Learning the Balboa Dance and the Lindy Hop

The Charleston dance was so popular when it first made its appearance on the international scene (a popularity it keeps to this day among fans of fun, energetic, improvisational dance styles) that it soon sired a number of other dance forms which took their own paths, but remained the recognizable offspring of the original dance mode. Two of these are the Lindy Hop and the Balboa dance, both of which are taught, along with the Charleston, by Swing Zing Dance School in Perth.

The Lindy Hop began on the east coast of the United States, and was named to commemorate Charles Lindburgh’s historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris in the 1920s. The Balboa dance, on the other hand, originated on the west coast, in California, as its Spanish influenced name suggests. Though both dances are danced to swing music, and are variants on the Charleston, they are very different, so it is an interesting option to learn both so that you can dance whichever way your current mood and partner suggest.

The Lindy Hop’s central dance move is the swingout, in which the partners move into an open position, where they are connected only by their hands or not at all, and dance energetically in this position, sometimes with plenty of improvisation thrown in. The Lindy Hop requires plenty of space, but this fact also allows you to get a good workout and burn off plenty of energy. The leader signals to the follower using their hands, as well as visual cues.

The Balboa dance is focused on close connection in which the partners dance with their bodies pressed closely together, and it is shifts in body weight which allow the leader to lead, rather than signalling with the hands. The Balboa doesn’t take much room and is a more intimate type of dance. Whichever type you are interested in – or both – Swing Zing is your premier Perth dance school for great instruction, a good time, and lots of fun.