WELCOME

The London Balboa Collective is a group of friends who wish to spread balboa dancing across London. To share their enthusiasm for the dance, you'll find them social dancing, DJ'ing and teaching in London, the United Kingdom and around the world. Currently, the people part of collective are shown below. Click the names or photos to find out more about these wonderful people.

MEMBERS

Isabella Ling

Isabella
Ling

Louis Carruthers

Louis
Carrurthers

Moe Sakan

Moe
Sakan

Yulia Dakina

Yulia
Dakina

Alexander Azarov

Alexander
Azarov

Jo Calanglang

Jo
Calanglang

Mel Calanglang

Mel
Calanglang

MISSION & VALUES

The aim for our collective is..

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To promote the balboa dance artform in London through classes, competitions, social dances, festivals, and collaboration with other organisations and artists.

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To work towards the integration of the various swing dance communities in London.

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To research, study, and promote the history of the artform, as well as the history and culture of jazz and swing dance, music, and the communities from which it developed.

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To conserve the artform and to innovate and grow the dance.

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To help shape and grow the next generation of balboa dancers.

WHAT WE DO

Courses

We provide 4 week courses to help people become better aware of their dancing and improve their technique. If you're interested in learning how to dance balboa, we offer these COURSE SESSIONS with an amazing line up of international dance instructors. They are here to help you with your journey to balboa greatness.

The next class is:

Social Dances

We hold social dances for our students and anyone wishing to have fun and dance. Click SOCIALS for the details.

The next social dance is:

Workshops

We also provide weekend workshops for the more enthusiastic dancer. These workshops could be taught by our collective group or other international instructors.

We’ll post the next workshop shortly.

Photography by Sandra Polo

FAQ

POLICY

CALENDAR

CONTACT

Isabella Ling & Louis Carruthers

Izzy and Louis met at a London social, bonded over their love of Balboa and have been partnered up ever since!
Having competed in the UK and abroad, they are determined to spread their enthusiasm and love of balboa to the masses and are committed to help grow and nurture the London scene.

Izzy has been dancing since she was 3, having done jazz, tap and ballet before stumbling across Lindy hop at a jazz concert. Learning swing dancing in Australia, she moved to London with a passion for Balboa, Shag and Lindy and is determined for the various scenes to become more intertwined.

After a fortuitous injury, Louis decided to try out swing dancing classes to help him recover. He instantly fell in love with swing and hasn't looked back.

After spending 5 years learning and traveling to dance the Lindy Hop, the Balboa caught Louis' eye and what started out as a curiosity quickly turned into a passion. One night while social dancing in London, Louis met Isabella and with her help and inspiration he committed himself to learning this magical dance!

Isabella Ling & Louis Carruthers

Izzy and Louis met at a London social, bonded over their love of Balboa and have been partnered up ever since!
Having competed in the UK and abroad, they are determined to spread their enthusiasm and love of balboa to the masses and are committed to help grow and nurture the London scene.

Izzy has been dancing since she was 3, having done jazz, tap and ballet before stumbling across Lindy hop at a jazz concert. Learning swing dancing in Australia, she moved to London with a passion for Balboa, Shag and Lindy and is determined for the various scenes to become more intertwined.

After a fortuitous injury, Louis decided to try out swing dancing classes to help him recover. He instantly fell in love with swing and hasn't looked back.

After spending 5 years learning and traveling to dance the Lindy Hop, the Balboa caught Louis' eye and what started out as a curiosity quickly turned into a passion. One night while social dancing in London, Louis met Isabella and with her help and inspiration he committed himself to learning this magical dance!

Moe Sakan

Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Moe Sakan has had professional training in many types of dance from an early age.

In 1999 Moe fell in love with the world of Swing dance, since then this has been her dance of choice. Moe moved to London in 2000, bringing a sparkle to the local swing dancing scene, becoming the UK's top female swing dancer while also representing her origin.

An active social and competition dancer, she is proud to have won numerous competition titles internationally, including the world’s biggest Jack ‘n Jill competition at Frankie 95 (2009). In 2017, she had the honour of being inducted into the Camp Hollywood Hall Of Fame. She has also enjoyed performing for several productions, including in theatre, television and films.

