Hey guys,
I started dancing bachata a bit more than a year ago and I have recently lost a bit of the fun.

I think one of the main things I love about dancing is that I can lose myself in dancing, just focus on the moment and forget the daily struggles. But I think my ambition to get better has taken over a bit (the posts I made here played its part aswell as some people were very mean with their feedback) and I have been doing more courses than ever, which are mostly focusing on technique. Right now Im doing 3 hours of bachata sensual technique course and 1-2 hours of bachata fusion where we are focusing also a lot on the correct technique.

Right now on socials I constantly monitor myself and also my follower: „did I do x correctly? Here I could have done y better. They need to do z more.“

On the one hand learning the correct technique is very important as to not hurt anyone and generally be a good dance partner. But I think I overdid it and the main reason I started going to events was to improve and not to have fun and be in the moment.
I really realized that when I did a Kizomba trial lesson and "felt" more or remembered how I felt in the beginning with bachata.

I think I should tune down the courses thing and focus more on socials and parties and remind myself again and again why I am dancing - not to go to JnJ´s but to have a nice hobby, to meet cool people, go to the occaisonal festival and just want to have fun.

Has anyone experienced this? Do you have any suggestions?

I grew up listening to Dominican bachata and have always loved the older stuff. Marino Pérez, Blas Durán, Leonardo Paniagua, Teodoro Reyes, Tony Berroa, etc. This was the music my grandfather listened to, and I've always loved the musicians, stories, and culture behind it.

To me, bachata is drinking rum outside with family and friends, listening to some guy sing about how his wife left him, how all women are terrible, or how he's going to drink himself to death. It's the guitars, the storytelling, the humor, the bitterness, and the ridiculous lyrics. Maybe somebody dances, maybe not. The music is the main event.

But nowadays, more often than not, anything with the word "bachata" attached to it leads to some sensual dance class or two Russians grinding on each other in a studio in Warsaw lol. I just want to go to a concert, drink some rum, and hear some old Dominican guy sing about his terrible life decisions. Apparently that's a niche interest outside NYC.

I saw someone here the other day casually say they hated traditional Dominican bachata. Hated it? You're in a bachata subreddit and you hate Dominican bachata? That genuinely blew my mind, but also made me realize we're talking about two completely different things.

What's frustrating is that the people who created this music, and the culture it came from, have practically been pushed out of their own genre. Young Europeans have pretty much taken over what "bachata" means internationally, and they've succeeded. The original music is treated like some obscure subgenre while sensual dancing to pop remixes dominates everything.

It's surreal seeing the music your grandfather listened to become background music for somebody's sensual dance workshop.

Anyone else here primarily into the music itself? And seriously, where can I actually hear old-school Dominican bachata live outside NYC?

More and more, it feels like a Dominican cultural tradition has become internationally recognizable through a commercial dance scene with very little interest in the culture that created it.

so I'm quite new to bachata (a few months). I started dancing a lot at socials by simply following the leads and learning as I go and now I take some classes too.

I'm wondering now how much body contact there is meant to be in closed positions? (I think my scene has mostly a blend of traditional amd sensual but I honestly don't know the differences well enough to tell) I'm personally not bothered by body contact so often end up veeery close, with right thigh/hip contact and upper body contact. Some more experienced leads have encouraged this level of contact, but then when I dance with less experienced leaders it feels weird to move in that close. Should I also not be able to read the leads movements in a close position with just upper body contact?

Any tips appreciated.

I was at a bachata class last night in new venue. Big class. Very little space on floor. Follower move involved a body roll and then a neck roll to count of 4. Not explained or broken down very well. I did ask for it to be broken down but it did not work.Felt very deflated. Normally do not have problems with steps.

Left the club early. I feel better now. Sorry.

He seems to become popular recently. His 2026 song Yo no he llorado has almost 8 Mio streams on Spotify within 4 month, which is more than Barcelona (Husky, Ch. Luis) and Chacha (Jean&Alex, PintoPicasso) combined.

