*SAVE the Date* It's finally happening: Heidel-Bal is becoming Grand-Heidel-Bal!

Get excited for the amazing teachers Sanna & Adam and a Saturday night party in a brand-new venue right in the heart of Heidelberg's Old Town. The event will take place on October 11. & 12. 2025, and registration opens on May 5. Check out all the details here

Don't miss any news ... provide your mail address below

You don't know yet, why you should learn Balboa? That's easy: BALBOA IS soooo COOL...

More about Balbao & SlowBal

Balboa was born when the dance halls filled up with swing-enthusiastic dancers and the space on the dance floors was no longer sufficient to dance like Lindy-Hop. In addition, the music was always wild and faster, which required a dance that requires only small steps, but fine technology.

Balboa, named after the Balboa Peninsula in California, is a dance in close dance position. There are two forms, the pure bal and the bal swing, the latter being a slightly more open dance position.

Some of the great Balboa dancers often said: "we can't tell you how to dance balboa, but we can tell you when you are not dancing balboa." (Source: Wikipedia)

Compared to Lindy-Hop, Balboa is even faster, the music is wonderfully dirty and the dance itself is thrilling. You think that Balboa is only for older semesters? You then have not experienced the dynamics of Balboa yet ...

Slow Balboa, or simply Slow Bal, is still a relatively unknown variant of Balboa, but is danced worldwide. The group of Slow Bal dancers is still very, very small, but steadily growing.

Compared to Balboa, the Slow Bal, as the name implies, is danced to slow music. The feeling and the flow are nevertheless similar to Balboa.

It is said that Slow Bal is just as old as Balboa, but that's not proven. There are no videos from the old days, but a few shots of the "old-timers" who have passed on their knowledge to the new generation. Therefore, Slow Bal is an 'old' but also a 'new' dance that is constantly changing.

Slow Bal is danced to different types of slow music. Ray Cunningham's style is known as 'Laminu'. Another Slow Bal style is called 'Dean Raftery's' Slow Bal, named after how Dean danced with his wife Nancy in the late 80's and early 90's. As in all other swing dances, the Slow Bal also applies to other places, other people, other styles.

Today we are inspired by dancers like Mickey (her with Anna-Maria) or Anni & Gašper.

My Motto: Heidelberg finally needs Balboa!

That's why I started Heidel-Bal back in April 2018.  It gives you the chance to learn Balboa in tiny quarterly workshops. The idea is to establish a Balboa scene in Heidelberg. So I don't have to say "I'm the Balboa scene of Heidelberg". when travelling.

Regina – Bal the night away

Contact: balboa.heidelberg (at) gmail.com