What is Bachata? Music, History, and Styles
Bachata is a dance about the hips and is an attractive and sensual dance. Dance music is unlike salsa, where the energy and music are slow. However, the signals are the same. Bachata classes in Miami teach you from the basic step and take you to the expert level.
There are three steps in this dance. Cuban hip motion, then it is followed by a tap, which includes a hip movement during the fourth beat. Here, the knees should be bent for the performer to sway the hips easily. Most of this dance movement is in the hip’s lower part and less movement in the upper body part.
Bachata Styles
There are many Bachata dance styles, some are traditional, while some are in a sophisticated way. This dance type is still growing.
1) Dominican Bachata – The Dominican Bachata dance is the correct form and is danced as per the novel way. Usually, the traditional dance does not have many turn patterns and has free movement styles. This Bachata style has more footwork along with a lively feel to it.
2) Bachata Moderna – Bachata Moderna, is the current form of Bachata and is also called Modern Style. This dance style holds a few traditional steps of Bachata; however, it has a huge influence on Bolero and Tango. The Modern Style mostly depends on crosses, while retaining the hip movement of typical Bachata on every four counts.
3) Traditional Style – The Traditional Style is another Bachata style that is quite popular across the world. The original Bachata does not have a focus on turn patterns, while the Traditional Style uses more dips.
4) Sensual Bachata – The Sensual Bachata is a fashionable dance style. It is slow in music and makes use of more stretched-out movements. The movements related to the atmosphere and the couple’s connection. This dance style has less complex footwork than the other dance style. This dance style best goes with a regular partner with whom you are comfortable dancing close. It often involves intertwined legs, intimate leading techniques, and body waves. These techniques are tough who have not been to batch classes.
5) Bachatango – The Bachatango is a new style called Bachatango emerge. This dance style is more often performed. This Bachatango style can only be danced when the right music is placed for the steps. It requires not only the leading and Bachata skills but also tango that has for both the partners. This dance style looks attractive with fancy tricks and lifts that are done with dance partners and on stage.
Bachata Music
No dance goes well without music. Bachata music is like Salsa. It is known as 4/4 time. When the dancers dance, they count to eight to get a full musical phrase. The Dominican Bachata style is very fast and makes use of African rhythms. As dance and music became popular around the world, music is also been influenced by other music and styles.
The music band of Bachata contains rhythmic guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, and bongos, along with lead and backup singers. It also has more traditional bands that go with slower and strong beats easy to recognize. There is a great demand for Bachata music, and there are many artists who started releasing new hits.
Bachata History
Bachata was initiated in the year 1960 in the country Dominican Republic. The first music was first produced using a heavy guitar by stressing the heartrending love stories as the base. However, the dance grew mainly within the brothels and bars, and due to this Bachata is held back for many decades.
When Bachata was introduced, Dominican Republic was led by a dictator, Trujillo. He embraced the dance and set it on. However, he, later on, hated Bachata. He found it personally offensive by saying that it is a lower form of art and he completely banned music and dance. During his time, Bachata was mostly enjoyed in the brothels. Even after his time, Bachata was frowned upon. Over the years, Bachata continued to grow and became popular across the world. Now, this dance is widely accepted everywhere.