Juan is the person responsible of the Bachata craze in Australia. It is not something that he planned on doing when he arrived to Australia in 2004, but because there was no Bachata in Australia at that time, he decided to push this dance and make it popular.
It was a humble beginning, where Juan had to ask DJs to play Bachata, teach various students and couples the basics of the dance, ask the dance schools to see if they want to teach and promote bachata; but with time, the popularity of Bachata kept growing. The rest is history…
Below are some of the most important milestones of Bachata in Australia from 2004 to 2010.
- May 2004, Juan moved to Australia
- January 2005, First Sydney Salsa Congress 2005 – no Bachata taught or promoted there
- 12th of March 2005, First ever Bachata workshop in Australia, hosted by Latin Dance Australia (LDA) taught by Juan.
- June 2005, First Ever regular Bachata classes in Australia, hosted at LDA and taught by Juan.
- Sept 2005, First Bachata Workshop at a National event: Latin Dance Corroboree, taught by Juan with assistance from Jenny. Also, First ever Bachata routine in Australia showcased by Juan & Jenny (unfortunately, no video of the performance).
- Oct 2005, Second Bachata Workshop at a National event: Australian Salsa Championships taught by Juan and Jenny.
- Nov 2005 – Jan 2006, Briefly moved to Brisbane and started the Bachata craze there. 2 weekends of Bachata Workshops in Brisbane, hosted by Latin Energy Productions.
- January 2006 – 2nd Sydney Salsa Congress, Originally scheduled to teach Bachata, but due to Juan living in Brisbane, Bachata workshop was given to Richard and Jenny from LDA.
- January 2007, 3rd Sydney Salsa Congress – Promoters bring international Bachata star Tony Lara.
- Nov 2007, Workshops around Sydney (hosted at Salsa Republic) – Juan introduces the concepts of Bachata Shines (called Pasitos de Bachata).
- April 2008, Organized 1st Bachata Festival in the world together with Nestor Manuelian and Sky Blue. Taught Pasitos de Bachata (Bachata Shines) and Bachata Fun moves workshop. International artists were Rodney Rodchata Aquino, USA, Anup Thomas USA, Nirico and Nihal, NZ, plus lots of national artists.
- June 2008, Taught 2nd Pasitos de Bachata (Bachata shines) workshop at Brisbane Latin Dance Congress. At this stage, Bachata Shines becomes popular nationally.
- June 2008, Bachateros website is launched.
- September 2008 – First Bachata only tour in Australia. Bachateros Do Australia Tour with Jorge Elizondo. 4 Cities toured in 1 month.
- October 2008 – First Australia Bachata Championships. Organized by Alexis Meza of Viva Magazine. Only amateur category. 1st place Winners Mitch Billic and Natalie Kyan – Modus Vivendi, Sydney. Juan was one of the judges of the competition.
- Sept-Oct 2009 – Developed the Bachata Moderna style (creating new fundamentals and steps).
- January, 2009 – Taught first BACHATA MODERNA workshop at 1st Reno Bachata Festival, USA. First ever Bachata Festival in USA.
- October 2009 – 2nd Australia Bachata Championships. Organized by Alexis Meza of Viva Magazine. Professional Category winners Moro & Alegria – Buena Vista Dance, Sydney. Juan was one of the judges of the competition.
- March, 2010 – Considered as one of the Most Influential Bachateros in the world (Independent list)
- October 2010 – 3rd Australia Bachata Championships. Organized by Alexis Meza of Viva Magazine. Professional Category winners Moro & Alegria – Buena Vista Dance, Sydney. Juan was one of the judges of the competition.
Bachata Professional Show in Australia, back in 2008, by Juan and Katrina
Bachata Moderna Freestyle in Australia. 2009