I think some of his songs are nice, but his voice always sounds like AI voice ;-)

I do like the brand new song "Santos" with El Chaval, whose voice doesnt sound AI at all, so with this contrast I like Yenddi's voice better than solo.

Santos https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/5SGQl8Dnyq07yO2Yxe8lb0

Slso teh remix version of yo no he llorado with Izaak sound a little better than the orignal. https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/2IGHTalMf6MssIm9hWCy4b what do you think? Opinions?

I've been working on my basic step for the last weeks a lot. It still kind of looks off but I guess it's improvement from my previous post.

Can someone point out some mistakes I'm making and give advice on how to improve?

I focused mainly on the weight shifts. I also practice shoulder movement but I'm not really able to do it yet without affecting my lower body.

The biggest trend I'm seeing in the local (Miami area) sensual community, apart from BachataZouk, is an increased focus on anticipating and styling the hits in the music vs just dancing sequences. As a leader, I'm trying to learn to do more of this myself, while also giving my follower space to express herself accordingly. But it's not my strength, so I'm finding it easier said than done. I imagine that those who are good at it have done three things: (1) learned a repertoire of styling hits; (2) listened to a lot of bachata music to become deeply familiar with the songs and anticipate the hits; and (3) done a fair bit of solo practice on hitting the music as such. Do I have this right? Any general advice/tips? Also, since this seems to be the kind of thing that doesn't really need to be learned in a class/studio setting, can anyone recommend any good online resources for it (I can't find much on YouTube, where things tend to be sequence-focused). Thanks!

Hello
I’m leader new to bachata since 3 months
I go regularly 2-3 rimes a week so have been so far to 25-30 class
I did a bootcamp too so I get some confidence

In class I do the moves good but when go to social party I do the simple turns pritzel ok, when try to do another moves it all fall apart and I don’t know why

In parties either advanced followers so they frustrate or I don’t keep with their styling

Or beginners that they don’t get the moves I try to do

Trying to pit the classes moves to the party doesn’t work out though
Idk where the problem or should I wait a bit for party
What is your tipp?
And how long did it took you to go to social ?

I am a very tall follower and I am taller than many of the leaders I dance with. I would like to know if you’d recommend me to compensate for the height difference by trying to lower myself even more or if I should try to keep my posture nonetheless?

I started thinking about this when I was looking at different followers and tried to figure out why some look so much better (their posture and movements) and why some don’t look as good. I noticed one girl that’s close to my height, that even though she’s a decent dancer there’s something I don’t like about her style, and I couldn’t quite figure out what it was, until I noticed that it had something to do with her posture and movement which I think is affected by her trying to compress a little bit to compensate for height differences. I just really don’t like how it looks and how it affects her whole figure and dance. Then I sometimes look at shorter girls and compare and can see how they look so much nicer since they can stretch their backs and frame in a much different way.

I was wondering, since I’m taller - of course I sometimes have to compensate by bending my knees a little bit more. But I can only bend them so much before I lose my posture and it affects my whole dance style. And I think I sometimes have a fear of stretching my upper body and keeping a proud posture, even though my legs are bent, because I’m trying to compensate and then become compressed. Should I maintain my posture anyways even though it might complicate it for the leader? I think it this is a game changer honestly . What are your thoughts and experiences and do you have other suggestions?

Does anybody know what was going on at Bachata Explsion in Berlin? I have my first J&J coming up, so I am interested in what could have caused the need for a public outcry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/De2haOVEQZW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&xtok=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

2 years back, I did few bachata beginner + open floor sessions which are mostly social nights. Learning the basic moves was fun and few dance sessions were memorable. The problem when i recently tried this again and i feel as a lead and a dude its hard to learn as you go while the open floor dancers are looking for more. It feels like i'm wasting their time and kinda kills the mood lol. And i would really love to get better, i see there's social aspect at times when there are moments which are awkward, sometimes rude interactions from others. Personally it brings out the social anxiety part which i've been working on which makes me wanna stop and i'm looking for tips on how i can get better and be part of the community.

