If you want to learn how to Balboa in Las Vegas, NV, we're teaching this fun, fast-paced vintage dance on the following 2023 dates:
Weekly Beginning Vintage Swing Lessons - Tuesdays, 6:30p - 7:30p: 8/22/23, 9/5/23, 10/24/23, 12/12/23
Vintage Beginning Swing Dance Series - Tuesdays, 7:30p-8:30p: August 2023 (4 weeks); November 2023 (4-weeks)

Balboa

Balboa is an American partner dance, originating on the Balboa Peninsula in Southern California in the mid-to-late 1920s. The dance was popular on the West Coast during the "Swing Era" of the 1930s & 1940s, and is the second-most popular vintage Swing dance in the world today.  Originally, the Balboa was a closed-position dance, which is often referred to as "Pure Balboa" today. As the dance spread beyond the beach ballrooms of Newport it was incorporated into the variety of steps that made up Swing dancing in Los Angeles, and "Bal-Swing" was born.  In our classes at The SwingDanceVegas Academy, we focus on both "Pure Balboa" & "Bal-Swing" in our Balboa classes and series. 

Beaches & Balboa both start with b!

The clip below features young dancers from Southern California dancing at Venice Beach in September of 1938.  While not quite the original or "Pure" Balboa of the 1920s, this compilation is a great representation of the stylings and movements that we call "Balboa" (and "Collegiate Shag") today. 

"Bobby" does too!

The modern Balboa community is filled with passionate dancers and amateur historians, but perhaps none more important than Robert White of Swungover.com.  Not only is he a national champion Balboa dancer in his own right, Robert has explored the history of Balboa (and Swing dancing, generally) and put together a variety of articles, videos, and essays on his website.  If you'd like to get deeper into the history of Balboa and Swing, we highly recommend you purchase his book and other items at the Swungover store.

And then, enjoy his dancing with partner Annabel Truesdell in this award-winning dance from the California Balboa Classic event in 2020.  

But Not for them...

The Balboa "revival" of the 90s & 00s shares similar characteristics to that of the original "revival" of the Lindy Hop in its birthplace of New York.  In the early 1980s, a renewed interest in Lindy Hop was fueled by original Harlem dancers from the '30s & '40s, most importantly Al Minns and Leon James (followed shortly after by Frankie Manning and Norma Miller). The spark for the boom in popularity that Balboa would see in the 2000s was lit by the original Southern California dancers, who continued to regularly meet and social dance (for instance, at Bobby McGee's in Long Beach) over the decades.  

Below is a short clip of four of the most important "old-school" Balboa dancers of the modern era. The LA Swing Dancers featured are Willie Desatoff, Ann Mills, Hal Takier, and Marge Takier.  All four of these dancers directly inspired many of the most respected Balboa (and LA Swing) dancers today.

Boy that looks fast!

Right?!  And if you think that's fast, check out SwingDanceVegas Academy favorites, Mickey Fortanasce & Kelly Arsenault light the floor on fire.

Better them than me!

While Balboa is most often associated a fast-paced dance, a more "casual" (as Bart Bartolo might say while grabbing your wrist) tempo has been gaining popularity.  "Slow Balboa" (or "Slow Bal") is a modern variation of vintage dance basics like Dean Raftery's slower, triple-stepped Balboa and the Laminu.

Below, Mickey and Anna-Maria, showcase the beauty and grace of Slow Bal.

Benefits of Balboa

One of the great benefits of learning to dance the Balboa today is that you'll have the techniques to move as fast or as slow you'd like.  And while this partner dance is certainly one of the more challenging to pick up initially, the joy and bliss that comes with moving smoothly though time and rhythm is worth the effort.  

Plus, we here at SwingDanceVegas Academy will make sure you're equipped with the best toolkit to succeed in our classes and on the social dance floor.  Visit our Facebook page to find out more details about our Balboa class offerings and in the meantime, enjoy this overview of the basic steps by Vegas-born dancer Heather Ballew, and her partner here, Javier Johnson.

Bonus bal!

Don't forget, Balboa is for everyone, of any age and disposition.  If you don't believe us, check out Hal Takier.  The first clip is him dancing in 1943 (Bal-Swing, as well as other prominent LA-styled variations of Lindy Hop, Shag, & Charleston) with his then-wife, Betty Takier.  The second clip is Hal (with his wife, Marge Takier) 45 years later.

Before you go...

This dance has come a long way from its origins from the ballrooms off the coast of Newport Beach in the 1930s to its prominence on dance floors all over the world today.  With a little effort (and a lot of money), you could probably spend every weekend at a Balboa-centric dance event somewhere on Earth.  Events like:

Beats for bal
This YouTube playlist was put together by one of the great Balboa dancers who have ever graced the dance floor, Kelly Arsenault.