Newport Beach residents can learn the Balboa, watch 1930s-era dancers and hear a Guinness World Record-holding swing band all in one night when the city's 120th anniversary party takes over the Balboa Fun Zone on Thursday, Aug. 27.
The Newport Beach Historical Society has released the full entertainment lineup for its dinner and swing dance at the Harborside Restaurant and Grand Ballroom, 400 Main St., according to the Newport Beach Independent. The evening runs from 6 to 11 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
The headliners are jazz guitarist Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five, the seven-piece band that led the April 19 Guinness World Record swing dance lesson in Newport Beach. Joining them: a 30-minute Balboa dance lesson led by Irvine-based Atomic Ballroom, a dinner performance by the 1930s Balboa Shuffle Dancers and an appearance by the Newport Beach 1920s Bathing Beauties.
As we reported Aug. 2, Stout's band headlined the event where 579 couples broke the record for the World's Largest Swing Dance Lesson, surpassing the previous mark of 391 pairs set in the United Kingdom in 2018.
A dance born here
The Balboa dance style originated on the Balboa Peninsula during the Big Band era, developed for the packed floor of the Rendezvous Ballroom. Built in 1928, the Rendezvous covered half a block and held more than 4,000 people before fire destroyed it in 1966.
"In New York they have the Lindy Hop and here they would dance the Balboa," Atomic Ballroom co-owner Shesha Marvin told the Daily Pilot in April after the record-breaking lesson.
The Aug. 27 dance lesson is open to all skill levels, giving guests a chance to try the close-embrace style before the band takes the stage.
Tickets and details
Dinner and dance tickets cost $65 for Historical Society members and $80 for non-members. A dance-only option is available for $25. Seating is first-come, first-served.
Tickets are available at newportbeachhistorical.org/events. The Historical Society, which operates a museum at the Fun Zone, is a nonprofit formed in 1967.
