Saturday and Sunday day workshops

VENUE: All workshops will be held at Louie Louie & Juliet (Verity Lane) and another venue TBA a short walk from Canberra Centre. Verity Lane is a great space, with easy access to food venues and a 5min walk from Canberra shopping centre.

There is available outside space for you to spend time with your friends during breaks too.

Location: Louie Louie & Juliet are located upstairs at Verity Lane Market, Sydney Building, Canberra City. Entry will be at the back of the building with lift access available as needed.

workshops schedule

TRACKS DESCRIPTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

LEVEL CHECK

In 2027, there will be 3 tracks to choose from, which you can do at registration. This is to make sure we cater to all levels and you end up in the most comfortable space for your learning journey.

The Lower Jurassic Track will NOT require auditions: this means you can snooze until about 15min before your first class starts on Saturday morning. How nice!

The Middle Jurassic Track will be on audition to ensure you picked the right level and can manage the learning process of that track. It is possible the teachers may put you up or down a level. Don’t take it personnally: we just want you to feel safe and comfortable and this is not a reflection on the person you are or your dancing in general. We want you to improve at the right pace.

The Upper Jurassic Track will be on Expression of Interest (EOI) which will be sent to you post registration. The EOI process sounds stressful but it is simply to ensure you pick the right track. See details in the full track descriptions below.

While auditions can be a stressful time, please be kind to yourself: you will still get to attend your workshops all weekend and learn from all teachers no matter which level you ultimately get assigned to.

To help you determine where you’re at with your Balboa, check out the track description video shared by our friends at CalBal and we have also used their wording for track descriptions below:

Track A - Lower Jurassic: Intermediate dancers

This track is for newer social Bal dancers who are comfortable learning at a faster pace, and want to be challenged. You have started building a pretty broad Bal vocabulary but are not necessarily confortable using it all yet. This is the base of the Jurassic Era: you know Balboa, you understand what it looks like, and you want to explore what it should feel like more.

Dancers in this track should:

  • Already have a decent repertoire of moves and stylings that can be done with most partners, including less experienced ones.

  • Have the ability to use “inward energy” or “forward intention” in Pure Bal and out-and-ins.

    • For example: Each partner can consistently balance over their own feet without a sitting-away feeling (which might be familiar from a Lindy Hop stretch).

  • Have the ability to use “stretch & release” for rotational connections in Lolly kicks and turns.

    • Can twist, rotate, and use their own body to create stretch and compression instead of primarily using arms.

    • Turns have a clear “release-point.”

  • Not exhibit common problems in rotational “stretch & release,” such as the following noting that you may still be working on this (we all are):

    • Leads pull, push, or over-lead their follows into turns.

    • Follows lose momentum and speed through turns.

    • Leads and follows stop rotational momentum at the end of turns or don’t have the ability to softly absorb and cushion.

  • Adjust to things like posture, hand-hold, balance, moves, styling choices to better adapt to a variety of partners.

  • Adjust technique and move or styling choices for slow, medium, and fast songs.

  • Dance to songs as slow as 110 bpm while looking and feeling comfortable and fluid.

  • Dance to songs as fast as 200 bpm while looking and feeling relaxed.

  • Think about starting to compete or already have some competition experience (Rising Stars comp is for you)

Audition Track B - Middle Jurassic: Intermediate +/Advanced dancers

You have now officially grown feathers and are ready to take on the world of Balboa. This is the right track for you if you’re an experienced dancer, maybe even a scene leader in your town who’s inspiring others to grow. You are comfortable learning at a faster pace and want to be challenged in class. This is going to be less oriented towards moves, and be more conceptual, with ideas focusing on individual styling, flow, musicality and the likes.

Your are finding it comfortable to dance at tempos between 90 (slow bal) and 220bpm and are confident with required elements of the Middle Jurassic track as well as the following:

  • Maintain flow and musicality at high tempos up to 220 bpm as well as at slow tempos like 90 bpm (this would be considered Slow Bal).

  • Easily adjust their connection and move or styling choices to a wide range of partners without sacrificing either partner’s own style, creativity, and enjoyment.

  • Insert musical footwork, variations, or stylings into a dance without having to think about it.

  • Adapt to new ideas (or recover from mistakes) without breaking flow in the dance.

  • Take feedback from peers and use it to improve their skills and self-awareness.

  • Demonstrate moves or stylings that they contributed to or created.

  • Demonstrate slides or slide variations (if the floor and shoes are good).

  • Dance an entire song without getting bored using only one set of the three core basics associated with Bal:

    • Pure Bal (or chest-to-chest connection)

    • Out-and-ins (meaning a closed position that’s not chest-to-chest and not using spins or turns)

    • Rotational (Lolly kicks, turns, toss-outs/throw-outs, etc.)

EOI and/or Audition Track C - Upper Jurassic: for Advanced+ dancers

You are close to transitioning to the Cretaceous period. It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era as well as the longest: you know all the things there are to know about Balboa BUT you now need to go back to basics and truly absorb the knowledge and details shared by your incredibe teachers. This is where you start injecting your personality into your dancing without shame, and embrace the weird, the bad and the ugly with a smile on your face. You have become more creative, and even get it when teachers tell you to “just do the thing” (whatever that may mean in your brain).

Dancers in this track should:

  • Be able to demonstrate musicality and creativity if asked to dance an entire song while only staying in one of the three core Bal basics:

    • Pure Bal (or chest-to-chest connection)

    • Out-and-ins (meaning a closed position that’s not chest-to-chest and not using spins or turns)

    • Rotational (Lolly kicks, turns, toss-outs/throw-outs, etc.)

  • Be able to respond to a partner’s ideas by creating new moves and stylings during a dance.

  • Have already started to develop their own look, artistic voice, and style of musicality.

  • Have likely been asked to teach outside of their local dance community.

  • Fit in with competitors that are in the Open competitions (or contests above Amateur level).

  • Be able to dance fluidly with musicality to any song a DJ will play. How fast or slow the song is doesn’t make a difference.

  • Likely be happy not to learn a single new move or styling during the weekend because they are seeking specific and nuanced ideas.

  • Find Slow Bal to be a comfortable and musical dance for them at tempos around 70 bpm.

  • Find dancing at tempos around 260 bpm to be familiar ground and not a challenge.