How do you dance bachata?

[chico lindo]

How do you dance bachata? When I first learned I did the standard side, together, side, and hip and toe pop (even that took a little time, "my hip has to pop where? :)") . I threw in some turns and I thought I was the bomb at bachata.

I have a dominican friend who used to teach bachata in NY and when I first saw him dance it blew me away. It was almost like he had a swing to the way he danced. His hips barely moved but what his leg and arm motion made it seem like that way. He told me the way I was taught was the "old way" of dancing.

He started teaching me his style and it is awesome. I felt like I had two left feet with bachata all over again. I can't even describe it. I guess the best way I could is instead of stepping side, together, side....you shift your feet side, side, side, then on the four count you tap your toe sharply towards the front or back (your choice) of your opposite foot. The toe tap makes it seem like you are doing the hip pop but the hip barely moves if at all.

You're probably saying, "That sounds like the move Usher did in his last video" :) It's really hard to describe.

How do you dance it?

[Sagitta]

Actually the "old style" that you describe has been called "gringo / American style dancing" by those in the know. I just found this out the week before I went on vacation. :oops:

Anyway, I'm still on vacation in a land where latin dancers are few and far between... However, I remember some conversations that I ahd people that night. One claimed the hip move was a two stage movement where one raises the hip and then raises it again, all within the count of one beat, saying that he learnt it from dr people. Another described what you just did, and this allows one to do a lot more with bachata...lots of flashy hand movements, such as combs...

A couple people, dare I say it, yet another talked about breaking on 1 and 2. What's your opinion on this?

[pelao]

well, the first way i learned was when i was at many years ago when i was a preteen. A lot of dominicans lived in my city, and incidentally, my sister was dating this one dominican guy. This is when the huge bachata hit, Yoskar Sarante - Medicina De Amor, came out. So he and my sister danced to it by going forwards then backwards as usual. The difference was that on the 4 beat (where the hit from the hembra [the big drum] of the bongo goes), they would raise their entire leg off the ground. This is the way I had seen all dominicans doing it for a while. At some party some dominican neighbors had, even the older people were doing the usual 1-2-3 (going forward and backwards though), then on the 4 they would raise up their whole leg off the ground.

Then I saw other styles where people (and dominicans too) would go side to side, and either raise up the leg, or just the little tap, or only a little raise in the hip only. I've seen all these styles by dominicans themselves in new york, miami, and houston. So, i basically just learned by going to parties when I was younger, and thats how I learned.

I say just learn all of them.

[chico lindo]

I'm with you on that one pelao. It never hurts to learn different styles. That double pop that was mentioned earlier is interesting. I'll have to try when I get some rum and cokes in me :D