Moro and Alegria, from Buena Vista dance in Sydney, are the winners of the Australia Bachata Championships 2009, on Saturday, 24^th of October. They are famous Bachata dancers in the Australian scene. We have an exclusive interview with the champions.

First of all, congratulations on your winning, a well deserved trophy. Before we go into the championships, tell us more about your love for Bachata.

Juan: You guys are a very well known couple here in Australia, how long have you guys been dancing together?

Alegria: Moro & I have been dancing together for 5 ,1/2 years, dancing Bachata for 5 & ,teaching for 4 yrs.

Juan: When did you guys fall in love with Bachata? I mean, when did you start dancing Bachata?

Alegria: When you start dancing you realize you like the music & it’s rhythms but truly fell in love on our first tour to Dominican Republic. It’s contagious once you are there. The music spreads in your blood, your soul, ending up on your feet, and then you want to dance like them…
I believe we really started dancing the soul of Bachata 2 years ago after our trip.

Juan: So you learnt your Bachata from the source, the Dominican Republic! 🙂 I’m sure you have plenty of anecdotes from your trip!

Alegria: Anecdotes??? Yes, since i only had a week in Dominican Republic, I trained daily with Luis 2 hrs private lessons, & night time with the students & school. I also taught 2 workshops with Luis, (Merengue & Bachata). My second last day he took me to a TV program, where we did live show. It was a dream come true. I was not expecting such an achievement in one week. Spending a week on my own in Dominican Republic was scary, challenging, but at same time I didn’t want the days to finish…every day a new experience, in respect to dancing I learnt new steps every day I was there.

As soon as Moro arrived, I booked him in for private lessons, but I wanted him to see how Luis dances & mixes all different styles. Unfortunately Moro didn’t get to spend as many hours learning but I knew that by him watching, he will pick up the style & feeling of the dance.

Juan: You guys teach Bachata classes at your school, Buena Vista. What motivates you to teach Bachata?

Alegria: Our motivation now is to bring what we believe is the authentic Bachata dance to Australia, the Dominican Style. It is more difficult, & people need to get pass the first taste of the dance to then love it.
We feel a little disappointed because a lot of people stick to what they already know & do not give it a chance to try. People don’t like to see beyond, they do not realize that the more dance styles you know the better dancer you will be. We still can dance the traditional Bachata & mix up some foot work with it depending on music we listen to.

Juan: Any funny stories while teaching or dancing Bachata?

Alegria: Funny stories? Every week something funny happens. Moro is a character!!! He makes the classes interesting & fun, almost like a work out sometimes, but when it comes to repeating what we did the week before; he tends to ask the students, pretending he wants to see if they remember, but the truth is HE FORGOT !!

Juan: I agree, Moro is a showman himself! Tell us more about the Australia Bachata Competition. What made you guys decide participate in the competition?

Alegria: We know we are unique in style, the only reason we participated was to be involved in another Bachata event, so more & more people see there are more ways to dance Bachata. Winning was a bonus, let’s hope this regenerate more people wanting to learn Dominican Style. Bachata is romantic, sensual, but also fun, funky, spontaneous, cheeky…NATURAL…

Juan: Congratulations on winning the first place! That’s a big achievement. With this performance and the level of Bachata performances, how do you see Bachata in Australia in the next 3 years?

Alegria: Bachata will keep on growing, 5 years ago, Djs didn’t have enough Bachata in their folders…now is a must. In the future, I would love to see people mixing styles & dancing to what the music tells them instead of doing a routine they learnt in class. Listening to the music is still missing, & that’s Buena Vista trade mark…Synchronize to the music, let your body take over, & your feet do the work.

Juan: Good point, guys, musicality is very important for Bachata and any other dance. Any final advice to the Bachateros out there? Any tips of them to keep in mind?

Alegria: Listen to Bachata Music. Since many Australians cannot understand the meaning of the songs, find instruments played in the songs. Play on the dance floor with what music says to you and by only doing steps…keep on learning Bachata…. People repeat the same moves & there are many steps to do. Don’t get comfortable, play around, and make it your own improvised dance just by following the timing. In Bachata there are no rules….feel it rather than show it.

Juan: How can people contact you and learn from you guys? (i.e. your website, your classes, etc)

Alegria: We teach Bachata every Tuesdays from 7 pm @ City Hotel, Crn King st, King st.
visit our website: http://www.buenavistadance.com.au

Thank you Juan Ruiz for distributing Bachata news around Australia & the world…
Its a pleasure working & sharing same interests with you.

Vamos arriba Bachateros…besitos ….Alegria & Moro

Moro and Alegria Bachata Winning Performance

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The following is a special “Thank you” from Buena Vista to his Bachata Teacher, Luis:

We owe this steps & the amazing authentic Dominican Style to our Bachata Master, the King of Bachata, born & raised in the Dominican Republic, our idol Luis from Santo Domingo .God Bless your school, family, & your passion for Bachata..from Gaby & Moro

Le debemos estos pasos y nuevo estylo dominicano a Luis de Santo Domingo , Republica dominicana. El si es un maestro, un autentico bailarin, y el Rey de la bachata. Dios te ilumine tu escuela , familia y tu pasion por la bachata.Gracias Luis desde Australia…Gabriela Y Moro