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Wednesday, June 21, 2000
One year ago: Net Mysteries
Two years ago: Fremont Fair Again
Tonight was the first lesson in a series of three on Balboa. This is a dance I've taken workshop sessions on, but never a continuing series of classes. Maybe this time it will stick, with the extra repetitions. The class is at Blackburn Hall, up in the north end of Seattle. I got there early, of course, even though I took the wrong exit on the highway. It's a barebones kind of place, owned by a branch of the VFW. They've sold the property for mucho bucks, so the Savoy Swing Club won't be able to hold classes here after this summer.
This three-week session is part of an experimental schedule. The club wanted to try some different classes, and this was the best way to take advantage of the teachers and venues available. Three weeks means that if you miss one session, you'll be missing a lot of content!
Guy and Nancy are the teachers. Balboa comes from the Rendezvous ballroom on Balboa Island, in Southern California. It's a very smooth dance, done mostly in closed postion (regular social dance postion), very close to your partner. It's great for fast music!
I did ok, I think. One of the men in class had a very odd acrid/fish smell about him. This made me neurotically worried -- what if I have body odor and don't know it?
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The ballrooms were so crowded, the dancers had to shorten their steps and little by little became the Balboa.... So no one really invented the dance. It was a group thing.
-- Maxie Dorf, 30s dancer
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