The Bal Club Deal
We want to invite you into the wonderful world of Balboa Dancing. We hope that just like the original dancers who created Balboa, you will find your own personal style within this dance and enjoy sharing that with our community. Our aim is to teach you the vocabulary you’ll need to express yourself to swing music with Balboa, and we will focus on techniques and body mechanics that make this dance safe and enjoyable for both leaders and followers.
In return, we ask that you respect your fellow dancers:
Levels
Our classes will always be of mixed ability, because in reality all classes are: Everyone is at a different stage in their development and we all have different strengths. We hope we can honour the history of this social dance by embracing the range of experience levels in our group and being a community that finds joy in supporting new dancers. As teachers we will structure our classes so there is something for everyone to work on, and we will give you personal feedback based on what we think will challenge you.
Eyes on your own paper!
In our classes, we ask that you focus on improving your own dancing, and leave the teaching and notes to us. There will be lots of times when we will open up the floor for everyone to discuss their experience and ideas, and we encourage you to check in with your partner to see how things feel. However, unsolicited feedback is not welcome in our classes, even though we know it can be very tempting if you think you are more experienced than your partner. We believe that the best way you can help your partner learn is to do your role to the best of your ability so they get the physical experience they need to learn this improvised dance. If you’re struggling to achieve something with your partner, we’ll be very happy to come over and try it with both of you (as a sort of controlled experiment) to help. A very important caveat is that if your partner is doing something that hurts you or you think is likely to hurt you, then please tell them and/or us immediately and we’ll try to make sure that does not happen.
Accomodations
It’s okay to take breaks during classes, and we would be very grateful if you could tell us if you have any injuries or issues with particular movements, whether those things are just for one week, or a long term issue. That will help us, as your teachers, and your partners know how to make the dance comfortable for you.
Everybody can dance Balboa in either role
It is really important to us that in our classes and on the social dance floor, everyone feels valued by the group and supported in learning the role they want to learn. If you have objections to dancing in close hold with people of certain identities then this is not the community for you.
Looking after yourself
It’s always okay to say no to a dance, and you never need to give a reason. If someone is making you uncomfortable for whatever reason, please let us know and we will deal with it. You can talk to us in person or contact us through the website. If we notice a problem with your behaviour, we will come to you and try to find a solution together.
Diversity Scholarships
Our Balboa ancestors in California came from all over the world, and we dance to swing music that would not exist without countless Black American Jazz pioneers. We value having a diverse dance community and we are committed to doing what we can to make Balboa accessible to everyone. If the cost of our events is a barrier to you attending then please let us know and we will provide you with a free or PWYW place at any of our workshops or socials.
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Simply email franandchristine@gmail.com with your name and details of the event you would like to attend, and we will get back to you asap.
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Similarly, if you have any feedback (positive or negative) about the way we teach or run our events, we value your perspective and would love to hear from you.
And finally a note on covid/ illness/ unforeseen circumstances...
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We really hope we are through the worst of the pandemic and that social dancing can continue for the foreseeable future. We are grateful that you trust us with your money and we will do our best to deliver the workshops you sign up for. We will always operate according to Scottish Government guidance and provide refunds if we have to cancel. If either of us gets sick, we will arrange for a suitable teacher to cover the class. If you get sick and have to miss a workshop, we will do our best to sell your ticket on (if there is a waiting list) so you can get a refund, and if this is not possible, we may be able to give you a credit for our next event.