Jacob Wigger
Jacob started swing dancing in 2003 and has been hooked ever since.
He began his dance journey with Smooth/LA Style Lindy Hop which has the core of the his own unique style he uses today. Using the Smooth Lindy style as a base, he has created his own way of dancing to Soul music and is excited to share it with you.
Jacob’s 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.
He has been teaching at national and international events for the last 15 years, and 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 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.
Olivia Hales
Professional Horse Trainer by day, Swing Dancer by night, backpacker, adventurer…Olivia’s interests and abilities are widely diverse! She started Swing Dancing in 2005 while visiting Disneyland with friends. She just loved the energy and music and from that moment on, couldn’t get enough!
In recent years, she has grown a passion and love for Balboa and has dived deep into truly learning what makes this dance so special. Within the last year, she and Jacob Wigger have together founded “Westside Balboa” and teach weekly Balboa classes in Los Angeles to any and all wanting to learn. They also host monthly socials where they encourage all levels of dancer to come and participate. Olivia truly has a passion for sharing her love for Swing Dance and is wanting to cultivate an environment where people at all levels and ages can come, learn about vintage Swing Dances, who these dances came from, how they did it and how it can truly change lives by bringing joy and life into any Situation.
The things Olivia values the most in Balboa is the partner connection, the flow of movement and the intricate subtleties of communication that is the “glue” of Balboa. She loves Pure Balboa and Bal Swing equally and loves drawing inspiration from the Old Timers. She thinks of Balboa as a duet, where two people are singing at the same time in order to create something beautiful and complimentary.