Hi guys! just wanted to drop a remixed bachata version of The Weeknd's "Dancing in the Flames" that I made, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNWjcjS6FpE&ab_channel=BrianAlfonso)and also was wondering if you have any bachata versions of pop songs you love? There's some Adele versions I recall that weren't too shabby

I've been doing a bit of role rotation lately but it's hard to find people who can do both.

If you've tried it yourself, how can I find my people lol

And is there a way to ask someone or to know they can lead and follow? Cheers

As it says in the title - as a leader, when you're leading in the shadow position, where do you tend to look? One of the things I need to work on in my dancing is my posture and shadow position is one of the places I fall foul of it the most, since I'm often markedly taller than the follower I'm dancing with. I find I tend to look down at the area where my feet are, especially when doing a basic or something like that, but that ends up making me round my back slightly which I don't like. I'm going to make a concerted effort to have a straighter back during any shadow position moves but don't want to then just be looking straight ahead, since that just seems weird. Of course it will depend on the step I'm doing but any general advice would be very welcome.

As the title says! Have you experienced the bachata scene in Korea (Seoul or Busan), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi) or Thailand (Bangkok or Chiang Mai)?

What have your experiences been in terms of quality teachers, classes and social dancing?

Would you recommend an area/place over the others?

For the record I’m a female, late 20s. Beginner but picking Bachata up quite quickly and falling more in love with it every time I dance. Really want to 10x my skills and dance more.

If you also have experience with other places in the world that you’d recommend I’d love to hear those too!

Thank you!!

Follower here. Other than some basic footwork, and head tilts etc, I realise that I don’t have much in the way of play when dancing with a partner. I obviously don’t want to interfere with the lead too much, but what are some ways in which I can play with my partner/music?

Note: I currently attend classes which incorporate small elements of styling

I am looking for a bachata song for a mother and son dance. Does anyone know of any about this topic or about family in general?

Hey guys,

(Posting in r/Salsa too.)

I've been taking classes for about a year, and for primarily financial reasons I may have to go on indefinite break from class, at least 6-7 months or more. I'm not the best lead (and I'm slowly realizing there's no point in trying to be), but I'm pretty happy with my current level and have fun, and I'd like to not get worse, and if I can continue to improve (especially musicality, which I know is hard and probably even harder without classes).

I can probably keep going to socials with better dancers once or twice a month, and to free club socials weekly (one of them has a few decent regulars, most club dancers are brand new here though). I can also practice my studio's footwork syllabus, ask friends to practice partnerwork, and maybe see if I can try to learn new moves from instagram/my friends' videos... (that last one seems the most likely to not go well, lol)

Any advice on how I can mantain my skills without class, and hopefully improve? Thanks.

Started intro to latin class with my wife and this block is Bachata. I understand there is partner rotations and I obviously did rotate but in an 90 minute lesson, I danced with my wife for no longer than two minutes total. Kinda hoped that I would have been able to dance a bit more with her - any tips on trying to navigate that?

Some background and context - my wife has dance background in different styles and she is definitely the most in tune with the music and rhythm in the class. I am not a complete dunce and I would say that of the beginner leads in the class, I'm probably this most competent starting out - I like to dance and pick things up quickly typically. We are the only married couple or even romantic couple in the class.

So the class has 5 male leads, and there is about 12 female followers. They then brought in a couple of additional leads from a higher level class next door plus the two female instructors who where leading... so still unbalanced - but those additional experienced leads were not there the whole time. So we're in this scenario where the follows kinda all jumped to partner with me, because i had the basics going good... and all the leads (who were struggling a bit) all jumped to dance with my wife.

And then at the end the instructors were saying that everyone have a free dance for however long at the end of the class and so i started walking to the other side of the room toward my wife thinking to go and dance with her. And the instructors were like "fellas, ask somebody to dance" and sure enough one bloke asked my wife first and we both looked at each other and she didnt know what to do so she danced with him and i was standing in the middle of the class like "what the?". So anyway I turned around and there was several girls to obviously choose from so I just picked the girl that I was probably next to dance with in rotation.

