Bal Jam Review

Bal Jam
-Abigail Browning, contributing writer
(blog written for www.lindybloggers.com)

This year marked the third semiannual Bal Jam, the premier Balboa dance weekend sans workshops. Run by Bobby White and Kate Hedin, but hosted by the Philly Bal dancers, notably Jenn Scricco, this year proved to be a marked success. A well-organized event, the strongest ingredients in this Bal Jam weekend were the music, the venues, the caliber of dancers and the addition of the “Afternoon Dance Colloquium.”

On Friday, I arrived to the sounds of The Traditional Jazz Collective. With a slight Dixieland feel, this close-knit jazz band carried the dancers with upbeat tunes and improvised solos. The TJC was decent enough, however, the Charlestoney overtones and 10-minute songs were incongruous with the theme of the event. Since it was the first night, the songs allowed me to have a lengthy “meet and greet” conversation with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, but they were tiring and did not allow for much intermingling with other dancers. Instead of dancing with 15 people over an hour (with breaks), I could only dance with six. It did not help that the venue was inordinately warm and humid inside, making the long songs feel longer than they were. Despite the music, the energy level was very high, and the warmth and friendliness of the dancers was enveloping.

The overall caliber of dancers at Bal Jam was “better than at All Bal,” one participant said. Since the event is geared towards the intermediate to advanced level dancer, you can consistently guarantee that a random person who asks you to dance knows at least the basic, a come-around, Lollies, a toss-out and some ad-lib steps. Most knew much more than that. With a panel of 11 instructors available, the level of dancing increased dramatically, especially because they and the other top dancers were not tired from teaching classes or resting in preparation of evening competitions (like at All Balboa Weekend – which I still love, don’t get me wrong!).

Saturday afternoon, the organizers devised a new type of program called the “Afternoon Dance Colloquium,” with the purpose being, as Bobby White explained, to view the instructors as in “an aquarium.” A panel of notable people including Sylvia Sykes and Nick Williams engaged in a discussion fielding questions from their peers about move creation, style, clothing choices for making great lines, technique, and more, giving Bal Jam attendees (their students) a chance to be in the thick of a well-informed debate, on Balboa and Bal-Swing, by the most influential dancers of our generation. I enjoyed Kate Hedin’s discussion about how she creates new styling, and David Rehm’s thoughtful comments on an advanced follower maintaining her presence in her posture: “You see that (each of the [old-time]follows), they have a quality of the way they move; they have a character about the way they carry themselves, and that is partly in the posture...You let him lead where you are, where your weight changes are, and you let him lead the timing of how he turns you, but you don’t let him change your posture. That you should keep.” The Colloquium was one of my favorite things of the weekend, and a welcome addition to Bal Jam for years to come (hopefully).

Saturday evening, Bal Jam hired the highly anticipated The Brooks Tegler Big Band Orchestra. Tegler, a phenom on the drums (you want to dance during his solos), led a group of talented musicians in standards like “Perdido” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” Although Brooks delivered good music, the tempos were completely off, with many slow songs (sluggish even in Lindy Hop standards). And, although I enjoyed listening, and might have raved about it for a Lindy event, I was disappointed that songs always spanned longer than six minutes.

The DJs, however, were the saving grace of this event’s music. Late nights proved to be more fun than the main dances, as the venue (up five flights of stairs!) was cooler, the floor was slicker, and the music was more consistent. At the late nights, I particularly liked Laura Windley’s DJing. During the afternoon dances, my favorite DJ was Mary Ann Carothers. She had a good feel for the energy, the music, and the level of dancers in the room, making it so that I wanted to dance every song she played.

Final thought? I wish Bal Jam would continue to be a yearly event. There has been talk about it skipping a year again (as it did after the first year in Atlanta 2005, before Los Angeles 2007), and I would be disappointed, waiting two years. I would certainly miss the affordable price, great dancing, laid-back atmosphere, fantastic DJs, and seamless organization.

Bal Jam w00t!
--AB