The secret to waltzing in crowds is that the lead has to be good. And, in your case, the lead has to be Bobby. This isn't a horrifically unfeminist thing; it's just practicality. Bobby being a foot taller than you, he's the one who can see over his partner to steer her through the crowd while she's dancing backwards, or to stop the progression and do some steps on the spot for a bit until a path opens up.

Of course, much of this is necessary because relatively fewer people today know to work together with the rest of the crowd to keep the basic direction of traffic going widdershins around the room.