We are so excited to have Jacob Wigger and Valerie Salstrom, two icons of the modern balboa community here in london to share their expertise!
Valerie Salstrom, creator of the All Balboa Weekend, the first dance event solely dedicated to Balboa, has been a lively, encouraging, and informative fixture in the swing dance scene for, … ahem, more than a few years. Although Valerie has won numerous Lindy and Balboa competitions with her talented dance partners, she most enjoys teaching and mentoring swing dance students all over the World. Valerie is honored and tickled to share her experience, skill, knowledge, and humor with dancers of all experience levels. Valerie is invested in helping you expand your creativity and explore what feels and looks good so that you may confidently claim your place on the dance floor while being an enjoyable and inspiring dancer.
Jacob Wigger started swing dancing in 2003 and has been hooked ever since. He discovered his love of Balboa in 2005 and began traveling to various events and competitions not much later. His first love is social dancing but he also enjoys competing as a way to set goals and push himself. As a teacher he enjoys using a mix of humorous analogies and serious instruction to create a fun and exciting learning environment. Jacob has been teaching at national and international events for the last 15 years. He has honed his ability to break down and analyze the dance to make complex and dynamic movement happen with ease and comfort. He is known for his intricate, yet traditionally based, Pure Bal, as well as his unique shapes and movement in Bal Swing. He is also known for his continuous flow and effortless way of floating across the dance floor, while maintaining a highly rhythmic feel. Jacob’s primary goal in all his partnerships has been to connect in a way that works for both him and his partner to find what they can create together. This has resulted in numerous placements and wins at all levels of competition, but more importantly, having ever-evolving social dances.
CLASS DETAILS
DATE/TIME Monday March 30th, 2026 19:00-21:00
PRICE £35 per person
*early bird special* £30 per person (before February 22. 2026)
This class is aimed towards INTERMEDIATE+ and ADVANCED dancers. You should have more than 2 years of experience dancing Balboa and Swing and are familiar with shapes such as single time, double time basics, lollies, throw-outs, out & ins, etc. At this stage you should be able to lead / follow these standard shapes as well as more complex patterns. At this capacity the focus for the dancer is to further improve their understanding of their role in the dance, develop their skills to create a better awareness for themselves and their partner within the intricate shapes executed. More importantly this dancer searches for the enjoyment that the dance creates.
MAP & DIRECTIONS
The Golden Lane Community Centre is located in east London and is easily accessed from the London underground and buses. The centre is a five minute walk away from the Barbican Station (via Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metroplitan lines), an eleven minute walk from Old Street Station (via Northern line) and twelve minutes away from St. Pauls station (via the central line).
To help you get to the workshop, below is the address to the community centre and a map for more routes on public transport. Click the icons to see live updates for the respective tube station or bus stop.
