Balboa

What is Balboa?

Balboa is a swing dance style known for being smooth and nearly effortless at even fast tempos. It's also distinguished by the use of a very close position rarely seen in other swing dances. Together, the smoothness and the close dance position give Balboa its reputation of being the "sweetheart" swing dance, the dance you'd do with your sweetheart.

Now popular around the world, what we call Balboa nowadays is actually the fusion of two separate dances done in California during the swing era: Balboa and Swing.

One of the great things about Balboa, is that it allows very smooth dancing even at fast speeds. Watch two old-timers showing that you really don't have to be young to swing!

Classic Balboa

Born in and around the Balboa Peninsula in California, the original Balboa dance was also known as the "Balboa shuffle." It was a very simple dance done in an extremely close position that we often call "Balboa position," where there's actual torso contact. The dance evolved without any partner separation at all, focusing only on footwork. Some say this was because the ballrooms were so crowded, with thousands of people on a single dance floor, that opening up was prohibited. Balboa is a fairly upright swing dance style with strong partner connection.

The origins of Balboa are uncertain. Some say Balboa is in fact related to the Foxtrot, which is further supported by the fact that Balboa has a more upright posture than other swing dances, and can be done with a box step basic. However, other evidence suggests that Balboa may be related to Shag, another footwork-oriented dance done in closed position, or that it was a form of Charleston done very small and very close in order to be danced in crowded ballrooms.

Bal-Swing: aka LA Swing or Socal Swing

Bal-Swing is a modern term referring to the LA or Southern California style of Swing dancing when it's combined with Balboa. Originally, Swing was a very freestyle form of swing dancing done in and around Los Angeles. Unlike Balboa, Swing was a highly innovative dance style with a lot of turns, sweeps, and slides, where the partners stayed further apart. Ironically, LA Swing dancers at the time tended to think of Balboa as a "boring" dance because of its more limited movement, whereas Balboa dancers tended to view their dance as "classier."

LA Swing was characterized by an "in and out" dynamic combined with a lot of rotational momentum, which is preserved in modern Bal-Swing. While Bal-Swing is more dynamic and free-form than Balboa, they share one important thing in common: like Balboa, Bal-Swing is one of the most effortless ways to dance to fast swing music.

LA Swing became known as "Bal-Swing" when, during the swing revival of the 80's and 90's, swing dancers began learning both dances at the same time. Balboa became abbreviated as "Bal" and LA Swing became known as "Bal-Swing."

Randy Swing

The Socal Swing style is also called "Randy Swing" by some dancers, in reference to Ray Randazzle, who ran a troupe of dancers who performed this style of swing. Ray was the manager of the Dianna Ballroom in Culver City near LA, and he assembled a group of eight young people to perform locally under the name "The Ray Rand Swingers." These four couples were nicknamed the "Big Four" due to their prominence as dancers and performers in the area: Maxie Dorf & Mary McCaslin, Hal Takier & Betty Takier, Lawrence Wise & Lillian Arnold, and Gil Fernandez & Venna Cascon. You can see Hal and Betty in this Maharaja clip.

Balboa today

Today, dancers tend to combine both Balboa and Swing into one dance that has kept the name "Balboa," even though most of the elements are actually based on Socal Swing. When Balboa dancers do the original Balboa, they refer to it as "Classic Balboa" or "Pure Bal."

Over the last decade or so, the Balboa has become a very smooth fusion of the original Balboa and LA Swing dances, with transitions between the two styles becoming a major feature of modern Balboa. Balboa is now a fascinating dance that can be enjoyed by dancers of all ages, to swing music of all tempos and styles!

Balboa in Ottawa with Swing Dynamite

If you're looking to start dancing Balboa in Ottawa, check out our Balboa I class! You'll learn a combination of Pure Balboa and Bal-Swing. You'll be able to enjoy Balboa after just one class, and by the end of the six weeks you'll be cooking with gas! Sign up for classes here.

Balboa Explosion

If you're interested in Balboa, check out our Ottawa Balboa event, the Balboa Explosion! It's a whole weekend devoted to the amazing dance of Balboa!