Alice Jeng fell in love with swing dancing the moment she attended her first local social dance in Durham, North Carolina. She immediately became hooked on the feel and aesthetics of Balboa and soon after began to travel all over the US for balboa workshops and competitions. Drawing from her musical background in piano, she leverages her intuitive understanding of music on the dance floor and is known to deeply value connection, technique, and subtlety in her balboa. In just a short number of years of competing, she has become known for her poise, nuanced connection, and eye-catching agility. In 2019, Alice moved to Southern California where she continues to dance and compete regularly. She has since gone on to win a variety of international competitions (including CalBal, Camp Hollywood, NY
As a naive Southern California college student, Blake discovered swing dancing with a whimsical New Year’s resolution to try learning the dancing he saw in Swing Kids (1993). Little did he know, SoCal was one of the world’s largest scenes, with a rich history and dozens of the world’s best dancers and instructors. Immediately hooked, he developed a relentless obsession for Lindy, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag. He’s since gone on to win in a variety of international competitions and has taught around the world in places like Europe, Korea, Japan, Australia, and the US.
In his free time, Blake loves to study vintage dance clips. He has a deep reverence for the original dancers and loves to teach classes that focus on particular styles and techniques they used. As an instructor he also focuses on imparting his values of partner connection, tasteful musicality, and developing beautiful basics. While he loves practice, competition, and performance, his favorite thing about dancing is just having a simple, deeply-connected social dance with a like-minded partner.
The level of the workshop is for those who are familiar with Balboa's Basic Steps. Each class begins with a basic review, advances to applications and variations, and ends with challenging content.
*caution
Photography or recording during class is prohibited.
The recap video after the class is for personal practice only, so please do not upload it to social media etc.
If you have any questions, please ask them during class. Please refrain from asking personal questions during breaks.
ワークショップのレベルはバルボアのベイシックステップを一通り踊れるダンサー向けになります。
各クラス、ベイシック→応用→ヴァリエーション→チャレンジという流れの内容になります。
venue : Meguroku Higashiyamajuku Center
●10:00 registration starts
●10:30-11:40 1st class/ styling your bal swing
LUNCH TIME
●12:20-13:30 2nd class / The power of balance
●13:40-14:50 3rd class / Slow balboa
Play with new stylings and dynamics in your out and ins and lollies. We'll take classic movements and put an exciting twist on them.
Balance is important in all moments of Balboa. Come explore how we use it to create new possibilities in toss outs and more.
Learning Slow Balboa helps you find beauty in the sweet and slow range of jazz. It helps you understand how to dance behind the beat even in your normal Balboa. We'll cover basics and the values Blake and Alice like to especially highlight in the dance.
venue
1st class=Setagaya Gata-gaya Hall 4F
2nd & 3rd class=
Meguroku Higashiyamajuku Center
10:30 registration starts
●10:50-12:00 1st class/ pure bal
LUNCH TIME ( you can eat at the first venue )
Please move to the next venue before the 2nd class.
●12:50-14:00 2nd class / Stability vs Mobility
●14:10-15:20 3rd class / Blake & Alice creations
This class is inspired by original Pure Balboa dancers, Ed and Inez Thompson. They had a way of floating across the floor that looks and feels magical.
Followers are often asked to go between being powerful and stable in turns and being flowy and mobile in movement. In this hour, we'll explore movements in this range and ideas on how to quickly adapt between the two.
Learn some of Blake & Alice's favorite and newest creations and the story and technique behind the movements.
