You may be well-versed in a lot of different dance disciplines, but are you familiar with bachata? If so, you should be! What exactly is bachata dancing?
Bachata is a type of social dancing that originated in the Dominican Republic. The dance requires two people to dance to bachata music. The different styles of bachata include Bachatango, urban or modern bachata, sensual bachata, and Dominican bachata.
If you’re eager to learn more about bachata, this guide will tell you everything you need to know. You’ll learn more about this dance’s history, the basic steps, the music, and the types of bachata dancing so you can soon feel like a pro!
What Is the History of Bachata?
As discussed, bachata is a type of dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. Dancers will move in unison to bachata music.
Bachata music came to be during the 20th century, and in the 1960s, bachata dancing followed. The music inspired the dance.
The original type of social dancing that was bachata featured two dancers embracing closely in a closed position. The dancers would stand in a tiny square and move in a consistent, rhythmic fashion.
The pattern was side to side, forward, then do a toe tap, then move to the side, the side again, back, and finish with another toe tap.
If this sounds a lot to you like the basic steps of bolero, that’s because that dance was the impetus for early bachata.
As bachata evolved, more steps between beats were added, which are also known as syncopations.
Additionally, the tap element was reinforced. Dancers later tried semi-closed and open styles of bachata as well.
Why Was Bachata Prohibited in the Past?
Bachata wasn’t prohibited per se, but the Dominican Republic elite would snub their noses at it, believing that the form of dance was far below them.
The associations with bachata and rural underdevelopment and crime were hard enough to shake that many radio and television stations throughout the Dominican Republic at one time refused to air any form of bachata dancing.
It was, at the time, called rustic, crude, and vulgar.
Fortunately, despite these very tough circumstances, the bachata dancers of the day never stopped.
Bachata dancing has continued into the 21st century and is more celebrated and acclaimed than it was when it first started.
What Are the Basic Steps of Bachata?
As we made clear in the last section, bachata dancing involves two dancers. One dancer is the lead and the other is the follower.
Following in the footsteps of other forms of partner dance, the female is traditionally the follower, and the male is often the leader, but not exclusively.
The partners can dance in a closed, semi-open, or open position.
A closed position requires both partners to hold each other’s hands or bodies and look at one another while staying close.
An open position links the dance partners by the hands, but they’re not dancing very close to one another. A semi-open position is a cross between the two.
Then dancers will move in an eight-count fashion.
First, there are three steps followed by a tap. Then the dancers will perform a brief step syncopation like a double step or another move of the dancers’ choosing.
They tap on the foot opposite of the one before the syncopation and then follow through with the next step using that same foot.
After that, dancers can change their positioning if they wish, but it’s not required.
What Is Bachata Music?
Now let’s switch gears and talk about bachata music, which we mentioned inspired the dance style of bachata and is the premier soundtrack for bachata dancing.
Bachata music came about during the 20th century in the Dominican Republic.
The music combines a variety of influences, including those from sub-Saharan Africa, indigenous Taino, Spanish guitar, and European music styles.
The first bachata song recorded was written by Jose Manuel Calderon in 1962 and is called “Borracho de amor.”
In the ‘60s, bachata music was more about troubadour singing with son Cubano and bolero influences.
By the 1990s, the instrumentation used was expanded upon to include the guira, electric steel string, maracas, and Spanish guitars with nylon strings.
In the 21st century, bachata music evolved even further with bands like Aventura and Monchy & Alexandra taking the genre to yet newer heights.
Today, bachata music is much beloved among Latin music styles and remains very popular.
What Instruments Are Used in Bachata Music?
A bachata band or group comprises players using five different instruments.
They are the guira (a percussive instrument), the bongos, the bass guitar, the segunda or rhythm guitar, and the requinto or lead guitar.
What Are the Four Different Bachata Styles?
As we touched on in the intro, not all bachata styles are the same. You can select from and engage in four unique styles, so let’s go over them all now.
Bachatango
The first of these styles is Bachatango, which blends Argentine tango with four-step bachata dancing.
Bachatango has elements such as extended pauses, leg wraps, ganchos, turns, dips, and kicks.
Although it’s not quite sensual bachata, Bachatango is still exceptionally sensual, as it requires closed dancing. The female dancer enwraps her right leg with the male’s right leg so the thighs touch.
Bachatango, despite the name, isn’t solely danced to bachata music. Tango has proven to be quite a great backdrop for Bachatango dancing as well.
Urban or Modern Bachata
The next bachata style is urban or modern bachata, which is also called moderna bachata.
A much later bachata dance style that came about in the mid-2000s, moderna bachata incorporates dance elements taken from ballroom dancing, tango, and salsa dancing.
Hip ‘pops’ are seen a lot in moderna bachata, among female dancers especially. Exaggerated torso movement is another trademark of this bachata style.
