Balboa (dance) - Comparisons To Lindy Hop

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. Both are considered evolutionary descendants of Charleston. 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.