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In the end, the question “What is The Experiment?” has many answers. It is a unique opportunity to spend a week being challenged and inspired by peers from around the world. It is the premiere workshop for dance geeks, by dance geeks. It is the luxury swing dance camp, yet priced similarly to other week-long camps in the US and Europe. Over the years it has been home to some fierce nighttime laser tag battles, casual bomb defusals, and an inflatable pink unicorn. Ultimately, it is the world’s most personal and personally challenging Balboa workshop.

The Experiment is a uniquely intimate and intensive series of dance workshops. Now well into its second decade, it has grown to six distinct weeks of just thirty participants each, with each week dedicated to a particular combination of dance and level. Currently four of those weeks are dedicated to Balboa, ranging from intermediate through masters.

For an idea of the kinds of people that regularly fill out the set of Mentors in each week, see those who have been awarded as Distinguished Fellows .

Each week features a panel of around seven or eight Faculty & Guest Mentors who serve both as resources and to help moderate small-group exercises. This includes a mix of top international professionals together with up-and-coming talent and other special guests featured through the Guest Mentor Program . While the exact configuration of Mentors (particularly Guest Mentors) varies from week to week, it starts with a core of at least four or five out of this year’s total set of Faculty Mentors:

Becoming a Participant

Now that The Experiment can accommodate as many as 180 dancers across six weeks, there has never been a better chance to become a participant.

Candidates can be anywhere from intermediate through masters level. (This includes Balboa dancers as well as other kinds of advanced/master dancers with an interest in Balboa.)

Candidates do NOT have to be teachers or competitors. The Experiment is designed for anyone who is enthusiastic about dancing and working on Balboa.

Candidates do NOT need a partner to apply or to participate–around half of all participants attend without one.

Those interested in participating are required to submit an online application, from which participants are selected and grouped/placed into a specific week. (See: Admission Timeline.) This process serves much like a level test but which must balance a much more complex range of considerations, including interests and personalities, in addition to overall level.

Ideal candidates are simply those who, through a combination of their dancing and attitude, would inspire others to want to participate with them in the same week (both on and off the dance floor). General traits the panel of judges look for include self-awareness, self-motivation, and the ability to cooperate and treat others respectfully. Beyond these basic traits there is no specific required personality type–candidates may be more introverted, extroverted, analytical, creative, etc.

Applying is free and includes a range of questions about an applicant’s background and interests along with a section for sample video. Similar to in a level test, dancing in the video does not have to be flashy or impressive and is used primarily to observe core mechanics and overall quality of motion. Many applicants film themselves social dancing in their living room or at a public dance, or one may use non-choreographed contest/exhibition footage.

Finally, it is important to understand that The Experiment receives many more qualified applications than can be accommodated in a single year. This means that not being accepted does not necessarily indicate or imply an applicant is unqualified. Often, applicants must be turned away simply due to the sheer number and distribution of applications for a given year (including relative levels, lead-follow balance, spectrum of interests, etc). Over time, both through the addition of weeks and as dancers naturally progress through the scene, The Experiment continues to offer new dancers the chance to participate while keeping the same intimate format.