Welcome to Dance Balboa

Balboa is a swing dance that was popular in the 1930s and 1940s. It was first taught in the UK in the 1990s and has been gradually gaining in popularity ever since.

Balboa is a form of the swing dance in the Lindyhop family, which evolved from Charleston and Shag. It is a smooth dance, danced in a close hold (Pure Balboa) or the dancers may separate (Bal Swing). It is often only thought to be a dance for very fast music when it is at its best, however Balboa can be danced at all tempos down to Blues. An excellent way to dance on a crowded dance floor and very handy if you want to hold a conversation while you are dancing.

Balboa is a dance where people build communities, and friends. It is an international dance with workshops and festivals all over the world .

The dance never died out but was kept alive by the old timers including Maxie Dorf & Willie Desatoff who were re discovered in the mid 1980’s by Silvia Sykes who was key in re introduction of the Balboa to the world. The dance grew slowly through the 1990’s and in the UK Dan & Chriti Guest brought the dance to a wide audience in the UK and subsequently created the London Balboa Festival, which attracts Balboa dancers from around the world.

DanceBalboa lists dances, classes and other Balboa events throughout the UK, together with international festivals and dance weekends.