Balboa (dance)

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Balboa (original Balboa or Pure-Bal) is a dance that originated in Southern California during the 1920s and 1930s. Balboa also now refers to a fusion of dances that originated from that era.
The original Balboa dance is a form of swing dance that started as early as 1915 and gained in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. It is danced primarily in close embrace, and is led with a full body connection. The art of Balboa is in the subtle communication between the lead and follow, including weight shifts, which most viewers cannot see. As a result, Balboa is considered more of a "dancer's dance" than a "spectator's dance". Its exact origins are obscure, especially as most of the original Balboa dancers have since died.
Balboa is danced to a wide variety of tempos. Because the basic step takes up such a small space, Balboa can be danced to fast music (over 300 beats per minute). Balboa is also danced to slow music (under 100 beats per minute), which allows more time for intricate footwork and variations.

Forms

Designed to take up only a small space, Balboa involves chaining two-step movements together into groups of eight count patterns with two sets of four steps each while shuffling the feet on the floor.
The dance was originally a response to overcrowded ballrooms where the swing-out or breakaway (a move popular in Lindy Hop at the time) was often difficult, if not actually banned by the venue. Balboa is often perceived as a restrained or introverted dance, with most movement occurring below the knees; however, part of its appeal is its variations on turns and twirls that allow the lead to show off his partner's legs—an effect that is heightened when the follow is wearing an effective skirt and high heels.
Modern Balboa dancers sometimes distinguish between two types of Balboa, "Pure Balboa" and "Bal-Swing." In Pure Balboa, dancers stay in close embrace for almost the entire time, their torsos touching, doing variations based on footwork, turning as a couple and moving as a couple. Bal-Swing, in contrast, incorporates movements in which there is more space between the partners and thus more latitude for dynamic movements, including turns for one or both partners, and so forth.
Bal-Swing was originally known as just "Swing", or sometimes "Randy Swing" in newspaper articles of the time. Unlike Pure Balboa, Bal-Swing allows for improvisation. The Bal-Swing dance style came from Charleston, and its earliest known use was a contest in Venice Beach in 1932.^{[citation needed]} Heaton described two Bal-Swing figures in 1967.^[1]

History

Balboa came from Southern California during the 1920s and increased in popularity until World War II. Balboa is named after the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California, where the dance was invented.^[2]
Alma Heaton included two pages on Balboa in his 1954 book "Ballroom Dance Rhythms",^[3] and a page of instruction in "Techniques of Teaching Ballroom Dance".^[4]
A small, active Balboa community has always existed in the Los Angeles area. Today, Balboa is resurgent worldwide due in part to the efforts of Jonathan Bixby and Sylvia Sykes.^{[citation needed]}

Comparisons to Lindy Hop

Balboa is a contemporary of Lindy Hop, so comparisons are hard to avoid.

• Both dances evolved at the same time with the same swing music. Though some consider Balboa to be an adaptation of various Latin dances such as the Rumba done to American big band music, the latter were not yet popular with American swing dancers when Balboa was developed, so a connection to Latin dance is doubtful. Balboa had also typically been recognized as a regional dance done in Southern California whereas Lindy Hop was more widespread nationally, but that is no longer the case among modern swing dancers: today, most consider Balboa and Bal-Swing legitimate forms of swing dance.
• Both Bal-swing and Lindy Hop would have been considered dances done by jitterbugs during the 1930s and '40s, unlike Balboa, which was done by more mature dancers who wanted to avoid the Jitterbugs' energetic and eccentric floor work.

Description

Body position

Communication through subtle weight shifts and body language is essential. The dancers stand close, touching upper front outer sides of torsos along outer edge of pectoral muscle and ribcage. Sometimes the connection extends down to knees, depending on the degree of room needed for specific variations within pure balboa. Height difference between partners can cause the connection to vary considerably. They are offset by about 1/4 of their body width, creating a slight "V" between their torsos and allowing the feet and legs to offset to a greater degree than in ballroom styles. The balboa follower often dances in heels to get the proper "forward" connection. This can be misinterpreted however. The follower still has her own weight. Foot balance is neutral with slightly more pressure on the ball of the feet for the follow, but generally across the entire foot for the lead.

