Snow Shuffle 2026 – Umeå Balboa Weekend
The beautiful city of Umeå invites you to the Snow Shuffle. It is a Balboa Festival in Umeå, Sweden, that takes place 16-18 January 2026. It is organized by Swingum – who also organizes local classes and festivals, including U May Swing. A weekend packed with dance classes, fantastic music, unique personal meetings and great social dancing! The Snow Shuffle will host Balboa classes with international and local instructors at Umeå Folkets hus, in central Umeå. The weekend will kick off on Friday night with an inspiration class followed by a welcome party with DJ-music. Saturday night you can dance to live music at Ordenshuset.
The schedule includes 7.5 h of classes with the wonderful teachers Sanna and Adam from Finland, and the local instructors Mia and Henrik from Umeå. More classes and instructors tbd.
Classes will start 18:30 on Friday and end at 15:00 on Sunday.
Link to the Facebook-event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2831383277065536
The schedule is available below.
Pricing
Weekend Package – Ordinary Bird: 700 SEK
Late Bird: 800 SEK (after Dec 24, 2025)
- 7.5 hours of Balboa for each track
- All parties/social dances. (Friday and Saturday)
- Register here
Party Pass: 300 SEK (members and students 75 SEK discount)
- All parties (Friday and Saturday)
- Register here
Party Entrance Fees
- Friday: Ordenshuset social dance – 100 SEK (75 SEK for members)
- Saturday: Ordenshuset Live music to All Smiles – 200 SEK (150 SEK for members)
Tracks
Beginners/Intermediate
You are rather new to the dance and probably danced less than a year. You know the basic moves like pure bal up- and down-hold basics (with touch step vs. quick-quick-slows), and basic bal swing moves, e.g. out-n-ins, lollys and swivels. Dancing to higher tempos can still feel a bit challenging – but you are starting to discover the beauty of balboa. At this level we continue to practice and refine the fundamental figures, and explore new steps and techniques.
Intermediate-Advanced/Advanced
At this level you are starting to feel more comfortable in your dance, even in slightly faster tempos. You can easily mix different types of figures and footwork and have started to think more about musicality, trying to adapt your dance to the music. You are not afraid of challenges with new figures and techniques.
Instructors
Sanna & Adam
Sanna Leinonen & Adam LaMontagne have been dancing and teaching swing together for more than fifteen years. During this time, they have become well known for the joy and skill that they bring to the social dance floor. They have won numerous titles at events as The Snowball, European Swing Dance Championships, and Balboa Castle Camp, as well as placing in various events in Europe and the US.
Sanna and Adam are teaching Balboa with efficient precision and using fantastic technique and elegance.
In the classroom, Sanna & Adam emphasize a solid mix of technique and playfulness resulting in a dynamic and personalized approach to musicality and movement that is accessible to all dancers.
Mia & Henrik
Mia and Henrik are two of Umeå’s local, passionate instructors specializing in Jazz, including Balboa, Lindy Hop, and Authentic Jazz. They have performed and taught locally and internationally, valuing collaborative leading & following, solid technique and great rhythm.
Band
Live music to All Smiles
Acoustic French jazz evokes images of Paris and cafés — and with good reason. The musical style emerged in the 1930s with leading figures Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, and is today widely performed by new artists, especially across Europe. The group All Smiles performs well-known repertoire in the classic hot club setting. The style is characterized by the driving rhythm of the guitars and bass, and by strong melodies on violin and lead guitar. The music is energetically swinging or lyrically beautiful — always open and accessible. All Smiles can be freely translated as “One big smile.”
Schedule
A first inspiring class (combined levels) will kick-off the Friday night at 18.30 – 20.00. Saturday and Sunday will have two classes per day, 10.30-12.00 and 13.30-15.00.
Friday (DJ) and Saturday (live) evening has social dancing 20.00-23.00.