Meet The Organizers
Romy and Xavier met during a summer Balboa troup in Montreal; and the rest is history…
Romy
Romy has been dancing since she was a toddler, but discovered her true passion, swing dance, in 2014 when she was invited to a beginner’s dancing class in Montreal by a dear friend. Since, she has dabbled in Lindy Hop and in West Coast Swing, but has mostly focused on her favorite, Balboa.
She enjoys being a dance generalist and bringing aspects of different dances into others to create a unique experience with her dance partners.
Romy likes to be part of the party! With Balboa on the River, she is looking to create a one of a kind Balboa event which perfectly brings together the ambience, quality and appeal of European festivals to the spectacular Canadian scenery and the very welcoming Canadian Balboa community. She is looking forward to meeting Balboa enthusiasts from all over the world and to fully enjoy the 1000 Islands amongst friends.
Xavier
Xavier began dancing Lindy Hop and Charleston, right after an amazing New Year’s Eve Charleston party at the start of 2018 in Montreal at Cat’s Corner. He discovered Balboa in 2019 and began taking intensive classes as soon as the confinement ended.
He then travelled across Europe, hopping from one festival to another and meeting incredible teachers and dancers along the way.
He performed two very small but very fun choreographies in Montreal and started teaching beginner Balboa classes in Lisbon in September 2025 at Blues & Swing Lisboa school.
His dream is to create a wonderful, fun, immersive Balboa festival, with many activities, in Canada, and who knows, maybe somewhere else as well!