Moe is a co-founder and proud member of London based “The Five Non-Blondes”. An award winning, all female, ethnically diverse authentic Jazz dance troupe.Moe is also is one half of a choreographing duo called “MoeTine-vation” with fellow Non-Blonde, Christine “Tine Machine” Gatchalian.Moe travels the world sharing her passion extensively both for performing and teaching Lindy Hop, Balboa and Shag.

Well known as a vintage enthusiast, Moe is passionate about the music and fashion of the Swing era. Her dedication to the culture is also reflected in her attitude towards the dance, as she constantly endeavours to recreate an authentic style, and her passion certainly reflects the spirit of the dance as it was back in the day.

Yulia Dakina & Alexander Azarov

Yulia and Sasha are two UK based Balboa dancers easily recognisable for their zippy yet smooth style. They first discovered the dance in 2010, and ever since their enthusiasm for Balboa has been growing stronger.

Before starting to teach, they focused on their own development as dancers, training and competing, studying the history of the dance, and exploring partnership dynamics both in Pure Balboa and Balswing.

The couple is often spotted in international contest finals. Two times California Balboa Classic winners, they also proudly hold the title of 6-time Pure Balboa Classic champions!

Currently they run Balboa courses and mini-workshops in London, as well as travel to teach at dance weekends across Europe. In class, they strive to share the knowledge they’ve gained throughout their dance journey and encourage their students to appreciate the joyful energy of Balboa, its subtle humour and the precious opportunity to be in the moment with the music and one another.

Lately, as Sasha has found a new obsession with tap dancing, percussion, and rhythm overall, they are becoming even more focused on different aspects of musicality, and aim to reflect that in their teaching.

Yulia Dakina & Alexander Azarov

Yulia and Sasha are two UK based Balboa dancers easily recognisable for their zippy yet smooth style. They first discovered the dance in 2010, and ever since their enthusiasm for Balboa has been growing stronger.

Before starting to teach, they focused on their own development as dancers, training and competing, studying the history of the dance, and exploring partnership dynamics both in Pure Balboa and Balswing.

The couple is often spotted in international contest finals. Two times California Balboa Classic winners, they also proudly hold the title of 6-time Pure Balboa Classic champions!

Currently they run Balboa courses and mini-workshops in London, as well as travel to teach at dance weekends across Europe. In class, they strive to share the knowledge they’ve gained throughout their dance journey and encourage their students to appreciate the joyful energy of Balboa, its subtle humour and the precious opportunity to be in the moment with the music and one another.

Lately, as Sasha has found a new obsession with tap dancing, percussion, and rhythm overall, they are becoming even more focused on different aspects of musicality, and aim to reflect that in their teaching.

Jo & Mel Calanglang

Jo and Mel are dance enthusiasts who dedicate their time to encourage swing dancing in the United Kingdom. Being familiar with lindy hop and blues, their current passion is mastering Balboa and Bal-swing - a journey of continuous learning.

They started salsa dancing in Singapore and after moving to the United Kingdom in 2000 began their journey in swing dancing. After dancing lindy hop, charleston and blues for several years they then fell in love with Balboa and became dedicated to learning this dance from 2008. However, they still love and continue dancing all styles to this day.

Currently, you can find them social dancing and teaching at various events across Europe and the United States. They also teach Balboa/Bal-swing and facilitate pilot sessions throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. Their “down-to-earth” and positive attitude helps to make the classes they teach not only informative but also very enjoyable.

Their aspirations to be balboa ambassadors stems from their drive to continuously learn and share the passion and knowledge of dance to enthusiasts alike.

Jo & Mel Calanglang

Jo and Mel are dance enthusiasts who dedicate their time to encourage swing dancing in the United Kingdom. Being familiar with lindy hop and blues, their current passion is mastering Balboa and Bal-swing - a journey of continuous learning.

They started salsa dancing in Singapore and after moving to the United Kingdom in 2000 began their journey in swing dancing. After dancing lindy hop, charleston and blues for several years they then fell in love with Balboa and became dedicated to learning this dance from 2008. However, they still love and continue dancing all styles to this day.

Currently, you can find them social dancing and teaching at various events across Europe and the United States. They also teach Balboa/Bal-swing and facilitate pilot sessions throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. Their “down-to-earth” and positive attitude helps to make the classes they teach not only informative but also very enjoyable.

Their aspirations to be balboa ambassadors stems from their drive to continuously learn and share the passion and knowledge of dance to enthusiasts alike.