I’m a professional dancer specializing in Afro-Cuban dance, and I recently got contacted by a woman who has just opened a Latin dance studio. She wants me to teach Afro-Cuban dance classes at her studio.
We met today to discuss the idea. She explained that she’s just starting out and doesn’t know how many students will show up. Her offer was to pay me $5 per student who attends each class.
She said there might be three, four, or five students, possibly more, or there might be nobody at all. The number of students would only be known when I arrive.
At the meeting, I agreed without thinking it through. But after leaving, I started doing the math, and the arrangement doesn’t seem reasonable to me.
If five students show up, I would earn $25 for teaching the entire class. If three show up, I’d earn $15. If nobody shows up, I’d earn nothing, even though I’ve set aside the time and potentially paid for an Uber to get there.
The studio would presumably charge students around $20–$25 per class, although I don’t know its exact pricing yet. That means the studio could collect $100–$125 from five students, while I would receive only $25 for teaching.
I understand that she’s starting a business and may not have a steady student base yet. I’m not expecting a huge paycheck from a new studio, but I also feel that my professional experience and the specialized knowledge I bring to the class have value.
What bothers me most is that she approached me because she wants me to teach at her studio, yet the entire financial risk seems to fall on me. I would be committing my time without knowing whether I’ll earn enough to make the trip worthwhile.
I said yes in the moment, but now I’m reconsidering. I’m wondering whether I’m being unreasonable or whether this is simply a bad deal.
For dance instructors, studio owners, and other independent professionals:
● Is $5 per student a reasonable compensation model for a specialized dance instructor?
● Is it normal for instructors to take on all the financial risk when a studio is just starting out?
● Would you negotiate a guaranteed minimum payment per class, ask for a flat rate, or walk away?
● How would you handle going back to the studio owner after already agreeing verbally?
I’d appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have experience teaching at dance studios in the US.

Tengo la oportunidad de entrevistar al gran Luis Miguel de Amargue y me gustaría saber si vosotros tuvieras la oportunidad, ¿que le preguntaríais?

Muchas gracias por las ideas!

What are your thoughts?

I learned domenican and moderna

I know also the basics of sensual, still I see in the festivals a lot of Bachazouk, so i feel kind of blocked in my natural progression.

My question is while i am improving my sens should i learn brazilian zouk or bachazouk? In other words learning good the sens will give me good basis to learn bachazouk, or is really a different style and I should learn proper brazilian zouk basis?

I want to attend a festival and this one looks fun. Everyone looks like they are having a great time. What's the criteria for a good festival?

¡Hola! Soy suizo y francófono, y necesito el oído de dominicanos de verdad.

Mi mujer aprendió español sin tomar un solo curso: escuchando bachata durante años, Aventura y Romeo Santos en bucle. Yo estoy escribiendo pequeñas lecciones para francófonos a partir de esas canciones, y cada lección tiene una parte sobre el habla dominicana — porque la bachata es de ustedes, y sin eso no se entiende la mitad.

No quiero publicar tonterías. Dos expresiones ya me las confirmaron dominicanos (¿qué lo que? y tíguere, con sus matices). Me faltan tres, y son justamente las que me tienen frenado:

1. Jeva / jevo. Escribí que mi jeva es «mi novia», en confianza, y que delante de los padres de ella mejor decir mi novia. ¿Es así? ¿Y jevito qué significa exactamente?

2. Vaina. La doy como palabra comodín: Pásame esa vaina, ¿Qué vaina es esta?, ¡Qué vaina! Y le advierto al lector que «según el tono puede sonar francamente grosero». ¿Estoy exagerando, o está bien dicho?

