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Balboa The dance Balboa was name after its place of origin in southern California “ the Balboa peninsula” during the 1920’s. The dance was revived by Sylvia Sykes in the mid 1980’s after studying with one of the greats from the era - Maxie Dorf. The style developed because of the crowded dance floors. It was nothing to have 5,000 dancers in one ballroom at any night of the week. The famous Rendevouz Ballroom) at Newport in the Balboa Harbour was famous for Balboa Dancing. It has been documented that the floor was so packed that there were signs around the room “no break away dancing”, “no spin/turns” were allowed and this is where the close embrace and shuffle step began. Originally these ballrooms were made for Foxtrot dancers but as the floors were crowded this dance evolved. “Pure-Bal” which is the original Balboa is danced in close position without any breakaway steps and has an 8 count basic step. The Balboa is danced mostly on the spot with small steps danced to medium to fast tempos. The ladies in 1920s wore heels and the men a slippery sole shoe which gave them the smooth slide look and the ladies tended to raise their foot. One of the advantages of this dance at an advanced level is that the follower does not have to mirror image the leads footwork. This is what made the dance exciting. Balboa is considered more of a "dancer's dance" than a "spectator's dance". As the dance evolved with the different communities down the southern coast of California and the rhythm changes with the Big Bands in the 1940’s, so did the dance. Modern Balboa dancers distinguish the 2 styles as Pure Bal (close contact) or “Bal-Swing”. This latter style is popular amongst the Lindy Hoppers/Swing dancers. It allows the open positions found in other styles of Swing dancing and improvisation with turns etc. It has been said by the purists that Bal-Swing is not Balboa and the only common factor is that it originated in California. The term “Bal-Swing” is said to have been named by Dwight Lupardus who was taught by Maxie Dorf in 1983/84. At Blue Suede Shoes Dance School will be teaching 4 week short courses in the Bal-Swing Style covering the popular basic steps including the uphold, downhold, transition step, paddle step, lollies, apache and more. Resources:
Peter Loggins
http://www.dancesantabarbara.com/articles/8-a-history-of-balboa |
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Collegiate Shag The Collegiate Shag (or "Shag") is a partner dance done primarily to upper tempo jazz music (usually 200+ beats per minute). It belongs to the Swing family of American dances that arose in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Today the term "Collegiate Shag" is most often used in reference to a kind of double shag that is believed to have originated in New York during the 1930s. To call the dance "collegiate shag" was not as common during the swing era as it is today, but when it was used, it was meant to indicate the style of the dance that was popular amongst the ‘college crowd’. It helped to distinguish the dance from other contemporary dances that share the "shag" title. Shag has no clear historical record but is often assumed, as with many other swing dances, to have evolved from Foxtrot. In the late 19th century the term "shagger" was a nickname for vaudeville performers, who were known to dance the Flea Hop, which consisted of a step-hop that alternated right to left, and it is very possible that Shag came from that. Later "Shag" became a blanket term that signified a broad range of jitterbugging (swing dancing). The shag can be categorised into three rhythmic categories: single, double, and triple shag. The different names are intended to denote the number of 'slow' (e.g., step, hop) steps performed during each basic. The term shag has come to mean various different things just as the term Jitterbug has. The term Collegiate was simply term used to describe who, or the way a dance was done. For instance Collegiate Waltz simply meant the kids from the colleges would dance their own style. They didn’t belong to a ballroom dance school and were thought to be rebellious. You will be taught a simple 6 count double rhythm basic, with hops and kicks. This style is a close position dance with some cool opening and separating moves danced to medium to fast tempo. Resources http://www.collegiateshag.com/history.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfMXJTu8958 Ray Hirsch swing dancer |
