Balboa Workshop with Brenda Russell 28.3 - 30.3.2025

A deep dive into first-hand techniques from the original dancers. 4 topics, 4 tempos Register here: https://forms.gle/vqCo7ag6d18rLgtP6 Friday 28.3 18:00 - 20:30 Slow Bal & Laminu 80-120 bpm Saturday 29.3 12:00 - 14:15 Pure Bal 120-180 bpm Saturday 29.3 15:15 - 17:30 Fast Balboa/Shuffle Bal 180-250 bpm Sunday 30.3 11:00 - 13:15 Bal-Swing/Jitter-Bal 120-250 bpm Friday Party (some of us will go to Rebel Blues together afterward. You can practice your Slow Bal to Blues ;) ) Saturday Party (MixMax Party at Rhythm Rebels in the evening with Balboa, Blues, Lindy and Boogie. The party is not included in the workshop pass). Brenda Jean is a native of the West Coast of America and had the opportunity to know and train with the living original California dancers. She aims to share the feel, dance values, and techniques she carries from the original Balboa dancers, allowing her students to develop a more authentic feel, comfortable connection, and foundation to build on as we create new ideas in the modern day. Class Descriptions: Slow Bal 80-120 bpm Balboa was a dance from a place and time, not for a certain tempo, as is often misunderstood. The original dancers danced to all tempos of the band's songs with the steps they knew from their parents' and grandparents' dances, adapting them for the new and popular Jazz music. I learned many down-tempo dances from California dancers: Slicker, Strand, Laminu, and Slow Drag. As Balboa was largely based on Foxtrot, Rumba, and Cha Cha Cha you can see how each was applied to various musical rhythms. We will explore the difference between Slicker and Laminu and the music each can be danced to. Pure Bal 120-180 bpm What is known today as "Pure Bal" is the original Balboa that was done in the Rendevouz Ballroom, where the Balboa was invented. It is a close embrace dance with various rhythms and patterns shared between the dancers. There are different styles for different tempo ranges. The most common style would be done in this tempo range. Brenda will share Willie Desatoff's syllabus from the 1940's, along with tips for how to get the authentic feel, and styling. Fast Balboa/Shuffle Bal 180-250 bpm Shuffle Bal is the style done to faster music and songs with a shuffle beat. It's fun to improvise rhythms and stylings. Brenda will help you achieve a smooth and efficient movement while giving you a toolbox for creating fun rhythm variations. Remember, the original dancers were keeping it cool and literally trying not to sweat all over their date. Fast Bal can be easy and low impact. Bal-Swing/Jitter-Bal 120-250 bpm In the 1980s, when Jonathan and Sylvia started studying swing dance with Maxi Dorf and others, they mistakenly thought they were learning Balboa. The LA dancers had been jitterbuggers, and when done in and out of closed position like Balboa, it was thought to be Balboa. We now call this style of fusing jitterbug with Balboa Bal-Swing or Jitterbal. Brenda will go over the original cross-overs, continuous cross-overs, cross-throughs, and more with styling options applied.