One of the divine attractions of dancing Bachata is that it comes with the job description of being a no pretence* dance. This means that while you are absorbed in it you can be totally and utterly yourself with all your soul, your dance, and your libidinous senses.

I find that during a good Bachata, you can wear your inner most secrets outside. Close your eyes, dancing cheek to cheek. I’m glad there is no such thing in real life as a bubble on top of your head showing peoples thoughts, or better, fantasies, because during a Bachata there is no such thing as thinking about accounting or the next day’s worries; it’s all about thoughts and dreams…

Or maybe there is, possibly for guys, some would probably think about the credit card account right in the middle of a Bachata in order to be able to continue to dance. For me, sometimes I think I might just melt and become a pink puddle in the middle of the dance floor making everyone slip and fall.

My red dragon has that power, every dance I have with him makes me stop the next one, drink some water, consider the countries politics, think about hunger and war, then I can come back to the next dance.

I say “my” red dragon because every girl I talked to (after I wrote my first text for Bachateros) told me they have their own red dragon, there is the famous DJ, the bachatero-mor, the gentle yet somewhat confident dancer, the cheeky white dragon and a few others nominated for the title… we should really do a competition!

It always impresses me how much power dancing can give to the dancer, people that are usual common bystanders in the streets can have the ability to transform into kings and queens when moving through music. Bachata is specially suited to make chemistries flair, connect and react…

Although, it is not only the way dancers move but their eyes and face expressions. These are the most powerful assets one can possess. To understand my words exactly, I refer The Bachateros performance (watch Juan and Samantha performance) at 101’s anniversary party. Remember Juan’s and Sam’s cheeky expressions? The smiles, the looks, the heads turning and even the slap, (we all know what I’m talking about) that is bachata personified! Total pretence followed by absolute truth.

If you are dancing Bachata looking to the sides, with your eyes right open, no smile, or with simply nothing there… I think there is something wrong, mate. Bachata has to be about mischievous thoughts, cheeky acts and imagined kisses. It can be a soft and basic transpiring romance or powerful and body rolled, even small and impish. Anyway, after a Bachata you have to be thinking like that song from the King Elvis Presley: a little less conversation, a little more action!

Written by – ‘Louca por Bachata’ Tania Crivellenti. Tania’s blog: The dancing bug. You can find Tania at various latin venues, LDA and facebook!

DISCLAIMER: This article contains the thoughts and opinions of the writer only and does not necessarily represent the website: Bachateros.com.au opinion.

Pretence:

Noun

1. a false or unsupportable quality [syn: pretension]
2. an artful or simulated semblance; “under the guise of friendship he betrayed them” [syn: guise]
3. pretending with intention to deceive [syn: pretense]
4. imaginative intellectual play [syn: pretense]
5. the act of giving a false appearance; “his conformity was only pretending” [syn: pretense]
Modern Language Association (MLA):