The All Balboa Weekend (ABW): Mike & Mary’s take.
We’ve been dancing Lindy Hop and Balboa quite a few years, and over that time we’ve attended a lot of weekend workshop type events, regionally and nationwide. There is one weekend workshop event that stands out for us, one we make plans to attend every year: the All Balboa Weekend (ABW). In fact, ABW is an event we’ve never heard other Balboa enthusiasts say anything negative about, or heard other Balboa enthusiasts not recommend the event to other swing dancers.
After what will be a five year hiatus, ABW is scheduled to return in 2025 – keep your fingers crossed! Minus the five year hiatus, 2025 will mark the 20 year anniversary for ABW, and Mike & Mary have attended for 16 of the previous 19 years. For Balboa enthusiasts, those wanting to learn Balboa, or those wanting to take their Balboa to the next level, ABW is a must attend event. (This is especially true for those 
swing dancers that live in this “neck of the woods”/within a reasonable driving distance of the event, i.e. KY, Ohio, Indiana,…) Not to sound harsh, but you shouldn’t call yourself a serious Balboa dancer – and you shouldn’t attempt to teach Balboa – if you don’t attend ABW on a regular basis, it’s really that simple – ABW is that quality of an event.
We know ABW is not “cheap” when compared to exchanges, a typical DJ dance, etc…but people, to include swing dancers, make choices all the time about how to spend their money and one of those choices for swing dancers should be to attend ABW. Don’t be a person that “knows the price of everything and the value of nothing”. When you consider what you get at ABW – world class instruction, high quality music (both live and DJ), high level competitions, high quality social dancing with hundreds of other Balboa enthusiasts – ABW is a great value.
And if it wasn’t for ABW, the Balboa dance scene in the US and internationally would certainly not be where it is today. The swing dance community owes a big thanks to Valerie and the ABW staff for their efforts in putting together a consistently first-rate event year after year.
We hope to see you at the next ABW.