Balboa in NYC

The history of Balboa dancing in New York City has roots in the efforts of many, many people over the course of several years locally and on a national level. With full acknowledgement that the account below is in no way complete, we offer a "sketch" of events occurring, particularly in the past year or so, to give you a sense of context for the current, local interest in the dance and the origin of the New York Balboa Committee. Over time, this page too will be updated and expanded.

From Michael (Fiftynites) Ingbar of the New York Balboa Committee

"In 1998, I was introduced to Balboa at the Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden . In my first ever Balboa class with Rob Von Haaren and Dianne, we were asked to press our partner's body against ours and do this funny looking dance. I (along with most others) kept my partner at least a few inches away. The dance seemed too intimate for me. I was too chicken to pursue the dance any further. A few years later, at my first Camp Hollywood , I took a class with Sylvia Sykes, who showed us how easy and fun the dance was. I was hooked. When I returned to NYC, I found Jennifer Comar at the Sandra Cameron Dance Center was a Balboa dancer. She showed me a few moves.

Over time, a number of instructors, studios, and organizations became increasing involved in offering Balboa lessons in the area (ie Nathalie and Yuval at Hop Swing and a Jump); Noted instructors such as Sylvia Sykes, came to teach occasional workshops as well. All of this occurred against a back drop of growing national interest fostered by camps such as Cleveland 's All Balboa Weekend. Bearing that in mind, some years later still, I was trying to help move the dance into the mainstream here in NYC by starting the New York Balboa Club. We met once every week or two and practiced moves and watched videos. I also taught some beginner level Balboa in various clubs in NYC, and in the course of my own travels, I have given beginner workshops in Argentina, Brazil, Korea, China, and Japan (from there, I leave the rest up to the professionals in the schools" 

The Story Continues in 2005.

Events picked up further speed more recently, when Michael traveled to the Balboa Rendezvous in San Diego , organized by Joel and Allison Plys, who annually raffle off a ten-hour package of instruction with the goal of bringing the dance to new communities nationally. To his surprise and shock , Michael won the raffle, thus putting into place an event to which this account will return shortly.

Also in the spring of 2005, San Francisco instructors Steve Garrett and Heidi Salerno-Garrett were invited to provide a weekend of workshops in June 2005. This event occurred the same month as the establishment of the first weekly practice session in the city that was purposefully conducive to dancing Balboa, White Heat Wednesdays, hosted by Mickey Fortanasce at Dance Manhattan.

Michael found a core group of dancers who were frequently found at White Heat and other venues, and together they formed the New York Balboa Committee in the fall of 2005, as planning began in earnest for the weekend with Joel and Allison. This full-scale sold-out event occurred in February 2006, involving over 200 students and local instructor-volunteers from the four main schools in NYC that teach swing and Balboa, and also included a dance party to live music by The Boilermakers, demonstrations, fun competitions, panel discussions, and practice sessions. The very next weekend, the Committee hosted its first Saturday night event, the Balboa Shuffle (see Events page), and shortly thereafter instructor and dance historian David Rehm came to town from Washington D.C. for a day-long workshop.