3. La «s» que se pierde. La presento como un acento, no como hablar mal, y la escribo así: ¿Cómo etá? · lo do · má o meno · depué. ¿Reflejan bien lo que se oye?

Lo que más me sirve no es la definición, es un ejemplo suyo — la frase tal cual la dirían. Me ha pasado dos veces que la definición sola estaba incompleta, y fue el ejemplo el que lo arregló.

Y una pregunta libre, que es la que más me interesa: ¿qué palabra dominicana no puede faltar en unas lecciones así?

Tengo una lista de trece expresiones en total. Si a alguien le da curiosidad, la comparto encantado — y les cuento lo que me vayan confirmando.

¡Mil gracias! 🙏

I’ve been dancing multiple times a week for over 6 years now.

Inability to spend extended time in towns that do not have social dancing:

The thought of spending even a month or two in a town that does not have social dancing makes me think twice. for example, my parents would like to see me and spend time with them, and I’d also like to visit some friends who live in small towns and stay there for some time. I’m a digital nomad, so work is not really tying me to one place.

however, the thought of not being able to dance for so long and most importantly, the fear of losing my hard earned skills and becoming rusty really makes me feel like it’s impossible for me to visit those place for extended period of times. I even decline job opportunities that are too far from dance communities.

i feel like I’m organizing my life around with dance in the center of it rather than the other way around.

dancing as a way to avoid building real relationships

secondly, I’m not sure if I’m using partner dancing to fulfill my touch needs & desire to be held without putting in the effort for a real relationship: therefore I’m not sure if i rely on dance so much because I’m single or whether I am single BECAUSE I dance so much (and have literally no time to meet people outside dance communities)

im actually a zouk dancer but I’m posting here because the zouk subreddit is too tiny. i was never so addicted to bachata but Zouk sucked me in really deep. The amount of investment Zouk requires is also really big compared to bachata (higher learning curve), so I also feel a higher fear of losing skills by not dancing.

Dominicans and friends of dominicans may I kindly ask for your feedback on how to improve from here ? What strikes as obvious ? Help ! Thank you in advance 🫶

Previous post : https://www.reddit.com/r/Bachata/comments/1swa480/feedback_appreciated/

What I had in mind during this practice :

- Make it less tappy keep movements smaller

- Try to keep your back straight don't lean forward too much

- Listen to the music :)

Hii I’m leader learning bachata since 3 months
Did 20 classes Begginer level
I joined yesterday an intermediate class and was fun and saw that they offer a bootcamp this weekend
Should I attend it?

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed from many combos and don’t know if the bootcamp will make it more complicated that new moves are at once

The good thing there is social happening after the class so I guess I may get to practice

What do u suggest?

Hi everyone! I’m trying to better understand the pricing of performance costumes in the salsa and bachata scene in the US, and I’d love to hear your experiences.
I’m a costume designer and dancer based in the US, and I create custom outfits for Latin dance teams. One thing I’ve found difficult is figuring out what a reasonable price range is for this market.
I know prices can vary a lot depending on the design, materials, rhinestones, and level of customization, but I’d love to get a better idea of what dancers and team directors actually pay.
A few questions:
How much do you typically pay per person for a custom salsa or bachata team costume?
What would you expect to pay for a simple costume versus a more elaborate, rhinestone-heavy design?
What is a typical budget for costumes for congresses, festivals, and dance showcases?
Do most teams buy locally in the US, or do they order from designers in Latin America to save money?
At what price would a costume feel too expensive for an amateur or semi-professional team?
I’m especially interested in real prices people have paid, rather than just general estimates.
I know every team has a different budget, so I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thanks!

Hi gents,

I often see the movement combo 2 (18s mark) from this video being performed at socials.

Could someone tell me what it's called and recommend a tutorial to learn it ?

https://youtube.com/shorts/8cFJiIrNvCk?si=gbffnfa4dz6iEjjV

Many thanks !

Bachata pasos