Anyway, is this what dance class is like always and moving forward? Will I spend 95% of the class not dancing with my wife? I mean, I understand the logic of dancing with others but I would like to be somewhere where i can prioritize dancing with her first. Is there typically a big skew in followers to leads? Given that my wife and I are kinda both slightly ahead of the curve, are we obligated to always dance with the others? Can we just go and dance with each other in the free dance section? How would we go about doing that?

so recently i've noticed that I'd learn a new move, maybe practice it w/ some peeps (or even tried it at a social) only to then forget about it later 🥲. I'm curious what tools yall use to keep track of the moves that you've learned/are learning?

i'll go first - so i started out w/ a spreadsheet

V1: spreadsheet

While it's easy to find moves, it was a pain to take detailed notes. And having to pull this up before doing a practice or a social was unwieldy

Then at some point Notion came around i was like oh the UI is really sweet so i migrated my spreadsheet over to there, only to realize that the offline support was really bad (and it ate a lot of data - i'm cheap and have a pay-as-u-go plan w/ google fi lol) and i wanted the option to easily take notes. So i ended up migrating to google docs

V2: docs (summary view)

V2: docs (detailed view)

(hyperlinks are to YT or google photos if it's a recording of me doing something so i can compare).

With google docs, I really like the flexible structure (i can attach more references and notes on what to watch out for etc) but as more stuff I've added now it's becoming a pain to find moves 💀

I've been thinking about whether I should try to make an app that makes this easier lol, but curious to see what tools yall use for this stuff?

Hi, for some reason I can't find the popular Bachata Song that repeats "dura" or sth similar in the Chorus. IT IS a very popular Song for artists too.

Pls Help! Thanks

I want to make friends and I was wondering does anyone have any experience or luck at meeting people at events? It's weird when you are must alone. I can't just walk up to strangers and talk them. It just feels weird. Any tips?

At one of our local studios, we are having a social party where the main focus is socializing with food and drinks , along with dancing. And because of this I would not call it a bachata party since there are also people that do not dance.

What are some fun activities or games that could be done in order to make it more interesting for everyone attending?
So far we had "Dance crush", a "Jack & Jill" and "Find a person who ..." games which were fun...

But now we need more interesting ideas to keep the people engaged during the party.

Has anyone done something similar?
Do you have any ideas for fun games?
Please share your thoughts. Any suggestions are appreciated.

So for the first few seconds of the song, you can hear another verse being heard. However, the only word I can depict is “Corazon”. What is the name of this sample/song?

Hello—I am seeking song suggestions!

For our wedding, I thought I would engage my Colombian heritage for the mother-son dance and do a bachata, since my mother and I both know the style and I think it would be a nice homage to my culture.

The issue I am running into is finding some bachata song that fits into the vibe of mother-son dance for a variety of reasons. Does anyone have any good suggestions for a mother-son bachata dance?

During classes, the follower will sometimes backlead and do the whole move without the lead from the leader. This happens especially often with body rolls and headrolls.

Take the cambre for example, sometimes i will pause somewhere in the middle and the follower will continue the move and then she will notice shes backleading.

This usually leads to some embarrassment but my intention is only to help my partner to become a better follower. Is this rude to do? What are your thoughts?

In every bachata lesson I've ever taken, the one-song warmup shine is done, for whatever reason, with lead footwork. (Same for On1 and Cuban salsa; On2 salsa generally uses follow footwork).

This was the case yesterday when I took a lesson from a new teacher on the scene. But instead of just being a one-song warmup, he spent half the class building up a complex shine routine. Using lead footwork, as seems to be standard...... but....

.... the thing is, there were 11 ladies and just two guys. In this case, I couldn't help feeling that it would have been a lot more customer-service oriented to do the shine with follow footwork. Wouldn't that be more directly beneficial to vast majority of the students (all of which were beginners except me)? Am I wrong to feel that the teacher should have pivoted in this situation?

Hi everyone! I need a solid YouTube or not YouTube playlist on bachata figures and choreography. By saying "solid" and "Serious" I mean some playlist with correct technique, advanced figures from the professionals preferably.

