Are you looking for private lessons? Need help with a move? Got a question for either of us? Let us know here: 
Check for a Confirmation Email...
Katie and I offer privates lessons all over the East Coast (Perhaps beyond). If you are interested in individualized private lessons, partner lessons, or group lessons, please 
Salsa Nights at Penn State are held at SOZO on Beaver Ave every Wednesday from 8pm-12am. Lesson starts at 8pm. Join our 
June 18th, 2009 by Ian A Brief History of Bachata
From our post Introduction to Other Latin Dances we now delve further into the sensual dance from D.R. known as Bachata.
Bachata is another dance from the Dominican Republic, with subjects of forlorn emotion, romance, and heartbreak. Bachata is the equivalent of Blues in America, many of the same themes are discussed a similar resolutions such as looking for yourself at the bottom of the bottle. You can easily recognize bachata for its predominant use of the electric guitar which usually plucks out the main rhythm, usually an eight note run. An evolution from the Bolero, bachata has had much success in clubs in recent years.
This music form had a rough beginning from censorship, to denigration, to almost extinction. After the Trujillo dictatorship ended, censorship feel away and bachata poked its head onto the scene. Yet the high society of the time resisted its immersion, feeling bachata was a backwards, country-people, lower art form and branded as unfit and immoral for society. From here bachateros were made to play in the rougher parts of town like brothels and bars, further tarnishing its name. Irregardless it was still popular amongst the countryside even as Merengue became highlighted as the Official Music of the country.
The popularity eventually lead to a collapse of the unofficial censoring. An amalgamation of merengue and bachata furthered the nationalization of the style and brought it more into the limelight. Pioneers like Luis Vargas and Antony Santos were the first generation for pop stars for Bachata. Eventually making its way to New York, bachata has a strong following rivaling that of salsa. Aventura is probably the best known bachata group worldwide, with its single “Obsesion”.
For the full song visit Aventura – Obsesion – Aventura
Dance evolves from Music
The dance itself, also originated in the Dominican Republic, is a 4 step beat with a tap or pop on the 4th beat. The motion is from side to side with both a closed and open frame. The premise is to be brushing belt buckles, i.e. the closed position. This can be a slightly more intimate dance, and unfortunately has sometimes received a reputation of being “just grinding”. There are gyrating motions occurring yet the natural movements of your hips should not be confused with or compared to “grind booty dancing™” (yea i trademarked it!). In fact if you are dancing together appropriately your hips should move in unison, i.e. no grinding, which comes from opposing motion. I must admit that at first I thought it was kind of scandalous and would only dance with girls I knew really well or wanted to, if you know what I mean…sweet! But its more than that; it’s a sharing of closeness without having to be sexual. The Puritanical heritage of America has blinded and shunned many of us from the innate passions of humanity. Well, now that I’ve attacked our society, lets examine the footwork.
Merengue is a dance from the Dominican Republic, often cited as the National Dance of D.R. Like many music styles in D.R., merengue was “country music”. The music is credited to a Nico Lora, whom created it in the 1920s and named it after meringue, a dessert from egg whites and sugar. So why is this important for a salsa dancer? It’s a free practice. Many people just sit out during merengue. The same can be said for bachata, or even cha-cha. Dancing merengue helps you perfect the leads and hand positions. In all areas of training, if you can do something slowly and perfectly, it will take little time before you can do it fast. Jumping right into full speed will embed poor techniques and habits into your dance. The video below is a fun and high energy merengue. The leader’s style is quite jovial and somebody (Katie) said I dance merengue a little like him.
Bachata is another dance from the Dominican Republic, with subjects of forlorn emotion, romance, and heartbreak. Bachata is the equivalent of the Blues in America, many of the same themes are discussed and have similar resolutions such as looking for yourself at the bottom of the bottle. You can easily recognize bachata for its predominant use of the electric guitar which plucks out the main rhythm, usually an eight note run. An evolution from the Bolero, bachata has had much success in clubs in recent years. Bachata is a more intimate dance but it will help you learn the body language of latin dance. You will feel the natural motion of each other and how to properly lead and follow. To become a better dancer you must become multifaceted. It’s not enough to know how to do a bunch of moves, or how to show off. You need to establish a connection with your partner so it feels like a dance and not a test of ability. So take the essence of bachata, the sensuality and connection, and implement them in your salsa. Check out the motion in their hips in the video below; it’s quite good.
