Balboa is a restrained and elegant swing dance that originated in the dancehalls of Southern California in the 1920s and 1930s. Having originally evolved as a response to overcrowded dancefloors, Balboa is danced in an upright, mostly close embrace position with small, shuffled steps and many variations on turns, spins and slides. It can be danced to any tempo but is particularly suited to fast music. Balboa steps and styles combine well with Lindy Hop (a fusion sometimes referred to as Bal-Swing), and recent years have seen both Balboa and Bal-Swing resurging hugely in   popularity worldwide.