I have solid experience in ballroom, latin and not only, so technique is not the issue for me. I just want to try new style. Thank you!

Obviously the answer is to try and see, but there's so many choices of styles I don't know which to go for.

I'm a single guy in his 30s. I was always fascinated by people who can dance well, and of all styles, whether old jazz, swing, folk, hip-hop, or whatever. My own dance skills are very basic, I used to go clubbing often and knew how to approach girls and do basic 'club' dancing that I picked up as I went.

But my motivation for learning partner dancing is two-part; one, I want to have a skill I can impress future partners with, like, be that guy that can take my wife dancing once a week. And two, because dancing is fun, and I bet it's more fun when you know what you're doing and attending social events geared towards it.

I'm just not sure how versatile any specific style is. As I don't have a particular preference for any one type of music. From what I've seen, Bachata seems more versatile as a general dance skill than say, salsa, which is only for a very specific kind of music. But I'd love to hear what more experienced dancers learned and how it impacted their dancing, and transitions into other styles?

Also additional question, are shoes with leather soles the most comfortable to practice in? Or are normal sneakers fine?

So I learned a little bachata and salsa through a combination of group classes and private lessons from friends who were great dancers and leaders - mostly Latin guys who just grew up knowing how to dance. My all-time favorite dance experiences are just at house parties or bars with friends dancing and feeling the music and feeling my partner. Set it aside during the pandemic and finally trying to get back into it, but living in a different country now without the same friends. I’ve gone to social dance nights in a couple different places now and I’m frustrated because although there are some fantastic dancers - much better than I am for sure - it feels like they’re all products of dance schools where the goal is to connect as many fancy movements as possible together in one song. Half the time they’re not even really leading well because I’m supposed to have gone to the same classes and know what comes next in the combo they learned. To be honest, I don’t want someone manipulating my torso and making me do body rolls and stopping and starting and all this crap - I just want to dance basic step and spin and sway and have fun with someone with good musicality and vibe. Where can I find this? Or how do I explain this to a partner?

EDIT: I’m not aware of any actual Latin bars or community in the country I live in. There’s one restaurant that has a live salsa band on weekends but I’ve never witnessed people partner dancing there; it’s groups of drunk ladies who get more excited about the reggaeton they play during the band’s breaks. There’s definitely a social dance scene here but it’s the kind where you show up and give the name of your school to get your discount or something; I went to one last night and they were actually flummoxed that I was just there without being affiliated with some school.

What are some small bachata tips that have made a huge difference in your dancing but are rarely mentioned? For example, (honestly should've figured this out way before lol) I learned very late that the hip movement comes from pushing into the floor and not from moving the hips. Another one that surprised me was that you should count with your body instead of your feet. It baffles me how such small things can change the way you dance entirely so if anyone has any such "hacks" I would love to hear them

Hi All,

I've been enjoying reading through this forum. For some background I'm fairly new (about six months in) but really loving Bachata thus far.

I've primarily learned through classes. Initially it was once or twice a week but now I'm doing at least four days a week with each session typically lasting around two hours. I'll supplement this with a little bit of social dance after each session.

Like many early leads, social can be intimidating and brain fog becomes a very common problem. I recently traveled and attended my first social away from home and it was a lot of fun but that was one of the main times I ended up not thinking about "moves" and just trying to feel the music more. It resulted in a lot more basic segments but it was also a fun new experience.

In class we are often learning intermediate combos. They're fun and with other classmates it works fine but in a social setting it can be hit or miss. Unfortunately the level below where I'm at just teaches the same routine (a cuddle, a body roll, basic turn and overturn).

What I'm craving and seeking is to learn more basic moves that I can use in social that are simple enough to execute with a wide range of follows and simple enough for me to recall in various situations. For example, we've had a few combos to shadow position but I wanted to learn how to just get into that position in a variety of ways so I basically youtubed videos on my own and tried learning that way.

