CalBal 2023 Weekend Pass
Save the date - January 12-15, 2024
Location, schedule overview and event details coming soon!
January 12, 13 & 14:
- Daytime Classes
- Evening Dancing with Live Music
- Afternoon and Evening Competitions
- Late Night DJ Dancing
January 15:
- Beach Dance (weather permitting)
CalBal 2023 returns to Pasadena, California January 12-15, 2023! All CalBal 2023 passes include:
- Three nights of live music on January 13, 14, and 15 with bandleaders Jonathan Stout, Michael Gamble, and Keenan McKenzie PLUS all of your favorite Swing musicians from around the the United States.
- Late night dancing to international DJs on January 13, 14, and 15.
- Access to register for a special Thursday night welcome featuring live music with bandleader Keenan McKenzie (space is limited).
- 12+ hours of electives and classes on January 13, 14, and 15 in one of five class tracks, featuring some of the world's finest swing dance instructors.
- Access to register contests.
New for 2023
When you register for a Silver, Gold, or Platinum pass, you become a Patron of Pacific Swing Dance Foundation AND a patron of the arts. Swing dancing is art and culture, and just like a museum, a library, or a ballet company, it needs patrons like you to survive and thrive. When you register for a CalBal 2023 Patron Pass, you will also receive:
- Access to a special Patron reception on Thursday, January 12.
- Priority access to the January 12 welcome dance with bandleader Keenan McKenzie (space is limited).
- The option to direct your sponsorship toward scholarships, live music, classes, contests, and more.
- The option to choose from a variety of perks like AMAs with event artists, one-on-one lessons, and special access to PSDF Archive materials.
- The benefits of a charitable donation: every dollar above $250 is a contribution to Pacific Swing Dance Foundation—a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.
$250.00 – $1,500.00
Register for Contests
Choosing a Class Track
To accommodate a wide range of experience and ability, CalBal offers weekend class tracks (or “levels”) organized by difficulty. To get the most from the weekend, please refer to our track criteria and do your best to place yourself objectively. For all tracks, weekend passes include access to 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), Friday, Saturday, and Sunday dances, and ability to register for competitions.
For 2023, only tracks D–F will require a level check.
Track A
This is a Balboa Fundamentals track. It is great for newer and slightly experienced Balboa dancers wanting to learn and refine their basics, connection and technique. It is also great for dancers wanting to learn their non-primary role.
No level check.
In Track A, instructors will emphasize technique, connection and vocabulary in basics, and moves and stylings for both leads and follows. They will help you build your vocabulary and add style and variations to the dance.
Full weekend pass, 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), access to Fri–Sat dances, and ability to add competitions and Thursday dance.Â
Track B
This a social dance improvement track for dancers who can confidently demonstrate most of the material below at tempos up to 190 beats per minute:
- Single- and double-time Pure Bal basics (down-holds and up-holds) with proper rhythm.
- Progressive steps and variations in Pure Bal.
- Comearounds.
- Lolly kicks and turns with appropriate stretch and compression technique.
- Out-and-ins or crossover breaks with “out, out, in, in” flow and timing.
- Toss-outs or throw-outs with circular rotation.
- Crab walks.
- Counterbody motion in Pure Bal (drags).
- Triple steps in Pure Bal (done independently or led).
- Swivels.
- Maxie’s stop step (swivels with a led “V” slide break and a slide to the side).
- Ability to spin at least one turn, on one foot, while balanced.
No level check.
The instructors will emphasize skills such as partner connection, musicality, technique, moves & stylings that are helpful on the social dance floor.
Full weekend pass, 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), access to Fri–Sat dances, and ability to add competitions and Thursday dance.
Track C
This track is for experienced Bal dancers who can confidently demonstrate the material listed for Tracks A & B as well as the following material at tempos up to 200 beats per minute:
- Appropriate inward-focused connection in Pure Bal.
- Smooth transitions between moves, basics and combos.
- Various ways to shuffle in Pure Bal.
- Toss out variations such as: behind-the-back throw-outs, toss-outs or Texas Tommys.
- Fall off the logs or “Hal’s kicks.”
- Crab walks.
- Counterbody motion in Pure Bal (drags).
- Triple steps in Pure Bal (done independently or led).
- Swivels (Maxie’s Swivels or other quick twist variations).
- Ability to spin at least one turn, on one foot, while balanced.
No level check.
This class will add ideas for leads and follows to become sought after social dancers or to feel comfortable exploring competition.
Full weekend pass, 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), access to Fri–Sat dances, and ability to add competitions and Thursday dance.Â
Track D
This track is for dancers who want to be challenged in class. You have a thorough vocabulary and can execute the moves and techniques in Tracks A-C.
Saturday morning level check required.
At this point you already have a full repertoire of moves and stylings, and you are looking to create your own variations, clean up technique, etc.
The instructors will emphasize individual and partnered technique for leaders and followers, with an emphasis on flow, communication, and musicality. They will help you build your vocabulary, adapt what you already know to new situations, and add style and variations to the dance.
Full weekend pass, 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), access to Fri–Sat dances, and ability to add competitions and Thursday dance.Â
Track E
In addition to meeting the criteria for Tracks B–D, dancers at this level should also be able to:
- Maintain rhythm and flow at high tempos (220 BPM is the tempo of a contest finals).
- Adjust their connection to new partners of various skill levels.
- Insert variations or stylings into the dance that fit within the flow.
- Adapt to new ideas (or recover from mistakes) without stopping the dance
Saturday morning level check required.
These dancers are setting trends on the dance floor in their local dance community and beyond. Some may be local teachers and scene leaders. Dancers in this track are advanced enough that moves and stylings are not as important as working on improving their own technique, musicality and individual style.
Full weekend pass, 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), access to Fri–Sat dances, and ability to add competitions and Thursday dance.Â
Track F
This track is for dancers who want to “level up” their dancing. You are sometimes invited to take Masters/Invitational classes at events like CalBal. Although all classes at CalBal pose a fun challenge, this track will include additional emphasis on hard work and honest feedback to jumpstart your improvement.
Saturday morning level check required.
If you compete in Balboa, you would likely make finals in an Amateur division or qualify for an Advanced/Open division (however, it is not required that you compete to take this track).
Instructors will choose material to challenge you and push your dancing to the next level.
Full weekend pass, 12 hours of classes (including Friday electives), access to Fri–Sat dances, and ability to add competitions and Thursday dance.Â