Everyone’s talking about Balboa at the start of this year!

If you hadn’t already heard, we’ve got FREE beginners classes in Balboa throughout January (8pm on Wednesdays at the Counting House) in the run up to the Edinburgh Balboa Weekend with international Balboa teachers Mickey and Kelly at the end of the month.

It’s not too late to register for the big event, but if you’ve already got daytime plans, why not come along to the three social dances at Stockbridge House, Cheyne Street, EH4 1JB?

• Welcome Dance
  Friday 30 January, from 8:30pm – late, only £5 entrance
• Main Social Dance
  Saturday 31 January, from 8pm – late, £10 entrance
• Tea Dance
  Sunday 1 February, from 3:30 – 5pm, £3 entrance

Special bargain price of £15 if you attend all three socials! Just pay on the door for any of the social dances.

And if that’s not enough Balboa for you, there’s the wonderful Balboa Brunch on Saturday 21 February so you can continue practicing all your new moves from Mickey and Kelly.

See you shufflin’ on the dancefloor!

It’s time for Edinbop’s annual Winter Cabaret – a night for Edinbop regulars (and not-so-regulars) to show off their talents with short acts, interspersed with the usual social dancing from 9 – all for the regular price of £3 (or free if you attend a class before 9).

Get your acts together and bring friends, family and anyone who has not yet witnessed the spectacle of this brilliant night to the Counting House.

Share your hidden talents with the most enthusiastic audience you’ll EVER find. Previous performances include dances, songs, live music, stories, juggling, break dancing, and acts that truly defy categorisation…the only rule is that acts are kept short – please keep it under or around 3 minutes!

Come find Kat at the Counting House on a Wednesday evening and let her know if you would like to perform. Alternatively email info@edinbop.co.uk. Spaces are limited and over half have already gone, so get in quick!

Classes will run as normal on the night & social dancing starts at 9pm (for info about classes, please see here). The first acts will kick off at about 9.30pm.

We will request that the upstairs bar is opened so you can have a drink to help you recover from performances that will surely knock your socks off!

Some highlights from previous years…

Merry Christmas to you all!

We hope you’re enjoying the festive season and would like to thank everyone who came along to the AGM on Wednesday 10 December! We got lots of feedback from people and we hope to take forward lots of your ideas in the New Year.

If you couldn’t make it to the AGM but would like to give feedback or share ideas, please fill out the survey – it’s open until Thursday 1 January 2015.

Documents from the AGM are available for you to view:

• Chairperson’s Annual Report
• Financial Summary
• Updated Constitution
• AGM Minutes

We also now have a new Edinbop committee for 2015:

Sigridur Vala Gunnarsdottir
Leigh Anderson
Bryony Jackson
Martyn Tunstall
Rachel Ryan
Nina Schildhauer
Katharina Rueberg

We’d like to give a massive thanks again to Alison (Ali) Jeffrey, Daniel Rodger, Sebastian Sandoval Similä, Anna Plant, and Jack Lavender who stepped down this year. They’ve been a fantastic influence on the Edinburgh dance scene during their time on the committee.

Heads up everyone, if you’ve not done much balboa or are curious we’ll be offering free balboa classes in December and January at the Counting House on Wednesdays.

We’re also running an awesome workshop weekend on the 30th of January – 1st of February that includes intermediate and advanced classes taught by top tier international teachers Mickey and Kelly, but wait, there’s more! We’ll also have improver level classes taught by our local legend Christie. If you start taking beginner balboa classes now (or soon, that works too) you should have done enough by the time the weekend rolls around that you can happily take part in our improver level.

There will also be a lot of social dancing included in your ticket no matter your level, which super brilliant band Rose Room.

However, heads up! The early bird discount for the weekend runs out on the 14th of December, so don’t miss out, Book now at: http://ebw2015.dancecamps.org/booking.php

There is a follower waiting list atm, but if you’re wanting to go sign up anyway, if someone books with you later you’ll be taken off the waiting list and/or if a single lead signs up. Speaking of which, leads we need you, come sign up and make a follow’s day, you won’t regret it.

This is a really good opportunity so if you’re even a tiny bit interested in balboa you should give it a try!

We hope you’re all enjoying the Christmas cheer that this month brings with it! A reminder that we’ll be breaking for the festive season - Tuesday 9 December is the last Tuesday Night Spoonful and and Wednesday 10 December (our AGM night) is the last nights Wednesday Night Shoeswing of 2015.

But don’t worry! Blues will be back on Tuesday 6 January and Shoeswing returns on Wednesday 7 January.

Keep an eye on the website and our Facebook group for any info about other dance events throughout December.
Hope to see you all on the dancefloor! Happy holiadys!

Edinbop’s Winter Cabaret is Back 28th Jan! This is always a fun night out and a great way to introduce friends and family to the dance scene. If you have a hidden talent and would like to perform email info@edinbop.co.uk. Anything goes but please keep the acts less than 4 MIN. We’re already looking forward to all the amazing stuff people will be doing this year!

