DAYTIME BALBOA WORKSHOPS
No Partner & No Experience is needed for the Beginner Track Level!

INSTRUCTOR PLACEMENTS:

Every year we strive to keep the levels even in the Daytime Balboa Workshops! That means NO track jumping. You must sign up for the appropriate track to fit your level. If you have any questions about which level you belong please email WELL IN ADVANCE to the event, and our instructors will help place you. We are encouraging early registration in order to keep the ratios even. Once we get close to the event, the registrations will be limited until the ratios are even and then at the time of the event only those in the category we need (i.e., leads or follows) will be allowed to register unless they register as a couple. This means people will be turned away at the door in order to keep an even ratio, so please register early to ensure your space! If you are in the incorrect level the Instructors will place you by suggesting you move to a lower level within the first 3 classes of the first day. Pass holders must wear badges and wrist bands to help with lead/follow ratio and show level and proof of payment.

-Foundation 1930's Balboa Workshop Track
Total Beginner level-All Balboa TECHNIQUE will be taught in this class!
But, by 2nd day class will move into intermediate quickly!

Fun Beginner level with no partner and no experience is needed! Learn the original dance from the 1930’s by dancers who were there and by champions who trained under them. Its romantic closeness, fancy footwork, effortless flow, simplicity and economy of movement make Balboa suited to fast tempo music or slow romantic swaying tunes. Balboa can be danced to songs as slow as Tuxedo Junction or as fast as White Heat! For beginning and intermediate dancers the Balboa Foundation Track is intended to bring you the core principles and 5 fundamentals! This level is for those dancers who have never taken a dance class, those who are proficient dancers of a different type and style but never taken Balboa, those who have taken Balboa classes and have learned the Basics, those who have taken many Balboa classes over a period of time but have not yet progressed past the 5 fundamentals: the basic, transition, come around, inside turn, back to close. Build on them and build on your own Balboa and Bal-Swing repertoire into a more intermediate level. There will be a basic Balboa lesson on Friday night but it is not required. If you have taken many a class on Balboa but need better technique, this is the class for you (by the second day expect to be challenged)!
-Intermediate Balboa Track
For those dancers who can execute as a lead and follow with proper footwork the 5 fundamentals (basic, transition, come around, turn, back to basic), If you do not know where the hold is on the Basic versus where the hold is on Bal-Swing and if you do not know exactly what your feet should be doing on the 5 fundamentals, then it is recommended you take the Foundation track. You will be taken above and beyond the Fundamentals learning amazing moves and proper technique, improving your dancing rapidly over the weekend. Even if you've been taking intermediate courses for some time this track will solidify what you have been exposed to and challenge the technique of what you've learned! Focus will be on getting you into advanced dancing!

-Intermediate/Advanced Balboa Track

Challenge and energize with concepts beyond existing steps. This level is for those dancers who not only know the basic (basic, transition, come around, turn, back to basic) but also have spent over a year learning Pure Bal variation, footwork and at a minimum know how to effectively execute as a lead and easily follow outside turns and combinations. If you know the 5 fundamentals perfectly but have not yet danced combinations fluidly and been able to incorporate footwork without throwing off your partner then you MUST take the Intermediate track. You will be given excellent moves and techniques in the Intermediate Track.Feel free to jump in & out of the Advanced Track. However, if you stay in your Track it will build on itself... Don't get confused if the class moves on without you!

-Advanced Balboa Track

Recommended for Advanced Balboa Swing Dancers able to switch in and out of the Advanced Track classes with ease. This level is for those dancers who not only know the basic (basic, transition, come around, turn, back to basic) but also have spent over several years learning Pure Bal variation, footwork and at a minimum know how to effectively execute as a lead and easily follow outside turns and combinations. If you learn quickly this is the class for you; Instructors will be able to give you more moves than you can handle! Even if you are a competition level Lindy Hopper or West Coast swing dancer, you need to start in the Foundation track. This is in fact a completely different dance and you will enjoy it a lot more if you learn the basics and build on them over the weekend. Feel free to jump in & out of the Advanced Electives Track.

-Dance Floor Etiquette

Following dance floor etiquette helps everyone to have fun. Basically, just be courteous and respectful of others around you: Look where you are going, and be prepared for the unexpected. If you bump into someone, smile and apologize. If someone bumps into you, smile and apologize. If you find yourself apologizing all the time, maybe the problem isn’t just everybody else. If you find yourself smiling all the time, well, good. If you are not dancing, don’t stand on the dance floor. Stand close to the wall so we don’t experience the incredible shrinking dance floor. Also, don’t carry drinks onto the dance floor. Report spills immediately or clean it up yourself! Finally, there is no excuse for “road rage” on the dance floor. If you see someone breaking the rules, let it go. Maybe he isn’t aware of the rules, maybe she’s trying her best, but it’s unlikely he really is a jerk who simply enjoys getting in your way. We all make mistakes. Getting angry isn’t going to solve anything. Smile, and apologize. Leaders are responsible for protecting their partners. Followers help them out if you see trouble coming. (Remember, it’s not always the leader’s fault.) We are all learning! Take responsibility for your own dancing. Dancing isn't sex; Teachers dance both lead and follow regardless of gender so give the beginner same sex social dancers a break. The best way to learn a dance well is to learn the other part. Just ‘cause a person of the same sex asks you to dance doesn't mean they're hitting on you. But, if they do, respectfully set them 'straight' with a smile. And if you didn't already know this is a Gay run event. So, keep it Gay friendly!