Body lead

There are many variations on how dancers move during the Basic step. Each variation looks different. Each variation communicates movement to the follower differently. Dancers can do all of the following (from the lead's point of view):

• In a regular Balboa Basic dancers stay in place while doing the footwork.
• In a Maxie Basic, dancers move back and forth between 2 positions on the floor
• In Fox Trot dancers Move in a box: back - side - middle - forward - side - middle.

Regardless of basic variation, the "Basic" is done in place without any traveling on the floor.

Basic footwork

The Maxie Basic is performed to 8 counts of the music, with typical footwork as follows (assuming both dancers shift forward and back between two positions on the floor 4 to 8 inches or 10 to 20 cm apart):
Lead:

1. Step back with left foot.
2. Step back with right foot, bringing feet together.
3. Slide left foot forward.
4. Slide left foot back beside right foot.
5. Step forward with right foot.
6. Step forward with left foot, bringing feet together.
7. Slide right foot back, bringing heel off the ground.
8. Slide right foot forward beside left foot.

Follow:

1. Step forward with right foot.
2. Step forward with left foot, bringing feet together.
3. Slide right foot backward, bringing heel off the ground.
4. Slide right foot forward beside left foot.
5. Step back with left foot.
6. Step back with right foot, bringing feet together.
7. Slide left foot forward.
8. Slide left foot back beside right foot.

Note that the lead and follow footwork is identical, although offset by four beats. That is, both perform the same footwork when moving backwards and forwards.
In the Original Balboa the dancers do the same or similar footwork utilizing the same rhythm, however it's done in place. To do so easily, the dancers shuffle their feet and avoid stepping,or bouncing.
Also note that some people might argue that the Balboa basic is just "step-step" and any "upholds" (the slide-slide is an uphold variation) are already variations to change direction and/or feet. Not getting too attached to this 8-count basic pattern helps when learning Ad-libs (a.k.a. "one-steps") and moves that do not fit into the 8-count scheme, since it is then more natural how to sync back to the music. The follower must be aware that this pattern is just the most common pattern, and needs to feel the lead leading them into doing the upholds.

Footwork variations

Dancers vary their footwork, to respond to the music or their partner.
Many footwork variations can be done independently of the partner. The three most common footwork variations are single, double, and triple time.

• Single time or down hold: Counts 3-4 and 7-8 are step-holds.
• Double time or up hold: Counts 3-4 and 7-8 are kick-steps. This is the most common variation.
• Triple time: Counts 3-4 and 7-8 are triple steps.
• Foot Fan step: In single time, the left foot fans out to the left, on the 3-4 for leads or 7-8 for follows.
• Slide step: When moving the left foot back or the right foot forward, slide it.
• Dig Dig Step: Counts 3-4 or 7-8 are kick - kick - step. This move crosses double time motions with triple time timing.

Some footwork patterns require cooperation with the partner.

• V Slide: On the 3-4 or 7-8, slide both feet out in a V to hit a break. Use the following 1-2 or 5-6 to return to the basic pattern.

Main variations

Five loose categories of variations are pure, throwouts, lollies, crossovers, and fancy. Variations done in closed position are called "Pure Balboa", and moves done in open position are called "Bal-Swing". Bal-swing also borrows moves from other dances, especially Charleston and features moves in open position.
Most of the following moves would be done strictly in Bal-Swing. However, these moves can be seen sometimes in Balboa if they are done very small, with feet on floor and no travelling.

