I feel like the Prince of Bel Air theme song would make a great intro for this story: Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down….
When I began promoting and organizing events, I was in LOVE with Bachata. Head - over - heels. I talked about it to everyone, all the time, and tried to get them to join me in loving Bachata. At the time, I was most familiar with 00s Bachata artists and Modern style dancing, but I also had some knowledge of Bachata artists of the 90s and I liked them too. Talking about Bachata all the time is actually how I had success in getting my community to like Bachata in the first place. I didn’t really know what I was doing in starting a business and hosting events; I was just trying to share my love and hoped others would join me.
At the end of 2013 I had just finished my first special event with an out of town instructor who taught Dips & Tricks and sexy Bachata moves. I had also started some monthly socials and hired local instructors to teach what they knew (mostly Salsa-inspired Bachata partnerwork), but I was waiting for guidance on where to take this growing business next. Then one day I got a message from a fellow community leader who had just attended a special event in Cincinnati where he met this guy from Chicago, Carlos Cinta. Ryan said, “I didn’t think anyone could love Bachata as much as you but then I met this guy. You have to talk to him.” I was curious and enthusiastic about meeting someone as passionate as I was so I agreed to let Ryan connect us on Facebook. After chatting for a bit I realized Carlos knew waaaaay more than I did and I had to hire him to teach a workshop weekend.
I was able to bring Carlos to Pittsburgh in April of 2014, just a few short months after connecting, and I hosted my first 2-day workshop series which I called a “mini-festival.” Carlos taught 8 hours of workshops that weekend systematically designed to break down the musical components of Bachata and help us use them in dancing. He also taught some of the foundations of Bachata movement, partnerwork, and connection.
The musical breakdown he presented was a game changer. I have never been able to hear Bachata the same way since, and my understanding has only grown with each consecutive workshop I’ve taken. I think I’ve taken each of his musicality series 4-5 times by now and will continue to take them every chance I get. Sure, I get a lot of the answers to his questions right nowadays (and he forbids me to answer anything in class now, hehe), but there are still so many little details and musical cues I am still working on. (Side note - this is why you should never hesitate to retake a class. You absolutely did not get everything out of it the first time.)
But Carlos’ influence didn’t stop there. For my next weekender, I hired a badass female instructor I had met at another event I attended who had insane musicality and was a bomb teacher. Her name is Caryl Cuizon & is co-owner of iFreeStyle in Toronto. I set up the next FTLOB mini-festival with her for the following September. Turns out, she and Carlos were already cooking up their own master plan to host the ultimate Bachata weekend experience in Toronto called Toronto B.E.A.T.S (Bachata Education About Traditional Style). This weekend featured music workshops by Carlos, culture workshops & discussions by Adam Taub, and dance workshops by LFX (Edwin Ferreras & Daniela Grosso).
A month after the weekender went well with Caryl, I headed up to Toronto for the first time for this event, knowing Carlos was super excited for it and that I had much to learn.
Ya’ll. This weekender changed everything. Neither I, nor FTLOB, have been the same since.
Learning about Bachata in its full context was a powerful and euphoric experience. You just can’t help but fall in love deeper with the genre when you learn about the history & culture it comes from (including how much it means to Dominicans) together with the music’s instruments & rhythms, regional steps danced on the island, AND how to dance Bolero, the mama of Bachata.
If you ever get a chance to learn from the Fab 4 together (Carlos, Adam, Edwin, & now Dakhóta Romero, who, together with Edwin makes Areito Arts), DO NOT MISS IT! Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Go straight to Bachata heaven. Trust me, you will thank me and yourself for it.
While this weekend event was the biggest catalyst for my current journey, my friendship & mentorship with Carlos doesn’t end there. Over the years, Carlos has helped me with Bachata any time I asked a question, has recommended good instructors who could teach Bachata in an educational way (thanks to him, I brought Maria & Alex BailaMar from Russia to FTLOB – twice), gives feedback on my DJing & events, and randomly shares music he likes too.
He does forget to shout out FTLOB when talking about how few events exist in the U.S. that focus on island Bachata, but I forgive him, I swear.
He also created an incredible teacher training weekend in 2018 that felt like Toronto BEATS 2.0, but with a teaching focus. (And the professional teacher in me was all the way geeked out!)
3 years after going through teacher training, I finally started teaching Bachata. Carlos has been a big supporter, offering to let me pick his brain anytime I have a problem or question, allowing me to ask more in-depth questions about music, and giving me feedback on music-based content I create.
FTLOB and I are soooo lucky to have a friend and mentor in Carlos Cinta. Thanks for everything, Carlos.
Do you want to learn from Carlos too? He is focused on coaching football right now, but you can still access his video lessons at www.sellfy.com/ccbachata
