Balboa Basic

The main pattern of the Balboa is an eight-count pattern performed with the dancers in a close hold position. The dancers' torsos are pressed together and the follower feels the lead through this contact as well as via the leader's right arm around her back.

The step pattern for this sequence is 12x456x8, where each "x" marks a beat where the dancers do not take a step, but instead hold for that beat. In terms of two-beat units, this is then an even-odd-even-odd rhythm structure, the same as the eight-beat rhythm in Lindy Hop.

front view reverse view behind view
1. M:BL W:FR Start from an closed position, with the leader's left hand holding the follower's right hand. The leader takes a step backward on his left foot. The follower takes a step forward on her right foot.
2. M:TR W:TL The leader closes his right foot to his left foot. The follower closes her left foot to her right foot.
3. M:PefL W:PbR The leader points slightly forward with his left foot, sliding the foot forwards along the floor. The follower points backward with her right foot, sliding the foot backwards.
4. M:TL W:TR The leader closes his left foot to his right foot. The follower closes her right foot to her left foot.
5. M:FR W:BL The leader takes a step forward on his right foot. The follower takes a step backward on her left foot.
6. M:TL W:TR The leader closes his left foot to his right foot. The follower closes her right foot to her left foot.
7. M:PbR W:PefL The leader points backward with his right foot, sliding the foot backwards. The follower points slightly forward with her left foot, sliding the foot forwards along the floor.
8. M:TR W:TL The leader closes his right foot to his left foot. The follower closes her left foot to her right foot.
 
 
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Welcome

Welcome to an incomplete book about Lindy Hop.

I wrote the text here five years ago, based on my notes from when I was originally learning Lindy Hop in the mid-1990s. My original plan was to take a large number of illustrative photographs, which would make the bare text much more comprehensible.

However, that was five years ago and I've not gotten as far as taking a single photograph. So rather than waiting any longer, I thought it worth releasing the text as-is, in case it's useful to anyone else.

I'd interested to hear any feedback, but unfortunately I can't promise to do much about it.

And maybe one day I'll get as far as illustrating the book, and creating the originally-intended printed version:

This book is dedicated to the memory of Frankie Manning (1914-2009), Ambassador of Lindy Hop.

David Drysdale
November 2012

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