In balboa class yesterday, led by Orlando Cabalona and Desiree Roffers, we focused on the pure style. Pure balboa is performed in closed position, which involves very close physical proximity. Dancing so closely requires careful and subtle communication, where lead and follow have to pay close attention to the body weight shifts. I’m beginning to suspect that refining this type of communication will be what makes balboa stand out.

At the beginning of class, we took a moment to correct our posture. Balboa is more upright compared to Lindy Hop; the dancers need to maintain good posture. I used a trick Irina Amzashvili taught me, and imagined putting my shoulder blades in my back pocket. While balboa requires upright posture, the dancer still should remain relaxed. During last year’s Great Lakes Balboa Escape, Bobby White emphasized relaxation of all parts of the body from the head to the arms to the butt.

For the majority of yesterday’s class, we worked on crabwalks. Orlando described how crabwalks operate on two axes. The dancers move sideways, with the leading foot moving on the horizontal axis. The other foot moves up and down on the vertical axis.

We learned to start the crabwalk on the 3. To signal that we were breaking the basic pattern, we added more emphasis to a downhold on the third beat. In order to clarify the crabwalk signal, we briefly talked about how to make our basic more even and consistent.

While practicing the crabwalk, Orlando correct my pulse. I was moving up and down too much, making the partnership uncomfortable. He suggested that for the crabwalk, I incorporate a swaying movement. The body hinges back when stepping forward, and forward when stepping back. This makes the crabwalk feel much smoother, and can be used as a clear signal to the follow that the basic pattern is no longer being danced.

We briefly talked about contrapposto movement. A natural walk involves moving the arms in opposition to the legs. This provides counterbalance. Orlando described how contrapposto movement can be used to communicate signals in Balboa.

At the end of class, we worked on a rhythmic pattern. The lead shifted weight quickly from one foot to the other to create a sharp, distinct, ba-BUM rhythm. It is a simple pattern, but hard to get to feel right, and also hard to describe in words.