In addition, dips and salsa turns are regularly featured in urban bachata.
Sensual Bachata
Judith Cordero and Korke Escalona are the creators of the sensual bachata dance style.
Like Bachatango didn’t originate in the Dominican Republic, neither did sensual bachata. Instead, it started in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain.
Bachata music was the inspiration for sensual bachata, as was Brazilian Zouk dancing on the part of Korke.
Sensual bachata is very much about one dancer being an established leader–typically the man–while the woman is the established follower.
Body waves are a big part of this dance style, as are circular motions, dips, and body isolations.
Dominican Bachata
For a full glimpse into what bachata dancing was like when it began in the Dominican Republic, there’s Dominican bachata.
This form of dancing is the most traditional with speedy turns, adept footwork, and switching from a closed to an open position.
Freestyling is allowed in some areas, but Dominican bachata has a very precise foot movement requirement that showcases the movement of the dancer’s hips.
Famous Bachata Dancers/Teachers/Singers
Who are the most influential names in bachata today? Let’s review some famous faces.
Jorge Elizondo
Bachata Jorge as he’s often called, also known as Jorge Elizondo, hails from Southern Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, which has plenty of Mexican, Caribbean, and American cultural influences.
He’s regarded by many as the best bachata dancer on the planet. He popularized bachata fusion, which includes elements of salsa, cha-cha, tango, and bachata.
Today, he travels between Europe and the United States where he hosts workshops teaching others how to do bachata dancing and other forms of Latin dancing.
Aventura
One of the most popular bachata artists in today’s time, Aventura started in the Bronx, New York. Their music spans genres such as salsa, reggaeton, rap, dancehall, and bachata.
The members are Max Santos or Max Agende, Lenny Santos or Len Melody, Henry Santos, and Romeo Santos.
The group has been called one of the top influential Latin acts in history. They have a slew of top-10 hits such as “Dile Al Amor,” “Por Un Segundo,” “El Perdedor,” “Los Infieles,” “Mi Corazoncito,” “Un Beso,” and “Cuando Volveras.”
Frank Santos
Frank Santos is a bachata dancer from the Dominican Republic who started following this dance style when he was only three years old. He is credited with being a key contributor of Dominican fusion and bachata sensual.
He later lived in Italy and continued to refine his dance abilities and spread Latin dancing to a different country.
His formal achievements include winning the UISP Italian championship for Cuban and New York-style salsa in 2003, performing in Iris de Brito’s “El Barrio” musical. In 2008 ‘A Yemaya’ (of which Frank is the director and choreographer) won the best UK performance award.
Rodney ‘Rodchata’ Aquino
You can’t talk about bachata dancing without mentioning Rodney Aquino, who’s also known famously as Rodchata.
Aquino helped launch the US’s Bachata Festival, which was the first of its kind, and was involved in the formation of the San Francisco Bachata Festival and the Reno Bachata Festival as well.
Monchy & Alexandra
The musical group Monchy & Alexandra started their careers in 1998 with the song “Hoja en Blanco” released the next year.
Monchy or Ramon Rijo is from the Dominican Republic while Alexandra or Alexandra Cabrera de la Cruz won a contract to perform with Monchy.
The group has had many top hits, including “No Es Una Novela,” “Perdidos,” and “Hasta el Fin.”
Carlos Cinta
The San Franciscan Carlos Cinta spent most of his life in Chicago, which is where Carlos discovered bachata dancing.
He is the creator of the international bestselling DVD series Bachata Thrillogy.
Since then, he has taught bachata and hosted extensive workshops worldwide. Notably, he has a particular focus on interpreting bachata music and musicality instead of just footwork, which he calls ‘bachata breakdown’.
Prince Royce
Geoffrey Royce Rojas–or, as he’s known to the world–Prince Royce, is a bachata singer from New York. He is arguably one of the most famous bachata music artists in the world today.
His songs have reached the top of the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, and the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
Royce has an extensive list of awards in the Billboard Latin Music Awards as well!
Where Is Bachata Most Popular?
Bachata today is an incredibly beloved and popular dance style that has long since expanded beyond its home in the Dominican Republic to Europe, the US, and many other parts of the world!
As for where it most popular, latin american countries (specifically Dominican Republic) and Spain (especially for sensual bachata) appear to be the go to countries for bachata. But generally speaking, anywhere there is a community of latino’s, bachata will follow.
Conclusion
Bachata dancing from the Dominican Republic is a cherished form of partner dancing today, but it wasn’t always held in the same regard. Now that you’re much more well-versed in bachata, go ahead and consider giving it a try if you haven’t already. It might just open a whole new world for you.
If you found this article useful, you will likely enjoy the following article The Best Style Of Dance: An experienced dancer weighs in, where we take you through all of the differences between the dance styles. In this way you can be better informed to choose a dance style which fits your needs. Happy dancing 🙂