• Maxie Basic: Maxie Dorf is credited for modifying the traditional Balboa Basic to this variation. The basic Balboa footwork is traditionally done on the spot in a shuffling fashion. Maxie added a forward and backwards movement, so as on the 1-2 the lead steps backwards, and on the 5-6 the lead steps forward. The lead can simply keep going backward or forward for as many steps as desired. This Maxie Basic is also easier to learn, so has become a common starting place for teaching Balboa.
• Transition Step: This step is performed to transition from a closed dancing position to an open dancing position, and is also used to lead to other moves. It has been noted by some of the original Balboa dancers that a Transition Step preceded almost all Bal-Swing moves. For example, a Throwout can be led by simply initiating rotation and "throwing" the follow out, or rotation for the Throwout can be initiated after a Transition Step has been used to separate the lead and follow, and this way is said to be more correct.
• Paddles: Can be done clockwise or counterclockwise. The leader rotates in place on the pivot foot, paddling with the free foot. For counterclockwise paddles, the lead begins with the usual back left, together right, step left, hold. During the step hold the lead starts turning. The lead then turns with a step right - step left - step right - step left. The lead continues turning with this pattern, until he changes to another variation. Clockwise paddles begin by starting with the hold on counts 7-8. From a pure-bal point of view, a paddle is just two steps turning either left or right.
  • Serpentine: A combination of paddles. Paddle and neutral, paddle opposite direction and neutral etc. Using down-hold footwork, turn slightly counter-clockwise on the 8. Then the lead paddles right on the 1, step right foot in place 2, step left foot together3 down hold and pivot counter clockwise 4, Paddle with right 5, left foot in place 6, Step right foot together 7 down hold 8 to pivot clockwise. Repeat as desired. This will move the couple across the floor in a zig-zag.
• Ad-libs:
• Scoot Steps:
• Crab Walk: This variation is similar to one steps or ad-lib timing, but adds a sideways movement. Crab walks are normally led on 1 or 5, following a hold step on 3-4 or 7-8. The pattern for crab walks beginning on 1 would be back - sidestep - forward - sidestep (repeat). In this example we started on 1, so the crab walks would move towards the lead's right. If the crab walk was lead on the 5, the movement direction would be toward the lead's left. This move is quite difficult to follow, as the difference in feeling from this move to other single step moves is quite subtle.
• Crossovers: Crossovers can have an in-out feel, or a side-to-side feel. The name Crossover comes from the footwork. See also Crossovers (dance).
• Lollies: Kick step, kick step. Usually, the lead slowly walks around the follow, who spins in place.
• Come Around or Break Step: This is the first part of many variations, especially Throwouts.
  • Throwouts: See also Throwouts (dance).
  • Swing Outs: Another name for a Throwout.
• Apache: aka Texas Tommy: This move involves the lead placing the follows hand behind her back and rotating to a throw out in the usual fashion. This causes an extra spin from the follow, and also causes the lead and follow to be connected via a right-to-right hand hold. A common variation to this move is where the lead faces away from the follow at the conclusion of the throw out and does a V Slide.
• Pop Turns: The lead "pops" the follow in a rock - step motion, and can then use his right arm to start the follow spinning (also letting go of the left hand), or step down on 3 to initiate rotation together which then often leads to a Throwout move.
• V Slides: The follow does standard footwork. The lead pushes the follow a little bit on the 5-6 to create some space between them. Then the lead does a V Slide on the 7-8. A V Slide can also be performed as a variation within, or at the end of, other moves.
• Push and Pull: with twists
• Swivels: Swivels are similar to Lollies, but are executed at twice the rate. Lollies is tap-and-kick-and-tap-and-kick-and, swivels is swivel-swivel-down-hold-swivel-swivel-kick-step. The key to swivels is using your hip rotation to drive the move.
• Charleston: It is very common to add Charleston variations.
  • Fall off the log: By default, the kicks occur on the 3 and 7 counts. Both step in front and behind variations.

Transitions between moves are often made on the slow (3-4 or 7-8) counts, but many moves can begin on 1 or be longer than 8 beats.

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Flexing dance

Flexing, also called Bone Breaking, is a style of street dance from Brooklyn, New York that is characterized by rhythmic contortionist movement combined with waving, tutting, floor moves, and gliding. Flex dancers, referred to as flexers, often perform shirtless and incorporate hat tricks in their performance for showmanship.

