What kind of bachata is danced?
Bachata: Dominican, modern and sensual
The three bachatas you will meet on a dance floor, how they differ, and where each one is danced.
The three you will see
Bachata is counted in four with a hip tap on the fourth beat. That tap is in all three; the rest changes quite a lot.
- Dominican
- The original. Short steps, plenty of footwork and a fairly loose hold. Danced close but without long figures.
- Modern
- Adds turns and figures borrowed from line salsa. Usually taught as the step in between.
- Sensual
- Born in Spain. Adds body waves and slow movements. The most popular in Europe, and also the most demanding in terms of contact.
About sensual bachata and contact
Sensual is danced closer than the other styles, and this is worth saying plainly: that is agreed between two people, not assumed. Keeping your distance is perfectly normal and nobody should push.
If someone makes you uncomfortable, you stop the song and leave the floor. No explanation and no apology needed.
How to tell which one a venue dances
The flyer almost never says, but you can work it out in two minutes. Listen to the music: classic bachata, with guitar and a fast guira, means Dominican is on the floor. Slow remixes and pop covers mean sensual, almost every time.
The other tell is the school running the night. Whoever teaches the class before the social teaches what gets danced after it, so a look at what their classes advertise tells you what you are walking into.
And if you would rather not deduce anything, ask. It is the most ordinary conversation there is at the door of a social.
You can dance all three in one night
And most people do. These are not rival schools: they are different ways of answering the same song, and anyone with some time in changes according to the partner and to what is playing.
Early on it is worth picking one, because mixing before the basic step is automatic confuses more than it helps. But that is a decision for a few months, not for life.
The one thing you cannot do is impose it. If your partner is leading Dominican and you drop in a sensual wave, it will not work: you dance what both of you understand.