Boogie by the Bay is honored to have Balboa legend Dean Raftery join us this year. Here is an autobiography that Dean wrote for allbalboa.com:

"My name is Dean Raftery and I am one the few people still able to do the Balboa dance step in the original style. The Balboa was born in the Rendezvous ballroom (one block long) in Balboa Beach, California in the early 1930's. I probably began learning the dance in late 1936 during High School, when I was supposed to be studying. Started going to the Rendezvous about late 1937 - on a limited basis because of the lack of transportation. I danced on the stage 2 years running in the high school musical extravaganza doing Balboa and some limited Jitterbug. This was before Swing arrived in my area which was about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. During high school and Junior College I danced a lot in both Pomona and Ontario, California where there were a lot of really good Balboa dancers - especially in Pomona. During the years before WW II, I did a lot of dancing in the San Bernardino, California area where there were also a number of excellent Balboa dancers. Just as a note; when I was going to Balboa there was a young lady that was a deaf mute that could do the Balboa very well and it was a long time before I knew her problem...so you can dance no matter what. We had very few contests in those days in my area. However, my partner and I did win one in Riverside, California, doing Balboa and a little jitterbug. The big bands and the Balboa faded out after the war but in the 1970's Johnny Sheeter started dances to a big band at the Pavillion in Balboa and so for about 10 years my wife and I went there doing Balboa and a small amout of Swing."

YouTube video of Dean dancing Balboa