Marcus Robinson

Latin Dance Class

Bachata Paper

5/27/12

Bachata has become perhaps the worlds most popular latin dance style. Bachata, which literally translated from Spanish to English means party, is a dance and music often centered around subjects like heartbreak, romance, intimacy and love. This dance can be seen all over the world, and displayed in several different forms and versions. The dance itself was born in the backyards, brothels, and bars of the citizens of the shantytowns of the Dominican Republic during the early 1960s. Originally the bachata was considered too vulgar for the upper class in Dominica, and due to this disposition many Dominicans looked down upon the dance and even tried to eradicate it from the local-culture . Despite the many blockades, keeping a lid on the bachata dance sensation proved too tall a task for those in power in Dominica, and the dance became a major part of the Dominican culture and can even be seen practiced today on nearly every continent. Bachata is a male/female partner dance that was created to accompany the Latin American tradition of guitar music. Bachata is typically danced to a 4/4 sound. The dance itself is mainly a side to side motion, with many spins and twirls incorporated as well. The thing that makes the bachata unique is the emphasis on the three step process, and just as in most other social latin dances, the leader does most communication with partner by pushing and pulling their hands/arms. The dancers step three steps side to side with a tap, pop, or hip movement on the fourth beat. Hip gyrations are essential to the bachata; because, it is like the soul of the dance itself, while movement of the upper body is used less frequent. This dance is often considered very intimate, with both partners positioned close together using open or closed frames. The key to becoming a great bachata dancer is to move with your partner in harmony. Most experienced bachata dancers say that timing is the most important aspect to the dance.

. Over the years, as the bachata became more and more widespread, it has evolved from just the standard Dominican bachata, to very many different variations and customizations, but nevertheless keeping the original three step process. Some of the most common forms of bachata are: Dominican, traditional, modern, urban, and rueda. Dominican bachata has much more bounce in the steps than the other styles. Dominican bachata contains lots of footwork and freestyle moves, in which the leader alternates between open and closed positions in a full 8 count. Traditional bachata was created in Europe and is the most common style seen in the world. A feature characteristic of this dance is the small hip movement on the fourth count. This is a very intimate version in which both dancers have a very close connection. Traditional bachata also incorporates some elements of the ballroom style dance. This fusion style dancing involves extreme hip movements along with very close movements between partners. Modern bachata incorporates other styles of dancing as well as the concept of crosses; the crosses are done by crossing one in front of or behind the other. This style of bachata uses much more styling, involves very intricate footwork, along with more slides. One form of modern bachata is tango. This particular version has eloquent kicks, incredible dips, magnificent turns, and long pauses, all of which are prominent in tango. Now urban bachata was created in the US. This style can be characterized as a fusion of some aspects of hip-hop dance and the modern bachata. This style of bachata is danced in all directions, not just side-to-side. This dance integrates sharp new turn patterns along with the crosses and slides of modern bachata. Bachata rueda on the other hand was created in Cuba. This style involves a group of couples dancing bachata in a circle, with a leader calling out movements to be completed in unison. In general the moves that the leader calls out tend to follow the music; you will see many spins and frequent partner changes in this dance.

Although these are the main styles of bachata there are many many other styles, that incorporate many other aspects of dance, and are pioneered and promoted by different teachers all around the world, each style with its own uniqueness. Now whether these are considered different styles or just variations of the already created styles is up to the individual.

Work Cited
-Cristobal, Jeminez. "Bachata Dance." Bachata Crazy. Bachata Crazy Incorporated, 04/03/2012. Web. 27 May 2012. <http://www.bachatacrazy. /bachata-dance.htm> .

-Godbole, Megan. "Bachata Dance History." Buzzle Dancing. google.com, 05/16/2012. Web. 27 May 2012. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bachata-dancehistory.html>.

- Maria, Salgato. "Bachata Dance." Hub Pages. HubPages Incorporated, 03/21/2012. Web. 27 May 2012. <http://midas-touch.hubpages.com/hub/Bachata-Dance>.