What’s Up? – Boston Balboa

August Balboa Updates

How is it August already?!

It’s been a whirlwind of a summer (complete with whirlwinds and hail), but we’ve still got a bunch of stuff happening in the next few weeks!

BoaSA and Balboa Speakeasy THIS SUNDAY!
That’s right, they’re both are happening this Sunday, August 9th:
Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon from 3pm-5pm at the Dance Complex in Studio 4 and Balboa Speakeasy from 5:30pm-8:30pm at Brass Union. We hope to see you there as it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve been able to practice and dance!

Still don’t think that’s enough Balboa?

Yeah, neither did we! So we’re holding another wandering Saturday Night Shuffle on Saturday, August 22 from 9pm-12:30pm at Movimiento in the South End.
450 Harrison Avenue, Suite 61 (Thayer Street), Boston, MA
(Free parking in the SOWA lot off Albany Street!)

And incidentally, we’re starting up classes again Tuesday September 8 at 8pm. We’ll be running an Intro to Balboa series from 8:00-9:00pm (tell your friends, review your fundamentals!) and also an Intermediate Balboa series immediately afterwards from 9:00-10:00pm! Class information and registration can be found HERE.

Hope to see you soon, dancing Bal!

What up, April?

Balboa! That’s what’s happening!

BoaSA & Speakeasy: The next Balboa Speakeasy will be at Brass Union (formerly Precinct Bar in Union Sq), immediately following the Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon practice Sunday, April 12! Come out and play with us… the last one was epic! Gorgeous Balboa, tasty drinks, and a few magnificent swingouts… and there’s video to prove it.

April Classes at Dance Complex: Three NEW classes suitable for students from our Fundamentals classes or anyone with a working knowledge of the basic Balboa figures! Each is a standalone class, so register for one or all three! Learn more and register at our Dance Complex classes page!

April 14: Fundamental Footwork Flavor.
April 21: Balboa Fundamentals Integration (2 hour choreography class incorporating the moves and techniques from Fundamentals A, B, & C).
April 28: Fundamentals of Musicality.

Coming Soon — Nelle Cherry & Adam Speen: Save the dates May 30 & 31 for Balboa Inside & Outside the Box weekend, with Nelle Cherry and Adam Speen! Registration IS NOW OPEN! (Register before April 13 for ridiculous discounts!)

What up, February?

Jen Barnett and Gio Olla in California Balboa Classic Open Jack-N-Jill 2015 (their spotlight starts at 1:15)

Classes: We’ll be teaching Balboa Fundamentals B in February 2015! The content of this class will be suitable for anyone who has taken our Fundamentals A / Intro to Balboa class at least once. We will cover rhythm, connection, review of the basics you know, and some new figures to build vocabulary and improve transitions! Classes will be happening Tuesday nights at 8pm at the Dance Complex. Check out the class descriptions and our Balboa at the Dance Complex page for more information and registration!

Jen Barnett Workshops: An exciting weekend of classes especially focused on followers and the leaders who love them! Saturday February 28 will have classes for followers working solo, and Sunday March 1 will have classes for leaders and followers working together on follow-focused topics. Everyone’s partnering skills will end up stronger…and that’s the key to MOAR BALBOA FUN! Classes will be held at the Armory in Somerville, and we’ll have a Speakeasy immediately following Sunday’s classes! Registration is open now at Traffic-Stopping Balboa: Jen Barnett Workshops!

BoaSA & Speakeasy: The next Balboa Speakeasy will be at Brass Union (formerly Precinct Bar in Union Sq) from 3:30-7:00pm, immediately following the Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon practice Sunday, February 8, from 1-3pm at the Dance Complex in Studio 4! Come out and play with us! NOTE that this is the SECOND SUNDAY of February, not our usual first Sunday, because of the sportball event happening February 1. (Go Pats!) Also notice the start times are ONE HOUR EARLIER than usual this time, because of when we could get space at Dance Complex.

And by popular demand, we are also running an additional BoaSA practice session on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, from 2-4pm as usual in Studio 4. There’s plenty of time to practice some Bal and still get yourself parked in front of some chicken wings in time for kickoff. See you there!

The Late Summer Update

Who’s that? Why that’s David Rehm and Heather Ballew who happen to be teaching in Boston in October at TinkerBal!

Holy crap, lots going on!

Classes: In August, we’re offering TWO Balboa class series, because y’all just can’t get enough! Jason Swihart & Shana Worel will teach on Thursdays at the Whistle Stop, offering a beginner series followed by an intermediate series. Registration is NOW OPEN!

Because they (like we) are big fans of always revisiting fundamentals, there is a 50% discount available on the beginner class for anyone who has taken a beginner-Balboa series from Boston Balboa or from NSS. If you took one of our beginner classes in the past or the Balboa for Lindy Hoppers NSS class in July, you qualify for the 50% discount on the beginner class. We hope to see lots of you taking both classes in August, because there’s lots more Balboa coming up this fall! Bring your friends!

BoaSA & Speakeasy: We hope everyone will come out to Balboa on a Sunday Afternoon on Sunday, August 3, to practice all the stuff we learned! And join us at Speakeasy immediately afterward at the Tavern at the End of the World for drinks, food, and dancing! (Sadly, we know lots of you will be at the rescheduled Lawn Party instead – have fun!)

Social dancing: PLUS: the next Saturday Night Shuffle will be August 16 at the Dilboy VFW in Davis Square – cash bar! awesome DJ music! social dancing!

Also coming soon — more classes in September at Dance Complex! And in October/November, Peter Flahiff will be in residence here in Boston! Peter is an internationally-renowned social dancer, performer, and teacher of Balboa and Lindy Hop, and we are thrilled to collaborate with New School Swing in bringing him to Boston and the New England region this fall! And let’s not forget TinkerBal — the workshops may be sold out but there will be some awesome social dancing to be had! Mark your calendars!

Hope to see you soon, dancing Bal!

May Balboa update!

We had a great response to our ridiculously insane registration prices for the Hot & Cool Balboa workshops with Mickey & Kelly coming in July! We may have come to our senses, but if you missed out we still have a set of perfectly reasonable early bird discount prices available through June 4. Check them out!

Locally, we’ve been really excited by the turnout for our Pure Balboa Fundamentals class at the Dance Complex this month. For those who are interested in picking up on the Bal-Swing side of things, we’ll be running a Bal-Swing Fundamentals class on Tuesdays at the same location, starting June 3rd at 8pm. Registration is now open with a $10 discount if you sign up before the first class!

Also, just so you know, coming in June, we’re going to have our first Saturday Night Shuffle — a Saturday night social dance geared towards you — our Balboa audience! Stay tuned for more information!