Dear Balboa dancers from near and far, whether this is your first Come Around to Cambridge or you were here back in 2024 - welcome, we’re glad you made it.

We ran the first edition as a collaboration between Bristol and Cambridge, mostly because we wanted the scenes around here to get to know each other and to build bridges. In hindsight we would say it worked better than expected: people started showing up at each other’s socials, travelling to classes in other cities, heading off to festivals together. Two years later there are a lot of friendships that came out of that weekend.

With Balboa having become even more popular in recent years, it seemed like a good moment to repeat the event and gain new momentum. This time we’ve invited Nina and Anthony over from Switzerland, who are not only two of our favourite teachers out there, but scenebuilders and jitterbugs at heart. We’ve also widened who’s in the room: Balboa nerds, people fairly new to it, dancers at all sorts of levels, folks who organise things in their own scenes, and a few guests from abroad.

We’ll do plenty of dancing, obviously. But the rest of it matters just as much - chatting in the breaks, sharing a punt, keeping in touch afterwards. A familiar face makes a real difference when you travel away from your own scene, so let’s build those connections. That’s the bit that makes a scene rather than a class :)

Make yourselves at home.

Alan, Razz and the rest of the Cambridge Swing Dance committee

Your health and safety, as well as that of others, are our top priorities. Please do not attend if you are experiencing symptoms of colds, flu or any other illness, or if you are feeling unwell. If you are unsure whether you should come, email us in advance for guidance.

We will have qualified first aiders on site throughout the event. If you feel unwell or pick up an injury, please tell one of the organisers right away. In the unlikely event of an emergency, fire or serious injury, contact emergency services immediately by dialling 999, then let us know if you can and we will help manage the situation.

Floorcraft

Practising good floorcraft means dancing with an awareness of your partner and of those around you, and aiming to avoid collisions. On a floor with mixed styles, movements can be less predictable, so take care of yourself, your partner and your fellow dancers. If you accidentally bump or kick someone, a quick apology and a check that they are alright makes a big difference. And please save aerials for jam circles or performances.

Safer spaces

At Cambridge Swing Dance we are committed to providing a dance environment free of discrimination, bullying or harassment, and we expect everyone attending to treat others with dignity and respect. We encourage you to ask people to dance, with the understanding that they may dance either role, and to invite people you know as well as those you have not yet danced with.

By attending the event you are agreeing to follow our safer spaces policy. Our safer spaces and equality officer for the weekend is Immy. If you have any concerns or would like to report anything, find her or any committee member, or email welfare@cambridgeswingdance.com.

Many swing dances trace their origins to the jazz era of the early 20th century in the USA. Their development was deeply rooted in African-American culture and communities, and forms an important part of the cultural heritage of the United States. As we enjoy ourselves at swing dance events, we should acknowledge and respect the communities that created this dance, and strive to provide a welcoming and enjoyable experience for everyone.

What is Balboa?

Balboa, these days often referred to as pure Balboa, is a partnered dance characterised by its chest-to-chest connection, a necessity in crowded ballrooms. It originated in Southern California, presumably during the pre-swing era, and takes its name from the Balboa Peninsula at Newport Beach, south of Los Angeles, where it is believed to have first developed.

In the 1930s, Southern California also saw the emergence of a swing dance with turns, kicks and breakaways, originally called swing and now often referred to as So-Cal Swing or LA Swing. Over time the two styles combined, evolving into what we now know as Bal-Swing. While not exclusively danced to fast music, Balboa’s simplicity and mostly efficient movement make it particularly well suited to quicker tempos.

Much of what we know about how these dances actually looked comes from the so-called Venice Beach clips, a series of famous pieces of swing dance footage shot at Venice Beach, California. The dancers in them are doing Balboa, Collegiate Shag and LA Swing.

For more on the history and the famous dancers, see Bobby White’s Swungover blog and this Lindy Circle post. Bobby has also filmed a set of short explanations, which are the quickest way to see the differences for yourself.

Classes

Everyone gets 3 hours of levelled classes with Nina and Anthony plus a 1 hour 15 mixed group class, with a little practice time straight after each levelled class to work on what you have just learnt. Both taster classes, on Friday and Saturday night, are open to you as well, taught by your fellow dancers.

The levelled classes run in two learning groups, put together from the form you filled in after registering so that each group has a suitable learning environment and a shared learning focus. They are named after two iconic Balboa followers, Inez Thompson and Natalie Esparza, and there is more about both of them in the History section.

The mixed group classes are Uphold and Downhold, two basic rhythm patterns in Balboa and also the names of the groups. They run once each, Uphold on Saturday and Downhold on Sunday, and each participant is assigned to one of them.

Your group and your mixed class are in your registration email.

There is no hired photographer at this event, which means it is up to all of us to capture the memories. Alan and other committee members will be taking photos and videos over the weekend, mostly for Instagram, and if you would rather not appear in them just have a word with any committee member or with our safer spaces and equality officer and they will make sure of it.

It is nice to have something to look back on, so we have also set up a shared Google Drive folder for everyone to add their own photos and videos to after the weekend. Inside it there is a second folder for class recaps: if you film one, name the file with the day and the group, for example Saturday Inez or Sunday Uphold, so it is easy to find again in a month's time.

Consider heading on to Another Night in Farringdon, London’s fast feet social, co-organised by our Saturday DJ Ania Apollo, with live music from London’s Five Quids. It is on the Monday, at the Coin Laundry, a short walk from King’s Cross.

Facebook event · Tickets, a few still left.

Drop a message in the WhatsApp group, where someone will almost certainly know the answer, or email Razz at dazzel87@live.com.