Origins

Before flexing gained mainstream exposure it was featured as early as 1992 on a local television show in New York City called 'Flex N Brooklyn’. The dance is primarily performed to a mix of dancehall, reggae, and "...a chopped-up instrumental called the 'Volume' riddim".^[1] According to Pitchfork.com, the producers of this new genre refer to it as FDM (Flex Dance Music).^[1] Although flexing looks like a sub-genre of popping, it did not come from hip-hop dance, funk music, or hip-hop culture. It evolved from a Jamaican style of street dance called bruk-up.^[2][3][4][5] In a 2009 interview with WireTap magazine, dancer Stefan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente described bruk-up as a "reggae style of animation."^[4]

Exposure

Flexing has been performed on the third season of America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC), on the second season of The LXD, and at the Guggenheim Museum as part of the YouTube Play event. In 2011, the Huffington Post published a brief news article on the dance.^[6] In 2013, NextLevelSquad performed flexing at Breakin' Convention^[7] and Adedamola "Ringmaster Nugget" Orisagbemi performed flexing at the Vail International Dance Festival.^[8]
The 2013 independent film Flex Is Kings documents the lives of several flexers over a two-year period leading up to a dance competition called BattleFest.^[9] Flex Is Kings was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.^[5] Flexing was also the subject of a French online dance show called "Puma the Quest".^[10] In 2014, The New Yorker published a seven-page article about flex dancer Saalim "Storyboard P" Muslim.^[11]

References

1. 
   

Steyels, Mike (April 6, 2016). "Flex Tunes: Brooklyn's Own Dance Music". Pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

Johnson, Kristy (December 2, 2009). "Britney’s Dance Dream Team". Dance Informa. Retrieved November 10, 2010. Living in Brooklyn and with my family being West Indian, I was into a lot of Dancehall Reggae music. I ended up being part of a show in Brooklyn called ‘Flex N Brooklyn’ that created another dance style we call Flexing, which evolved from a style called ‘The Bruk Up’ from Jamaica.

Harrison, Darryl (October 26, 2009). "Bone flexing in Brooklyn". New York Post. Retrieved November 10, 2010. The biggest misconception is that flexing or our style came from hip hop, and it didn’t. It actually came from reggae. It came from ‘bruk up.’

Love, Paulino (March 21, 2009). "Power Moves: Turf and Flex Dancers Build Bicoastal Bonds". WireTap Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2010. It's based on a reggae style of animation," explains Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente, one of the event's judges. "People compared it to poppin', but it's a reggae style of poppin'.

Brun-Lambert, David (December 9, 2013). "Flexing: Brooklyn Goes Hard". RedBull.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

"Gas-Masked Dancers Hit The Subway (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. September 17, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2012. This music video, by YAK Films for King Bones and DJ Aaron, shows two shirtless dancers/contortionists in gas masks intertwining with each other... it's a mesmerizing, and slightly unsettling, performance.

"NextLevelSquad (USA)". BreakinConvention.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.

Macaulay, Alastair (August 7, 2013). "A Whirl of Premieres, From Jookin to Jetés". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2013.

"Flex is King – A new Documentary by Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols". StreetClash.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

"Bonus NYC : rencontre avec le Ringmasters Crew". PumaTheQuest.com (in French). April 18, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

11. Weiner, Jonah (January 6, 2014). "The Impossible Body: Storyboard P, the Basquiat of street dancing.". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

External links

Dance portal

• Flex Is Kings official website
• Bone Flexing in Brooklyn' s Battle Fest - New York Post on YouTube
• The Ringmasters (crew) demonstrating flexing on ABDC on YouTube

