ALL BALBOA-BLUES Weekend (22nd-23rd August)

The Weekend and the Instructors

Get ready for an all Balboa-Blues Weekend where you can learn these two forms of Swing Dances from the basics!  Together with Johanna, an experienced teacher and dancer of several kinds of Swing dances, we will teach a weekend of Blues and Balboa from the basics.  No experience in any form of dancing is required for the weekend.

What is Balboa?
Balboa is a form of swing dance that started as early as 1915 and gained in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. It is danced primarily in close embrace, and is led with a full body connection to a wide variety of tempos. The art of Balboa is the subtle communication between the lead and follow – like weight shifts – that most viewers cannot see. Because the basic step takes up such a small space, Balboa can be danced to fast music (over 300 beats per minute). Balboa is also danced to slow music (under 100 beats per minute), which allows more time for intricate footwork and variations.  Fancier variations, known as Bal-Swing, were later developed which forced the ‘chest to chest’ connection to be broken. In this form anything goes; spins, turns, dips, and tricks!

What is Blues Dancing?

Blues dancing in swing dance communities today may range from traditional blues dances to much less historically grounded forms. The blues taught at this weekend is a freestyle form of partnered dancing – usually at slower tempos – particularly based on the principles of partner connection, aesthetics and approaches to rhythm and timing of Lindy hop, often combining elements of West Coast Swing, Foxtrot, and Argentine Tango.

Schedule

Sat
2-330pm     Blues – The Basics and Connection
330-5pm    Blues – Rhythm & Groove
5-630pm    Blues-Swing Combination

Sun
2-330pm    Balboa Basics
330-5pm    Bal-Swing Basics
5pm-630pm    Putting All Together

Where:
S & A Dance X’pressio, 50 Macpherson  Road  #03-00 Singapore 348471

Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=50+macpherson+road,+singapore&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.494074,65.654297&ie=UTF8&ll=1.329269,103.870153&spn=0.01094,0.016029&z=16&iwloc=A

Cost:     $30 per class (but you can’t take the 2nd and 3rd classes without prior experience)
$80 for the day
$150 for the weekend

**Pay by 9th Aug to avoid the $10 administrative fee either to S & A Dance X’pressio or pay at Swing by the Flyer social dance every Monday from 8-1030pm at Love the World Bar and Bistro at the Singapore Flyer, or email sinclair.ang@gmail.com for alternative methods

Email sinclair.ang@gmail.com to register and pay in advance to confirm your place in the workshops!

Spring-Summer Europe Teaching/Herrang Tour

After 3 weeks of teaching in Denmark, Ireland, and Switzerland, and 2 weeks in Herrang, I am tired but inspired.  It was great to go back to communities where I’ve been teaching over the years to watch them grow both in numbers and abilities.  I had a good time catching up with old friends as well.  And of course it was fantastic to teach some evening classes, DJ a number of sets and to dance with some of the world’s best at Herrang.

Since I miss those places and most of you were not there, here are some clips from the parties in (order of appearance) Copenhagen, Zurich and Herrang

The band was fantastic and the general atmosphere swingin’, as you can see people doing the jitterbugs stroll in one corner, dancers on the dance floor and the soloists blasting away – what a night.

This is the open air dance held in central Zurich in the Summer.  Was a nice place to dance in the cool Spring night, and a beautiful setting to catching up with some old friends.

Here’s a glimpse of the dancers in Herrang during one of my DJ sets, with Ryan Francois dancing in the foreground.  And here’s a special treat: at my request Dawn Hampton conducting a song that I was DJing at one of my sets in Herrang

Swing by to check out an upcoming blog entry on Dawn soon!