Courtyard Caper - November
November 15, 2025
Location: CRCE MP2
201 East Peabody Drive
Suite 1430, MC-556
Champaign, IL 61820
Time: 1-5pm (3 hours of instruction; 1 hour of breaks and practice time built in)
Topic: Balboa
Cost (Mini-Workshop and Evening Dance): $20 UIUC students / $40 general
Course Description:
Truly an all-levels afternoon of balboa! Originating in southern California, balboa is a flowy partnered swing dance that started with close embrace shapes and has since been blended with swing movements which can be danced slow or up-tempo.
Scaffolded classics of balboa (in close embrace) and swing (in close and open) will get folks new to balboa up and ready for social dancing. Those already hooked on balboa, look forward to a deeper exploration of your dancing through flow, texture, and rhythm.
Instructor Bio: Ann Sychterz began swing dancing (lindy hop, balboa, solo jazz, collegiate shag, and a hint of blues) in 2008 in Waterloo, Canada (not far from Toronto). Though now living in the US, she co-founded, organized international workshops, and taught at Swingtime Lausanne in Switzerland which included lindy hop, solo jazz, balboa, and collegiate shag. She holds titles for competitions in balboa and lindy hop from the USA, Canada, France, Germany, and Russia. As an academic and a dancer, she finds joy in teaching by breaking down intriguing concepts on partnership and rhythm while keeping a comfy dance.
Shawarma Joint Fundraiser
Does dancing make you hungry?
Support the Illini Swing Society and grab a bite at Shawarma Joint in between the Courtyard Caper workshop and live band dance!
Make sure to order in person and show the cashier the flier!
Saturday Night Live Band Social
Schedule:
Location: Illini Union Courtyard
Drop-in Lesson: 7–8 pm
Live Band Dance: 8–10:30 pm
Cost (Evening Dance Only): FREE for UIUC students, $15 general
Band: Max Osawa & Tipping Point
Max Osawa & Tipping Point
Dr. Maxwell Osawa is a jazz drummer, composer, and educator who has performed across the U.S. and Canada with a host of Grammy and Juno-nominated artists, including winners Will Bonness and Christine Jensen. Tipping Point is a dance band comprising some of Chambana’s top instrumentalists: trombonist Jeremiah St. John, guitarist Roshan Krishnan, and bassist Victor Serda. The band’s name nods both to the precarious state of our current institutions and to the jazz drummer’s art of swing timekeeping on the ride cymbal—colloquially referred to as “tipping.”
