Bachata is an incredibly sensual, gentle and very popular dance, presented to us by the Dominican Republic. The piercing music that accompanies the choreographic staging carries a bit of sadness, but despite this, every movement is saturated with passion.
The peculiarity of the bachata dance is a demonstration of the masculinity and strength of the partner in relation to the femininity and seduction of the partner. There is probably no longer a dance in the world where she can feel herself so desired.
Joyless background
Bachata is a dance born in the 60s when dictator Rafael Molina ruled in the Dominican Republic. If you are even a little interested in history, you probably know how difficult this period was for the lower layers of the population. In order to somehow escape from difficult times, people came up with this dance. Translated literally, bachata is "music of bitterness."
Today she has incredible popularity, but in those days she was despised and considered an “outcast”, since this dance is the creation of poor people.
Attitude changed only in the 80s, when melancholy rhythms began to interest musicians. The real development of the dance was due to Louis Diaz, who released his music album with these motives. Since then, bachatu has ceased to be classified as an outcast, and it has become popular not only in Latin America, but throughout the world.
Styles
Traditional is the most romantic and common of all styles. A distinctive feature is the movement of the hip to every fourth musical measure. Also, the traditional style is characterized by close contact of partners and many turns and various deflections.
Dominican - is considered the original, from which the rest of the styles originated. Here you will not find any extra movements of the upper body, but the work of the legs (footwork) is actively used.
Art Nouveau bachata is the most modern of all. Here, the distinguishing feature is the use of elements taken from other dances. Such Bachata is, first of all, a lot of different slides and complex movements and ligaments for the legs.
Urban is one of the subspecies of the previous style. The direction is developing so fast that various dance pieces from hip-hop are constantly added to it.
Bachatango. Due to the very close contact of the partners, he is considered the most sensual style. It is characterized not only by leg movements, but also pauses, which are emphasized, graceful turns and magnificent bends.
As you can see, bachata is not just a set of movements for melancholic music, but a dance direction that has its own fast-growing subspecies.
What you need for classes
First you need a partner, as this is a pair dance. Often classes are attended by spouses or lovers. Performing bachata, the partners are practically not separated, they perform smooth and soft movements with their hips, while touching each other. That is why the presence of a companion is simply necessary.
For classes, you will need comfortable training clothing. It is advisable if the woman has a non-tight midi length skirt. If you wear a tight-fitting, then the movements will not be free, but constrained. For the top, a top or shirt is preferable.
As for shoes, sandals on a low heel convenient for you are quite suitable. The main thing is that it is sustainable. A great option would be ball shoes. For men, shoes with a shoe that is comfortable for the foot are suitable.
And most importantly, what you need to take with you to the lesson is enormous patience and an incredible desire to comprehend the basics of bachata dance. For beginners, the simplest movements are given, but over time they will improve and become more complex.
The love of dance and the desire to study the intricacies of each of the areas is the only thing that requires you to bachata.
Music accompanying the dance
Thanks to such traditional musical instruments as guiro and bongos, the bachata melody is easy to recognize from the first chords. A special sound and energy gives "rekinto". This is an acoustic guitar, featuring a high metal timbre, found in losses. Each text of the song, written to the melody of bachata, from the first to the last letter is saturated with suffering and mental pain, the reasons for which were unrequited love, unbearable separation or suffering after treason. It is these three feelings, familiar to almost every person, that make the dance so sensual and romantic.
Little instruction
When you not only know every movement and hear music, but also feel your partner and guess his next movement, then you will realize that you have learned to dance this dance.
Bachata is a dance that will open for you a world saturated with romance, present relaxedness, teach you to improvise and destroy before you all the boundaries that prevent you from expressing yourself and your inner passion. Be aware that most Latin American dances are not based on technique, but on emotion. And the secret of real and sensual bachata is to expose the feelings of partners expressed through dance.