San Francisco Balboa Festival: December 11-15, 2008!

4th Annual Electrifying Holiday Ball @

San Francisco Balboa
Swing Festival

host of North American Open Swing Championships™
with Balboa, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Shag, & Team!
December 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 2008

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Balboa Festival

2008 now with 2 Workshops by Champion Instructors & Special Guests (keep scrolling down):

Day time Instructors in Balboa & Night time Instructors in Lindy, Shag, Charleston & more...
All instructors are professional & will use non gender specific terms to create a friendly dance
environment for all! (Same Sex Dancing is welcome!)
To view the teachers web sites or request privates click on their name!

Instructors & guests (in alphabetical order follower first):

Day-time Instructors:

Alison & Joel Plys
2004 American Lindy Hop Champion Fast Dance Champions
Organizers of the Balboa Rendezvous home of the International Balboa Championships and Balboa Followers Festival

Heidi Salerno & Steve Garrett
2006 California Swing Dance Hall of Fame Inductee's
2005 National Jitterbug (Pro Bal)
2005 1st International Bal-Swing Champions
Our inspiration for the Festival! You got to see them to believe it!

Kelly Arsenalt & Mickey Fortanasce
2007 North American Balboa Swing Champions
2006/2007 International Bal-Swing Champions
2007 Canadian Balboa Champions (Fast Bal)
2006 Strictly Lindy Champs (Boston Tea Party)

Maryse Lebeau & Zack Richard
2007 Strictly Balboa Champions-Canadian Swing Championships
2004, '05, '06, '07 Showcase-Canadian Swing Championships

Lila Desatoff & Burnie

Lila Desatoff
Widow of the late great Willie Desatoff.
Fixture in the Southern California swing dance community as a "mid-timer" learning from Dean Collins and other greats!
Clip of Lila & Willie dancing with Willie commentary:
http://video.blessedfeet.com/clips/2004/willie-comments.html

Burnie
Organizor of the SF Bal Fest, North American Open
& Northern California Open Swing Championships
SFLX committee member.
2008 Teacher Turkey Swing Workshops
2008 1st to compete in ILHC with same sex partner.
2008 California Same Sex Lindy Hop Champion.
2008 Teacher Swing'n with the Stars, Phoenix, AZ.
2007 1st North American to teach Bal in
Buenos Aires, Argentina at Lindy Hop International Argentine Festival (LIAF).
2007 American Same Sex Swing Champion.
2006 Nor Cal Same Sex Swing Champion.
2005 California Same Sex Swing Champion.
2002-2005 Various California Same Sex Dance Champion titles...
2000 Founder of Queer Jitterbugs at QueerBallroom.com
His mom says he was conceived on Balboa Island (eeww)

Night-time Instructors
(in addition to daytime Instructors):

Amber Villa & Jofflyn Valencia
2005/06 Nor Cal Charleston Champs

Minn Vo
1st Cal Bal Champion
(won with Corina Acosta).

Special Guests:

Dean Raftery
One of the True Masters of the Dance who danced at Balboa Pavilion in the 1930's. Having been coerced into teaching at many current day Balboa Events he keeps the energy of swing alive! He continues to dance in Southern California and never misses the Balboa Rendevous!

Ray Hirsch
Spunky barely describes this youth from the heyday of swing! We have added an extra time for him to share his films and stories! This Legendary Lindy Hopper and 1930's-40's silver screen featured dancer will dance, tap and talk his way into your heart! (Ray Hirsch pictured above dancing with Judy Garland & here as Mickey Rooney plays drums.)

A Few Films he is featured in are:
1939-Blondie Meets The Boss
1940-Mad Youth
1941-Buck Privates
just to name a few...

Past Instructors & Special Events:

Freda Angela Wyckoff
Freda says she has danced at every nightclub and ballroom in Southern California since the 1930's including the Balboa Pavilion Freda is still active today in the swing dance community and goes to Balboa Rendevous and Camp Hollywood frequently! She says she has won over a thousand swing dance contests over the years and has been a featured dancer in many swing movies in the 1940's and 1950's. Freda's main partner was George Christopherson, but say's she never really had a regular partner.
A Few Films she is featured in are:
1944-Four Jills in a Jeep
1945-Twice Blessed
1946-Junior Prom, Teenagers At The
1954-Untammed Youth
1954-Living It Up
1956-Rock Around The Clock
1956-Don't Knock The Rock
1956-Bundle Of Joy
1957-Carnival Rock
1959-Juke Box Rhythm
1982-Bobby McGee's Dance Party (TV)

Jonathan Bixby
The man whose names is synonymous with Balboa!
Inductee into the National Swing Dance Hall of Fame
Inductee into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame
Two-time Southern California Balboa Champion
The first to perform Lindy Hop at the first Gay Games!

Laura Keat & Jeremy Oth
2007 US Open "Fast Dance" Champs
2007 North American Lindy Champs
2006 Northern California Bal Champs