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lyrical hip hop

Tabitha A. D'umo (née Cortopassi; born September 11, 1973) and Napoleon Buddy D'umo (born October 17, 1968), known together as Nappytabs, are Emmy Award-winning married choreographers who are often credited with developing lyrical hip-hop. They are best known for their choreography on the television show So You Think You Can Dance and for being supervising choreographers and executive producers of America's Best Dance Crew. Since being with the former, their choreography has received both praise and criticism. They own Nappytabs urban dancewear and have been working in the dance industry since 1996.
Tabitha and Napoleon grew up on opposite coasts of the United States and met in the early 1990s as students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. They began their dance career together while still in college by choreographing industrial musicals for large corporations with the hip-hop dance company Culture Shock. After moving to Los Angeles in 1999, they started teaching hip-hop classes at the Edge Performing Arts Center in North Hollywood. They took additional jobs choreographing for professional sports dance teams and back-up dancing for musical artists. In 2003, they joined the faculty of Monsters of Hip Hop dance convention.
Their work was introduced to mainstream audiences in 2008 when they became supervising choreographers on America's Best Dance Crew and resident choreographers on So You Think You Can Dance. It was on the later show that their lyrical hip-hop choreography style gained exposure. The pair's career progressed to providing creative direction for tours and live events, where they worked with Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Celine Dion, and Jennifer Lopez. They continued to develop their dancewear line by breaking out of its previously online-only presence and opening a physical store location in 2010.
From television and concerts, their move into theater occurred gradually. In 2010, they directed the JabbaWockeeZ's MÜS.I.C. stage show and began to work with Cirque du Soleil; they choreographed Viva Elvis and were contributing choreographers for Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour. In 2012, they continued to establish themselves in television as choreographers for Madonna's Super Bowl halftime performance. They also choreographed several music videos including two for K-pop artists TVXQ and BoA. Aside from their choreography, creative direction, and dancewear line, Tabitha and Napoleon continue to teach hip-hop classes at dance studios and on the convention circuit. They have also been involved with charity work for organizations that support the arts.

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robot dance

The robot (or mannequin) is an illusionary street dance style – often confused with popping – that attempts to imitate a dancing robot or mannequin. Roboting gained fame after Michael Jackson used the dance when he performed "Dancing Machine" with his brothers,^[1] and later performed the dance during his solo career in songs such as "Billie Jean".

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Krumping

The dance known as Krumping is a street dance popularized in the United States that is characterized by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement.^[1] The black youths who started krumping saw the dance as a way for them to escape gang life^[2] and "to release anger, aggression and frustration positively, in a non-violent way."^[3]

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Toprock

Toprock is a major element of b-boying and b-girling. It generally refers to foot movement performed from a standing position, relying upon a mixture of coordination, flexibility, rhythm, and most importantly, style. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, and it serves as a warm-up for transitions into the more acrobatic maneuvers of downrock.
Breakers may devote considerable time to developing their toprock, and the style they display is a point of pride.
Toprocking is a style of dance in and of itself, and the Indian step is the most commonly performed toprock "move". However, toprocking is very open to modification for individual style. For this reason, it has come to incorporate elements of salsa, Lindy Hop, Liquid dancing and the Robot. In particular, uprock, often confused with "toprock," is a competitively-oriented type of dance consisting of foot shuffles, spins, turns, and creative movements that may mimic combat.

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Crowd surfing

Crowd surfing, also known as body surfing, is the process in which a person is passed overhead from person to person (often during a concert), transferring the person from one part of the venue to another. The "crowd surfer" is passed above everyone's heads, with everyone's hands supporting the person's weight. At most concerts and festivals the crowd surfer will be passed towards a barrier in front of the stage by the crowd, where they will be pulled off and put on their feet by the security stewards. Then, they will be sent back to the side or rear of the crowd at the end of the barrier or they may be ejected from the venue (depending on the policy enforced).
Crowd surfing generally occurs only towards the front of an audience where the crowd is dense enough to support a person's body. It is most popular at metal, punk, rock, rave and indie concerts.
In order to get above everyone's heads, a person can be given a boost, in which one person picks up another to launch them over the people's heads, or they can stage dive.
This has been known to happen to unwilling participants who have been boosted up by others by surprise, in which case, those participants may also be ejected.

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