My trip to the Dominican Republic was not well timed with the ravages of Cyclone Hanna and Ike furiously beating at the shores of DR and it’s Caribbean neighbours. But the weather was no hindrance to the soul and determination of the people and so we danced! I took the opportunity to shake my booty and move with the true blooded Dominicans and see what it’s like to be led by those who have been immersed in the rhythms of Bachata and Salsa from birth. I was not disappointed.
There is a respect when you dance with a Dominican as I found over the nine evenings during September this year (2008). I hit the dance floor pretty hard in order to learn as much as I could and what I found is it’s not about learning, the dance is enjoyed only through the lived experience.
A Dominican male leads well, although he’s not firm, he listens to the beat, feels it and translates it back to his partner. He gives her the freedom to move and to express her-self just as much as he is able to express himself. He cares for her and gives the impression that in the course of things, she is the most important element in the dance. He wants her to do well, he wants her to let go of her body and any inhibitions she may have. If, like me, her expression is limited then he would coax her gently by exaggerating his movements. He is attentive and through this she feels the joy of dance.
I enjoyed every partner in the Dominican Republic. Especially dancing with the locals at the resorts where tourists tend to congregate. I had drunken old men, suavely agile waifs and buff-built beauties, but what they all shared was the use of dance as a release, a chance to let loose and to connect with the opposite sex in a pulsating yet safe environment.
I found some younger men timid as if I were to break if handled with excess. To most local men and woman dancing seemed to come as easily as breathing. Yet there was an underlying current and a politic hard to grasp on a superficial level.
I was told by Juana (not her real name), 23, a beautician in Sousua in the counties north and who came from a family of eleven children (she herself was a born-again Mormon) that in this highly Catholic culture it is not acceptable for a girl to go out dancing with a variety of men, least of all a foreigner. She said there was more at stake and more expected from both sides through the premise of a dance.
My feeling as a western woman of dancing with a local was that nothing was expected in return. My experiences were often sensual and free yet, strangely enough, always controlled. We followed a social etiquette that was in tune with the other couples on the floor. Most dances left me feeling confident and longing for more.
I attempted to emulate this on my return to Australia but I found the excessive spinning, stylizing and basic showing off disappointing. And the carefree feeling of wanting to dance left me with a dread felt deep in the pit of my stomach.
I can not turn like a professional dancer and nor do I want to. What I want to feel is like a woman who for the brief moment of the song is transported into the realms where anything is possible and a spark is ignited.
The Dominican Republic showed me the potential of dance, just as on the beaches of Rio as on the dance floors of the Caribbean when a person is standing exposed to the world, class, race and wealth is irrelevant. Unfortunately, though it seems, sex is rarely irrelevant and I am especially aware of how extremely lucky I am to have traversed cultural and sexual boundaries in order to enjoy the perfect dance and for this I am forever grateful.
Article written by Kim Balmanno. Kim is a new bachatera in Sydney. You can find he dancing her way around various popular venues in Sydney. She is also a professional journalist, for more articles check www.kimbalmanno.com
I live and work in the Dominican Republic. I understand many of your comments but others just do not ring true.
After 5 years here, as a foreigner who dances, some things are not as they first appear.
First they are not immersed in bachata and salsa, they are immersed in bachata and merengue! Salsa is not commonly danced by most locals and when it is, they dance it backwards.
Dominicans dance with a passion for dance. It is ingrained before birth and is as much part of the culture as eating rice and platanos. They dance with no set of rules as to what is right or wrong – they just move as the music tells them to. Their freedom leads to some absolutely amazing dancing that is very hard to copy or emulate unless you FEEL it.
Your friend “Juana” gave you a view of things warped by her religious beliefs. That is not correct and not followed by most people here. There is nothing at all wrong here with going out dancing with a variety of partners UNLESS you are out with a date/spouse etc.
There is an unwritten code which foreigners won’t know about at first. There are expectations here – in some ways dancing is foreplay! It can be easy to give a partner the wrong impression.
But lets get back to the dancing – you will always be disappointed when you return home – if it is not to another latino culture! Latino cultures dance with a natural ability, style and abandon that is so hard to match elsewhere. In my experience nothing else quite stacks up.
Dominicans never need to show off – they share their love of dance just by being on the dance floor and doing what comes naturally to them.
Unfortunately – often – tourists only get the experience of clubs near the resorts or on the resorts – and these are often only a small slice of what it is like here. Often it is a very “tourist specific” opportunistic set of locals who are attending.
Next time come on back and I will take you out and show you around!!!!
It sounds like you enjoyed your visit and the dance experience! Imagine I get that 52 weeks a year!
Well, I might just have to take you up on your offer. Kim.
Hi Kim
I loved your article
I found it both understanding and passionate
I too have been to the DR not once but twice on my way to Cuba both times
and dance is truely a way of life for the latinos (lucky ducks)
I guess for a foreigner and for someone who only spent 9 days there you had the ability to understand the essence of the people and their love for the Bachata
when i went there I had no idea what Bachata was and I kept asking the bands to play salsa for me…they ignored me off course lol
well I think its now time fo me to go back again…
especially now that I can dance it
see you on the dance floor
Tammy
Hola everyone,
I too have been to the Dom Rep and going back again in March,
where do I start? First of all,our friend and dance teacher insisted on going where the REAL bachata was…away from the resorts and among the locals,so we all decided after a long talk to go to Boca Chica,only a few Kl from the capital Santo Domingo…the place was beautiful and of course there was a lot of music,especially at the week-end on the beach,thousands of Dominican families with lots of gorgeous mulattoes children and teenagers…all dancing the tunes of merengue and reggaeton,,yes and also Bachata…which was NOTHING like the way we were taught here.(here is like dancing LA salsa but with bachata music)..and all this was during the day time,at night the place filled up with hundreds of”working girls” which was even better because of their skills in dancing,especially the Reggaeton!)It is also true that Dominicans start dancing in their mother`s tummy…yes,little kids are adorable,we watched them doing it on the beach,encouraged by their families,so we felt really disappointed and a little embarrassed when we danced with the locals…it is true,it can quickly become a little SENSUAL,but what the heck,we were on holidays! After a few days,lots of Mama Juana and some lessons we got the vibe and enjoyed the experience…I personally found that the men with all their little complicated steps (which remind me of Colombian salsa dancing) are the real protagonists in the dance….and yes..they hardly turn you..in a couple of places we had to retreat quickly because the locals didn`t appreciate how we “interpreted”THEIR way of dancing Bachata.In March we will be going to Puerto Plata,at the northen part of the island,I have mixed feelings about it…in a way I loved the families on the beach in Boca Chica,we spent hours there dancing on the sand mainly salsa wich they loved so much we were been applauded(contrary to popular opinion salsa is not so danced in the island)..everybody joined in children,grandmothers,teenagers,I will be missing the “working girls”and their antics with mainly elderly Italians (there are thousands of Italians living in Boca Chica!) but I will also feel a little safer in Puerto Plata,surrounded by resorts and luxury ..(in some places in Santo Domingo and Boca Chica you can read a sign saying”LEAVE YOUR GUN OUTSIDE BEFORE ENTERING THESE PREMISES!”and it is normal to see guards with automatic guns outside shops and clubs)
One word of advice,if you are visiting Dom Rep,don`t try to dance Reggaeton…wow wow wow!!!(you`ll know what I mean when you`ll see it!)
Besos…Lilly