Instructors

Olga Marina

Olga was born into a family of teachers and since early years has been an energetic live wire – studying music, doing athletics, martial arts and gymnastics. In 2007 she was introduced to Lindy Hop and this is where the real passion story begins. She got dance hooked and started to explore more of the dance world by getting into Blues and later Balboa. She has been actively travelling the globe in pursuit of more opportunities to dance, learn and compete. Later she began to share her love for swing music and dance by teaching. Now Olga is the international balboa instructor, teaching solo and couple Balboa all over the world.

At her classes she pays a lot of attention to getting the students interested and involved by giving challenging and fun tasks, working both on technique and musicality and infecting them even more with the love of dancing. For the time being she is passionately developing a new direction of swing dance practices – iSoloBalboa – offline and online solo classes for balboa leaders and followers which aim at polishing up technique and developing creativity and personal aesthetics.

Gio Olla

What do you know about Gio? Thank you for asking! Did you know that he started dancing at 10 years old, he was born in Sardinia, Italy and that he always travels with a portable iron to fix his shirts and look sharp?!

Well… these are just some fun facts but what about Gio’s dancing philosophy? Lean in and I’ll tell you all about it!

Gio promotes an original take to dancing and encourages others to develop their own personal style. Gio dances with a lot of rotation, always with plenty of details, and hilarious poses – it might be too much at times, but he is working on it!

To all the nerds out there, Gio’s classes will give you something to chew on. Expect to go deep into details rather than trying many moves, the material will be structured and neatly presented and hopefully yeah… you will have a good time!

See you soon! Gio is looking forward to meet you at the event!

Mette Herlitz 

Mette grew up in an artistic family where music was part of everyday life. Besides teaching dance, she ran a dance & music school in Stockholm and now works as a leadership trainer and coach. Mette discovered Lindy Hop in 2004, instantly fell in love, and a few years later also began dancing Balboa. Soon she was performing and teaching in Sweden and abroad. Known for her musicality, elegant styling, and playful teaching, Mette makes complex techniques both clear and fun.

Andreas Olsson

Andreas Olsson lives in Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up on the wrestling mat, fighting other little boys in leotards. He won most of the time since he’s always given 100% in everything that he does. He also played the violin in his childhood. You might not think classical music and wrestling has much in common with Swing dancing, but it has definitely contributed to him becoming the unpredictable, creative, musical and interesting dancer he is today.

Andreas was introduced to Lindy Hop in 2001 and a few years later to Balboa and other dances. In his early career, Andreas focused on performance and competition. He was part of the Swedish National Lindy Hop team and the Stockholm based performance troop Shout n Feel it. His international teaching career started in the mid 2000´s. Since then, Andreas teaches Lindy Hop, Solo Jazz, Balboa, Saint Louis Shag, Collegiate Shag and other swing dances all around the world. He often competes and was awarded first place at events as Balboa division at National Jitterbug Championships (Camp Hollywood), Lindy and Balboa division at International Lindy Hop Championships, American Classic Balboa Championships (All Balboa Weekend), Rendezvous Championships (New York Balweek) and Rocky Mountain Balboa Blowout. Andreas is also the reigning champion of the American Classic Balboa Championships at All Balboa Weekend together with Olga Marina.

Andreas is not only involved in the swing dance community as a dancer. He has since many years back been the competition organiser and DJ coordinator of Snowball. He is organising events and is a founder of the Bal-Love festival in Prague, Czech Republic. He is also the launching an online Balboa class system called BALACADEMY, in 2020.

Before working full time with Swing dance, Andreas was working as a maritime archaeologist in Stockholm. Diving, history and archaeology is still one of his greatest interests.

As a dancer, Andreas is known for his his unique style, creativity and musicality. He is a technical dancer who is highly appreciated for his social dancing skills and his ability to connect and dance with follows of many different styles. He thinks of himself as a swing dancer first and stresses the importance that dancers today learn a little bit of all the swing dances.  

As a dance teacher, Andreas has a warm and comfortable approach towards students. He is known for being good at breaking down the dances in an understandable way through inventive exersizes and class contents. As Andreas sees it, teaching inspiring not only because it allows you to see dancers improve, but also because it offers a possibility to learn more about dancing and to contribute the ever-changing dance styles.

The Siberian Hotheads

Hot jazz and smooth swing with a latin touch – from the coolest depths of Siberia, Stockholm.

The Siberian Hotheads is a Swedish septet playing a unique mix of jazz styles best captured by the late 1940’s. Originating from an area of Stockholm colloquially known as ‘Siberia’, the band has since 2021 developed their own characteristic sound and style and established themselves as one of the hottest bands on the Swedish swing dance scene. Inspired by jazz giants such as Roy Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet, Duke Ellington, and Machito, the Siberian Hotheads seamlessly combine traditional jazz with swing arrangements, early bop, and latin american influences into a vibrant, swinging, and truly unique sound.

The band consists of

• Niklas Carlsson – Trumpet and vocals
• Leon Falk – Trombone and vocals
• Wilhelm Novak – Saxophone and clarinet
• Morgan Lindgren – Saxophone
• Jens Waltin – Piano
• Jakob Hällgren – Bass
• Nils Nygårdh – Drums

Level description

Intermediate

Master the basic step and variations in pure bal.

Master the basics of bal swing, i.e., throw out, out ’n’ ins, lollies, variations, and transitions between them.

Possess some musicality, smoothness, and good posture.

Sign up to Intermediate

Intermediate / Advanced

Master pure bal and bal swing at a high technical level and be able to vary energy and dynamics.

Possess some ability to adapt to the music.

Be able to perform the moves with control and flow, even at higher tempos.

The interest in balboa should be at a level where one follows the international development.

Sign up to Intermediate / Advanced

Pricing

Pricing:

– Workshops + Parties: 2000 SEK for non-members, 1800 SEK for members of Swedish Swing Society

*Limited spots available

Main Venue: Swedish Swing Society, Odengatan 89, Stockholm

Don’t miss out on this unforgettable weekend! Registration opens soon — mark your calendars and get ready to bloom on the dance floor!

Cancellation policy
Full payment must be received 2 weeks after acceptance, otherwise you risk losing your place at the camp. Cancellations before 11 May will receive a full refund minus 200 kr processing fee. Important: please note that cancellation requests are done to kurser@swedishswing.se Cancellations after 11 May will receive no refund. You may however transfer your ticket to someone else with the same dance role (leader or follower).

Contact us
For any queries about BALBOA IN BLOOM you can contact us at balboaweekendinstockholm(a)gmail.com

Event schedule

Photos and videos

With your registration, you give the event organizer permission to take photos, videos at the event and permission to share such material on the association’s social media and website.

You are welcome to take your own photos and video through the event. Please share them with other participants via Facebook and Instagram.

Recordings of lessons are not allowed unless granted permission by the instructor.