Balboa Rendezvous 2011

Last weekend Chris and I headed down to San Diego for Balboa Rendezvous - the last time we attended this event was 5 years ago, on our honeymoon (sightseeing during the day and dancing at night? Yes, please!), so it was nice to go back. We squeezed a lot in this weekend - some shopping, sightseeing, and lots of dancing!

For any of you who read my blog for vintage fashion and get all confused when I talk about different dances, here's the 30-second explanation: Lindy Hop was invented in New York in the late 20's/early 30's, and is the most popular swing dance with large movements and death-defying stunts. But as swing music was sweeping the airwaves in the 30's, people all over the country wanted to jitterbug so they invented different dances - Balboa was invented in the crowded ballrooms of Southern California and is characterized by a close body position and fast footwork. The two dances are contemporaries and are often danced to the same music.

Anoinetta and me hamming it up at the Loco Lindo booth
- I've got my J&J ribbon

The main thing that makes this event different from other weekend Balboa events is that everyone caravans up to Newport Beach on Sunday, and the dance is held near the location of the Rendezvous Ballroom on Balboa Island, which was ground zero for Balboa. We're also joined by many of the original Balboa dancers for a panel discussion and dancing. Their numbers are becoming smaller and smaller, and Chris and I treasure every opportunity we get to spend time with them!

We also competed this weekend in the International Balboa Championships and the pro Jack & Jill. (I still find it funny that I'm a "pro" in my hobby! ;)  The dancers in the finals of the IBC were a really good group, and everyone had a distinctive style. We all walked in thinking that anyone could take it, and they would deserve it! Chris and I earned second place in the IBC - Huge congrats to Jacob and Valerie for their first place win!

The video from this weekend is already up - here's a peek of what happened at the finals! I'm in the B&W polka dot dress, and Chris is wearing white pants. I love that the video goes into slo-mo at :45 so that us mere mortals can see Chris's footwork - he blows me away! (I'm allowed to be proud of him, right?)