War 2. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Balboa is named for the Balboa Peninsula, in Newport Beach, California where it was invented. The Balboa Peninsula (also referred to as "Balboa" is a subsection of the city of Newport Beach, Orange County, California. It is believed to have started at the Balboa Pavilion [1] in Newport Beach. The Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach, Orange County, California, is a state landmark

A small, active Balboa community has always existed in the Los Angeles area. Today, Balboa is resurging worldwide due in part to the efforts of Jonathan Bixby and Sylvia Sykes. Jonathan Bixby is a swing dance instructor in Santa Barbara California Sylvia Sykes is a swing dance instructor judge and choreographer

Some original Balboa dancers quotes:

"We can't tell you how to dance Balboa, but we can tell you when you are not dancing Balboa. "
"As soon as you start attracting attention to yourself, you [are] not doing Balboa anymore"

Comparisons to Lindy Hop

Balboa is a contemporary of Lindy Hop, so comparisons are hard to avoid. Lindy Hop is an African American dance that evolved in New York City in 1927

Description

Body Position

The dancers stand close, touching upper chest. This makes communication with body language very easy. The man's right front torso (rib cage) touches the woman's center front torso (rib cage). They are offset by about 30 degrees.

Body Lead

There are many variations on how dancers move during the basic step. Each variation looks different. Each variation communicates movement to the follow differently. Dancers do all of the following (from the lead's point of view):

Regardless of basic variation, the dance is done in place, without any traveling on the floor.

Basic footwork

The Bal-Swing basic is performed to 8 counts of the music, with typical footwork as follows (assuming both dancers shift forward and back between two positions on the floor 4 to 8 inches or 10 to 20 cm apart):

Lead:

  1. Step back with left foot.
  2. Step back with right foot, bringing feet together.
  3. Slide left foot forward.
  4. Slide left foot back beside right foot.
  5. Step forward with right foot.
  6. Step forward with left foot, bringing feet together.
  7. Slide right foot back, bringing heel off the ground.
  8. Slide right foot forward beside left foot.

Follow:

  1. Step forward with right foot.
  2. Step forward with left foot, bringing feet together.
  3. Slide right foot backward, bringing heel off the ground.
  4. Slide right foot forward beside left foot.
  5. Step back with left foot.
  6. Step back with right foot, bringing feet together.
  7. Slide left foot forward.
  8. Slide left foot back beside right foot.

Note that the lead and follow footwork is identical, although offset by four beats. That is, both perform the same footwork when moving backwards and forwards.

In the Original Balboa the dancers do the same or similar footwork utilizing the same rhythm, however it's done in place. To do so easily, the dancers shuffle their feet and avoid stepping,or bouncing.

Also note that some people might argue that the Balboa basic is just "step-step" and any "upholds" (the slide-slide is an uphold variation) are already variations to change direction and/or feet. Not getting too attached to this 8-count basic pattern helps when learning Ad-libs (aka "one-steps") and moves that don't fit into the 8-count scheme, since it's then more natural how to sync back to the music. Especially the follow must be aware that this pattern is just common, and needs to be led into doing the uphold.

Footwork Variations

Dancers vary their footwork, to respond to the music or their partner.

Many footwork variations can be done independently of the partner. The three most common footwork variations are single, double, and triple time.

Some footwork patterns require cooperation with the partner.

Main Variations

Five loose categories of variations are pure, throwouts, lollies, crossovers, and fancy. Bal-swing also borrows moves from other dances, especially Charleston and features moves in open position. The Charleston is a Dance named for the city of Charleston South Carolina. Variations done in closed position (called "Pure Balboa") consisting just of 2 counts are often called "ad libs" or "one steps".

Most of the following moves would be done strictly in Bal-swing. However, these moves can been seen sometimes in Balboa if they are done very small, with feet on floor and no travelling.

  • Throw Outs: See also Throwouts (dance). Throwouts are variations from Balboa and are also known as Toss-outs.
  • Fancy: These are special variations that are part of the history.

As a rule, transitions between moves are made on the slow (3-4 or 7-8) counts, because there is more time to signal and make adjustments.

External links

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