I like my Bachata as much as I like my wine… Now, let me explain why bring the topic of wine here. Recently, I’ve seen, and I’ve been involved on a lot of conversations about the different styles of Bachata, which style is the authentic, more popular, why the different styles, etc.
So, why wine? What I like about wine is the different types of wine out there. You don’t only choose between red or white wine (sparkling or rose), you get to choose from the vast amount of different reds, or whites, etc.
For me, I prefer white wine, however, I’m more of a Riesling person (sweet and smooth) than of Chardonnay (fruity and dry). But most important, whilst I have my favorite wine(s), I enjoy tasting all the other ones.
Same goes for my Bachata. Whilst some people prefer the Dominican or more traditional Bachata, I’m more inclined to the Urban Latin Bachata (also called Bachata Pop) – but that’s my own preference.
Thanks goodness for the different types of Bahata music and Bachata dancing styles out there! Imagine if there was only one kind of wine… Yeah… After a while, it would be very boring to have the same wine over and over again; you will get so used to the taste that you will most likely try another type of liquor (and potentially forget about wine). Or even, imagine that the only type of wine out there is not of your liking; you will never order wine anymore!
Whilst I prefer the Bachata Moderna style, I do enjoy dancing a Dominican or Traditional Bachata as well, and most important, as a Bachata instructor / promoter, I need to dance other styles of Bachata as it opens my horizons to new techniques or fundamentals. Going back to the wine analogy, you drink red wine with red meat… You dance Dominican style to an Anthony Santos, Frank Reyes‘ bachata AND you’ll dance Moderna style to a Prince Royce, Aventura song
I think I have made my point here. I am the type of person that likes variety in live, hence, I love all the different styles of Bachata! I want to taste the different flavors and styles of Bachata, I want to be inspired by all those instructors that showcase the traditional style of Bachata as well as the instructors that like to innovate and push the boundaries of Bachata.
Lastly, I do recommend that after a good Bachata dance, you should enjoy a good glass of wine!
Very well said! Musicality is often stressed in salsa but not often enough in bachata, different styles to suit different songs/singers is another great way to have even more fun with bachata
I completely agree. There are many different styles of Bachata and like wine it is one’s personal choice what style they dance. From the conversations I’ve read here and on other websites there are many different views of each style with some suggesting that there is only one true style of Bachata. When I look not only at each person’s view whether it be positive or negative but as a part of a whole group I see a large group of people from all over the world very much in love with Bachata irrespective of style and it is through the many different styles that they are able to express how Bachata makes them feel. So no matter the style whether it is Dominican, Traditional, Moderna, etc. they all allow us to become better dancers, have fun and most of all dance Bachata.
To quote Martha Graham,
“Dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.”
A Well Made Point Juan…
We’re all in agreement that we love the dance of Bachata (in all it’s various forms)..
And having a preference for a particular style is perfectly fine, but as a dancer your range or palette is considerably increased by having at least a basic understanding or ability of the other forms of Bachata.
I’ll admit that I am strongly influenced by the ‘Moderna’ style…but I love to dance Dominican/Traditional (and even Bachata-tango on occasion). And I secretly desire to be able to dance a whole song Dominican-style with a girl. But the fact is that in the U.K. Bachata is still a fairly minor concern…compared to Salsa. And although there are now lots of places to learn Bachata…very, very few are (if any), are teaching Dominican-style…more often than not, some rudimentary footwork is included in the lesson, which most people forget. The sad fact is that I only have about 1 girl, out of all the girls I dance Bachata with, that can dance it Dominican-style.
What i’ve usually found is that the Traditional-style bachata is what most girls over here know (and I feel, that this is because the guys over here, usually dance the song in the closed position, with occasional turn patterns). But for me personally….certain types of Bachata, work better for certain types of Bachata songs: (this is my own personal preference)
Dominican/Footwork: Monchy Y Alexandra/Frank Reyes/Zacarias Ferreira
Traditional: Aventura/Optimo/Prince Royce
Moderna: Toby Love/Toke De Keda/Marcy Place
So, should an Anthony Santos track come on, you’ll be ready to bust out your best syncopated Dominican-style footwork…that you’ve secretly been practising for several months. ……..or in my case, when I did my decide to drop my Bachata footwork a while back…when I was dancing with a girl….she stood completely still, and looked at me very confused and said “Ermm, what do you want me to do??”………(*cue, a slight sigh, on my part, and a response of “Never mind…”*)
I’m going slightly off-topic here…so I’ll tenuously try and link back to what Juan was originally saying……Yes, Bachata is like a good wine….fully of joy and merriment, a mild stimulant (with the right girl), and full of flavour, and when explored in greater depth, offers something for the more discerning individual….and too much of it causes you to lose your inhibitions 😉
So, in closing…it’s good to learn, other forms of Bachata!! 🙂