Classes
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Classes will start with fundamentals on Saturday morning, followed by themed classes for the rest of the weekend. When you buy a ticket, you will be asked for your choice of fundamentals class only (Balboa or Shag; leader or follower) and you will be assigned to this class.
Later, we will be in touch with a form to ask for your preferences for the themed classes. We will then create a personalised timetable for you, aiming as much as possible to match your preferences whilst also taking into account class sizes and lead/follow balance. We will provide a section on the form for comments, so if you have a strong preference please let us know. Equally, if you’re flexible with your choices, for example you’re happy to take a class in either lead/follow role, please include this in the comments section too.
We encourage everyone to ask everyone to dance, so a knowledge of the basic step for Shag and Balboa would be beneficial even if you only take classes in one dance.
The weekend is not open to complete beginners as the basic steps will not be taught.
Classes will take place in St Paul's Church, Hills Road
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Saturday 11:00-1:30 Fundamentals
Venue: Storey's Field Centre, Eddington Avenue Cambridge CB3 1AA
Balboa (fundamentals) (2.5hrs)
In this class we will focus on comfortable connection, clean basics, core repertoire (pure Balboa basics, come arounds, throw outs, and out and ins) and the history of Balboa. It’s our goal that by the end of this session you will have a good foundation and knowledge of the dance and feel confident dancing with different partners at a variety of tempos over the weekend.
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The fundamentals classes will be designed to bring something for those earlier and further down their journey into the dance.
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Requirements: You are comfortable dancing a whole song of Balboa, leading or following a few moves of pure Bal or Bal-swing, leading or following outs and ins, come arounds, and throw outs. You know both up and down hold. You wish to focus on your fundamentals and focus on improving the feel and connection of your dancing.
Collegiate Shag (fundamentals) (2.5hrs)
This class will focus on a few key basic footwork variations, comfortable connection with your partner, and building confidence in effortlessly moving between closed, open and side-by-side positions using some classic shag moves. It will incorporate breaks and dancing musically with your partners, with some footwork variations and extensions for followers.
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The fundamentals classes will be designed to bring something for those earlier and further down their journey into the dance.
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Requirements: You are comfortable dancing a whole song of Collegiate Shag, leading or following some breaks and shapes, moving between closed, open and side-by-side positions. You wish to focus on your fundamentals, get feedback on technique, broaden your repertoire of moves, and not have to think about the footwork while the speed of songs increases.
Saturday Night Taster:
no sign ups, everyone's invited
Taster: Switching between Balboa and Shag
So, you want to try out a bit of both dances with this partner? Or perhaps the music changes mid song? In this class, Izzy and Immy will explore how to move between Balboa and Shag. Focusing on keeping the feel of the dances distinctive while being able to respond to the music and have a couple of easy transitions between the dances, and a chance to figure out some of your own ideas too...
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Requirements: you will know the basic footwork of both Collegiate Shag and Balboa.
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Themed classes
Balboa requirements: You are an intermediate Balboa dancer. You are comfortable in pure Bal and Bal-swing as the tempo increases. You want to develop the moves you can lead or follow, add nuance to your throw outs, and challenge yourself to dance more musically. You may be playing with adding your own variations without influencing your partner.
Collegiate Shag requirements: You are an intermediate Shag dancer. You are comfortable swapping between basic footwork variations while not impacting your partner, leading or following slow and fast breaks. You want to challenge yourself to lead or follow more complex or varied moves and focus on the technique to enable yourself to dance more musically.
Saturday 2:30-4:30
Venue: Storey's Field Centre, Eddington Avenue Cambridge CB3 1AA
Balboa: Flash and Trash
Izzy and Louis are known for their fun-loving, dramatic, and bold dance style. In this session Izzy and Louis will share some of their favourite tricks, dips, and styling to make you stand out on the dance floor.
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Collegiate Shag: Combo Crazy
Join Nicky and Jim as they build up a series of shapes to form different combinations. Focusing on momentum and flow between moves and seamlessly joining them together, and learn how to build your own moves.
Sunday 1:15-2:45
Venue: St Paul's Church, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JP
Balboa: Fancy Footwork
This class will explore a range of footwork variations to spice up your basics on the dancefloor. These variations can be done on your own or together, and won’t disrupt the flow of the dance.
Shiny Shag
Polish up your shag with more classic shag moves and combinations. More details to come.
St Louis Shag
Immy and Ieva will introduce you to the wonders of St Louis Shag, and explore some classic shapes, getting you dancing musically and bringing all your dance experience in so that you can fluently dance in St Louis after just one class!
Sunday 3:00-4:30
Venue: St Paul's Church, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JP
Balboa: In conversation!
We all love social dancing, but how can we make it more collaborative? The goal is to create conversations with your partner and to be receptive to each other without disrupting the flow of the dance. The aim is for everyone to become better listeners so we can inspire each other, be more creative, and have fun along the way!
Collegiate Shag: Breaks, Shapes and Musicality to suit your shag.
Nicky and Jim will be bringing you some classic shag breaks and shapes, including fast and slow breaks (to get your breath back), and then talking about matching the music with your moves.
Stealing in Balboa and Shag
So, there's a birthday jam? Or you want to have a steals jam to a faster song? This class will give you some options of how to steal a Balboa or Shag partner, as well as even stealing someone out of one dance and into another...