The second thing I'm craving is help with musicality/tempo changes. I can feel the 1 and 5 without issue and adjust if I'm off timing but since I don't have most of the songs I hear memorized I simply don't expect when the song all of a sudden pauses or slows down significantly and I don't know how to adjust to that in social other than maybe a slow step tap. In this particular area I haven't been able to find many videos about adapting to tempo changes.

Also, I haven't really even dived into much sensual or isolations but that's ok I'm not in a rush. I've received good feedback from follows but just want to add a bit more simple things to my repotoire so I can better enjoy social dances and practice adapting to the music rather than a string of moves.

Any helpful links or resources would be greatly appreciated!

Leads, Do you get scared when you dance with an attractive woman? Especially when you dance supper close and do hip movements. How do you become smooth with this? I don't want to be perceived as a creep because I'm not. I see all these guys dance with these beautiful women and they dance very sensual and the lady seems like there is no problem. How do I get at that level?

cross posted in /salsa, and here for different opinions

I just came back from Caldac and had a great time learning in the workshops and dancing in the socials, although I believe that was more to do with the fact that my old studio friends were there and it was nice to see them.

I was invited to join them for big salsa new york, but after checking the prices I didn't find it feasible. Instead I was trying to decide if going to DCBX17 would be worth it? It looks like fun, but I'd be going alone. Another option would be big salsa texas, but that information is not out yet.

As for experience, I've been dancing for about 2 years as a salsa and bachata lead, mainly on 2, and modern bachata. Currently working on smoothness, being a light lead, as well as learning on 1 and some sensual techniques. And got another 6 months to go before the stated festivals.

Tldr - DCBX17 vs Big Salsa Texas? Which would you choose if going by yourself? Any tips on going to these festivals solo?

Hi everybody :)
Anybody knows if there's a pool of free bachata video lessons anywhere online?
Something of good quality possibly

I find that if I'm dancing bachata, say (as an extreme) barefoot on a wooden floor, my dancing looks kinda more choppy given my feet stick to the ground a bit more and it's harder to do turns, spins etc (I'm a lead).

Some forms of shoes with less grip make it much easier and even just my basic step, body movement etc smoothens out, given I feel my feet are sorta sliding a bit more (if that makes sense). I know some people use talcum powder to reduce grip with floor but didn't realise it could affect how your basic looked for instance.

For some reason I feel like I'm cheating as my shoes are compensating for my body movement/basic not being as good as it should be, and I should be able to dance in all environments? Is this normal? I'm around improver/intermediate level

Hi all, I'm about 1 year into bachata and I've found that I'm really into moving my partner around me and moving myself around my partner. The most basic i can do is hammer lock then under the followers arm into back to back and then return through the other arm.

I've seen this most commonly in salsa LA but i dont know the name for them in bachata nor in salsa. Is there a set name for these types of moves like madrid step/shadow position which i can search in youtube for?

Could you please help me? Thanks!

A lead I had never danced with before, orchestrated a lean which I have done before. However, mid lean, he attempted to lift me in the air which I was not expecting. As a result, it was rather unsuccessful. I’ve been told I’m a light follower, so maybe that’s why he thought he could do it (I’ve also been lifted in the air once before) but I’ve realised now that I don’t particularly like lifts - largely because I’ve never learned them in class and because at a social with my long arms and legs, I’m likely to hurt someone.

What are some moves that you don’t like to do?

Hi guys,

I’m pretty new, dancing just over 2 months but I’ve been doing it pretty intensively, 6 classes per week with just as many hours of social dancing, a few private lessons here and there.

I’ve been listening to the music, trying to pick out the individual song sections; derecho, majao and mambo. Trying to predict rises and falls in song energy. It’s going decently well but I’m really struggling to see how footwork classes can be applied to partner work.

I’ve been doing a mix of Dominican, Moderna and Sensual classes. The only way I have been able to do footwork is by taking what I’ve learned in the Dominican classes and throwing it in where I see applicable.

I’ve done 3 or 4 dedicated footwork classes and they are fun but I struggle to see how I could put any of the routines into a partner work situation.

It just seems a shame to learn all that cool footwork but no direction from instructors on how, when and where it should be used. Any advice or resources from you guys would help a lot I’m sure! Thanks!