I learnt Bachata in the USA, many years ago, almost a decade ago. The Bachata I learnt was influenced by the Dominicans, Puertoricans, Mexicans and other Latinos living in Chicago, USA. As it probably happened to you as well, I felt in love with the music and I felt in love with the dance right away.
Listening to Aventura’s song “Obsession” or Monchy y Alexandra’s “Dos locos” in the nightclub made me want to grab the first available lady and start dancing close Bachata with her. I learnt the close Bachata movements, I learnt the dips, I learnt the turn combinations, I really thought that I learnt everything that there was to Bachata (Now I know I learnt what is known as Bachata Traditional).
But then it happened that all Bachata dances started to look the same, all the Bachata dances started to feel the same. Lucky me, I wasn’t alone on this, other people were experiencing the same dilemmas:
- Bachata is very simple, I don’t need to take classes anymore (or start taking classes)
- I know my Bachata step, therefore I don’t need to learn new things
- Is there anything else to Bachata?
I watched the salsa dancers get crazy on the dance floor with new combinations, new set of shines, body movements, and I always wondered, why can’t I do this with my Bachata? It is then, than on my quest to improve my Bachata skills, I came across dancers/instructors that experienced the same thing that I did, and that have started pushing the boundaries of Bachata.
So I ventured on my journey to improve my Bachata skills. On my trip to the Malaysia Salsa Festival 2008, I met Inaki Fernandez, a Bachata/salsa instructor from Spain. Even though I didn’t take his workshop, I observed the way he danced. He did the Bachata traditional step, but then he started adding crosses on different counts of the Bachata beat (watch one of his videos), I knew then that there was more to Bachata traditional!
It is then that I started working on the Bachata Moderna style with my dance partner back in Sydney, Australia. We didn’t focus on styling, we focused on learning the new fundamentals – For a new style to become a style, it has to have a set of fundamentals that can be used on any turn pattern or combination and should be lead-able.
Just by adding the Bachata Moderna fundamentals on my Bachata traditional have made so much difference. Now that I know Bachata Moderna, and I know how to incorporate the Cross on1, Cross on2, Cross on3, Cross Over, the about turn, and other fundamentals, I can enjoy my Bachata dance once again. Bachata is no longer a side to side step with the same type of turn patterns; now I can lead my partner on different directions, I can surprised her with turns, and I can do new things during the song, I can move freely on the dance floor.
As people say “change is the only constant in the universe”, Bachata dancing is changing, it’s evolving, and I invite you to try new styles of Bachata, new variations. I thank all the instructors that are pushing the boundaries of Bachata (Inaki, Jorge Elizondo, Tony Lara, Rodney Aquino, Carlos Cinta, to name a few). Thanks to them, Bachata has become a world-known dance style. Now we can enjoy Bachata Tango, Bachata Urbana and other variations, as well as the well known Bachata Traditional and Bachata Dominican style.
Now, I hope to see you dancing more Bachata in the clubs!
Written by – Juan Ruiz. Juan is the director of Bachateros Online Magazine and a bachata instructor, pioneer of the Bachata Moderna style
bad real bad, both videos are really bad suck.
The videos are great! Evolution is not always a welcome change, Juan. Keep up the good work….. Make it your own! To all the critics…just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it bad. Just means you don’t like it. Bachata is changing… as all great things do. And thank God, because if things didn’t evolve we’d all be beating two rocks together callin’ it music!
Cheers,
Melissa
SATX-USA
Amaaaaaaaaaazing!!
Man I definetly think bachata is one of the greatest rythms and dance styles ever!! It makes my heart burst of joy!!
viva la bachata!!
Jhoan
Cali-Colombia
Melbourne-Australia
well there were not dancing bad but there are not dancing bachata… im dominican and i know what bachata is and that is definitely not!
Great videos! Looking forward to learning this style. 🙂
I just wanted to add to Juan’s great article….
I can totally relate to what you mentioned in your article about, feeling like you’d taken Bachata as far as could, once you’d learned the basic step, spins, and a few turn patterns….and each dance (irrespective of what style of Bachata track was playing), was being to feel a little restrictive, and overly-familiar
Then I became an Inaki Fernandez student (and i’m still one of his students here in London), and Inaki truly opened up the possibilities of dancing Bachata….as he has always said when dancing bachata:
“Why do i have to dance left-right/Forward-backward?….why can’t go in a different direction, if i want to?”…
And Inaki makes a point of teaching us:
Footwork (Inaki really pushes this aspect of his teaching, especially feeling the mood of the song…and changing the footwork accordingly)
Crosses on 1-2-3 (A basic foundation of Inaki’s style of Bachata….being able to move around the dance-floor with the partner, and move easily between the different crosses)
Turn/Spin patterns (Most moderna/traditional classes teach turn/spin patterns, although Inaki tries to teach it, to be able to lead in/out of footwork)
Styling (Accentuating close & open position movements)
Changing of the tempo (when the mood or tempo of the track changes, adjusting the moves or style to reflect the change in tempo)
Tango Steps/Styling (Not Bachatatango, but more due to Inaki’s background in tango, that makes basic moves look nicer)
Music Interpretation (This was probably the most recent thing Inaki was teaching us, before he & Vanessa went on their World Tour…understanding the music and interpreting this with the context of the Dance)
….And there is still a heck of a lot more that we need to learn from Inaki, every lesson seems to bring a new aspect of leading/following the dance….
And because of this, my dancing Bachata (and indeed my enjoyment of Bachata) has increased 10x…
Admittedly a lot of the techniques above, largely require the partner to have a knowledge of the styles/techniques for me to lead most effectively, but when I do dance with a girl that is familiar with them….the dances feel truly amazing in a way I don’t quite get from dancing Salsa (no, offence to Salsa)…
I guess the point i’m making…is how much you get out of Bachata is relative to how much your prepared to put into it….as i see a lot of people in the clubs over here, having learnt the basics and a few moves. And then seeing no reason to continue pushing the boundaries of their Bachata dancing, and seem happy to remain at the same level (which is fine, as enjoying what you are doing is probably the most important aspect of the dance).
But thanks to Inaki…there are a small minority of us, that Bachata is our main Latin dance, and are constantly looking to push how far we can actually take the possibilities of our Bachata dancing..
You guys in Australia have Inaki & Vanessa for a Bachata workshop on Sat 11th Dec….having taken many of Inaki’s workshop’s in the past, you guys will have a fantastic Workshop!!
Juan: Having checked out loads of Videos of you dancing Bachata on the internet, and a big fan of your dancing….It would be great seeing as you’ll have Inaki over your side of the world….if we could have you come over here to London, and perform/do a workshop at some point in the near future??
Lee
Hi Lee,
I’m so excited to have the Sydney Bachateros experience Inaki’s style of Bachata. I’ve been telling all my students that I got inspired by his dancing, and I want them to experience the same!
No doubt it will be a success!
I’m thankful for all the Bachata instructors that are pushing the boundaries of Bachata, and Inaki is definitely one of them.
Hopefully we’ll meet one day, Lee!