Latin dance company
WHAT IS BACHATA?
Bachata is a beautifully romantic dance from the Domincan Republic that could be described, musically speaking anyway, as congruent to Blues here in the United states. For many years, Bachata was known as 'the poor man's dance' but since hitting the maninstream dance floors, Bachata is one of the most popular dances out there! Most of the lyrics center around heartbreak, unrequited love and melancholy. Though the lyrics are often sad, the dance itself is beautifully romantic and shares a very close connection with your partner. Bachata has quickly become one of the most popular dances in the Latin Club scene and if you don't know how to Bachata, you will find yourself on the sidelines of the dance floor for at least half of the night.
About Me
Though Bachata has officially been around since the early 1900's, it did not become popular until the late 1950's / early 60's and has only just become popular here in the US and in Europe in the last 12-15 years, if even that long.
Jose Manuel Calderon was the first artist to record the first Bachata song, “Borracho de amor” in 1962.
Bachata has evolved from the Cuban Bolero and Domincan Merengue which both have a heavy guitar presence musically. It has become one of the most popular dances in any Latin club scene around the world. Over the years Bachata has continued to evolve into several different styles that each boast their own set of musical and dance style characteristics that are very distinct such as Bachata Moderna, Urbana, Sensual and Autentica. Bachata continues to evolve even today into new styles that fuse with other dances as it becomes more popular and mainstream as many R&B artists are quickly hopping on to the Bandwagon.
what are the different types of bachata?
Keep in mind that just like music, dance is ever evolving. The most common styles of Bachata that you will see in the Latin Club scene today are as follows...
Bachata Autentica
is THE ESSENCE of Bachata straight from the Dominican Republic. It has a very heavy focus on connection with your dance partner, musicality and sometimes extremely detailed footwork that tends to follow the intricacies of the guitar lines.
We are one of few academies that teach Bachata Autentica with our methods coming straight from the streets of Santo Domingo!
Modern / urban Bachata
...also referred to as Bachata Moderna or Bachata Urbana...
has a little heavier focus on body movement, turns and dips, it is a very fluid style (think Bolero) of the dance.
It is uses more styling and includes dips and more intricate turns than the Bachata Autentica which
focuses on the beautifully intricate musical patterns, partner connection and footwork.
Bachatango
is a hybrid style of Bachata that blends the beauty and grace of Bachata with the 'PASIÓN' of
Argentine Tango. The musicality of one blends seamlessly with the other to create a beautiful style that is very new to the Bachata world yet nevertheless taking it by storm.
Bachata Sensual
Bachata Sensual is the newest style that has come onto the scene which is a hybrid of Bachata, Zouk Lambada and Kizomba. It is danced very closely with your partner and incorporates more beautiful zouk infused body movement than the other styles.
As we go forward this beautiful dance continues to evolve and grow so we are sure that there will continue to be more hybrids of this romantic dance!
BachaTour! with Baila con Pasión
Straight from the dominican republic
With strong personal ties directly to the Dominican Republic with our co-owner / manager, Pedro Mercedes being from Santo Domingo, we bring you the authentic Bachata, straight from the Dominican Republic itself. With our yearly dance immersion vacations, you can come with us and dance Bachata in heart of it's birthplace!!
Stay tuned for info on our next Bachata Immersion vacation!! This is a trip that is a bucket list MUST for any Bachata enthusiast!!