In the run-up to the AGM on Wednesday 10 December, we’d really appreciate it if you could spend just a few minutes to complete this survey on our classes, socials, and events – your feedback will help to shape Edinbop’s plan for 2015, so don’t miss this chance to let us know what you want to see in the scene!

More information about the AGM is available on our website.

On Wednesday 10 December, it’s our very special Christmas Shoe Swing – we’ve got an awesome night planned with live music from Alison Affleck as part of our AGM, at no extra cost!

As some of our lovely Committee members are stepping down, we’re looking for the most enthusiastic members of the Edinbop community to come forward. Do you have great ideas for swing dancing events in Edinbop that you want to see become a reality? Want to increase our public engagement, help build our new website, provide more opportunities for live music, or just keen to get involved with the day-to-day running of Edinbop? Join the Committee, and you can make it happen! Email info@edinbop.co.uk for more details.

Classes will run as normal from 7pm – 9pm, followed by the AGM, live music and social dancing.

Edinburgh’s getting cold – all the more reason to get moving and keep warm! Along with our AGM, here’s a few Christmas-themed events in Edinburgh that you won’t want to miss…

Edinburgh Swing Ball
Friday 28 November, from 7pm til late!
Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2LR
In collaboration with the Edinburgh swing scene, Swing Patrol are bringing you an incredible night of dancing, live music from Down for the Count, and general vintage merriment. We start the night with a fun beginner-friendly lesson so even if you have never danced before you’ll be swinging away by the end of the night. It’s also a great chance to meet the other dancers from around your community, so don’t be shy, ask someone for a dance!

£25 in advance, £15 students, blues after-party included
Book in advance to secure your place!
Registration is open until Friday 28 November 2014 at 6:00pm

Edinburgh Balboa Brunch
Saturday 29 November, 11am – 3pm
Wash Bar, The Mound, 11 – 13 North Bank Street, Edinburgh EH1 2LP
If you enjoyed your night at the Swing Ball, come along to the lovely Balboa Brunch for more! 4 hours of fantastic big band and Swing music to dance Balboa to. This is a friendly lunchtime event with great DJ music, lovely people to chat, and drink and food available for purchase. Come for half an hour or for four, as you like!

£1 donation, goes to bar staff

Lindy Hop Workshop for (int-adv) keen beans
Saturday 29 November, 2pm – 6pm
Ochil Room, Salisbury Building, The Pleasance, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh
The wonderful Katharina Rüberg and Thom Scott-Phillips are holding a workshop for Intermediate / Advanced dancers that will take you to the next level!

3 ½ hours of instruction and personal feedback with a half-hour break/practice time. This workshop is for you if:

• you’ve been dancing for a year or longer.
• you’ve made the past year count – with lots of social dancing, classes, and travelling – perhaps even performing, competing, or private lessons!
• you don’t think technique and fun are opposed – in fact, you believe better technique allows you to express your ideas more clearly and ultimately have more fun!
• you are not afraid to work hard!
• you know that there are different approaches to Lindy Hop, and you are open to trying them all
• you’re happiest after classes that make both your mind and body ache…
  

£15 (only £10 for students and paid-up EUSDS members)
Please find a partner of the opposite role to sign up with. You may sign up as a single dancer but we want to keep it small and fairly balanced so it is unlikely you will get a space if you are a follower!
Send an email with your name and the name of your partner to thom.swing@gmail.com to register.

The EUSDS Snowball
Saturday 29 November, 7pm – 2am
Teviot Study, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh
To complete your action-packed weekend of dancing, the EUSDS are hosting their ever-splendid annual Snowball! Come and dance the night away in your tackiest, ugliest, and thought-to-be-forgotten Christmas attire (ranging from jumpers to wearable reindeer antlers) and enjoy the cool sounds of some great DJs and also the live offerings of a EUJO quartet.

There will also be a Blues Dance Taster Class, allowing you to try out another style of dancing related to Lindy Hop (and just as fun, certainly when you just can’t muster the energy to dance the full version of “Sing, Sing, Sing” at midnight). And we’ll inevitably dip into some Blues music to wind down the night’s festivities, so you can even try out what you learn on the night.

£7 standard / £5 students

Edinburgh Balboa Brunch
Saturday 13 December, 11am – 3pm
Wash Bar, The Mound, 11 – 13 North Bank Street, Edinburgh EH1 2LP
Another chance to dance at the Balboa Brunch – 4 hours of the friendly lunchtime event with great DJ music, lovely people to chat, and drink and food available for purchase. Come for half an hour or for four, as you like!

£1 donation, goes to bar staff

Jump Time Jingle Ball
Sunday 14 December, 7pm – 23pm
The Merlin, 168 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4PU
Lee and Seema’s awesome annual Jingle Ball is back! Don’t forget, if you arrive between 7-8pm, you can win a fantastic prize in the free early Robin raffle!
If this don’t jingle your bells, you’re scrooged man!

£4, pay on the door

Save the date for another fantastic Balboa Brunch right in the heart of Edinburgh – AND right on the morning after the Edinburgh Swing Ball!

Saturday 29 November
11am-3pm
Wash Bar on the Mound (11-13 North Bank St)