Bachata Styles Breakdown

This blog comes from a FB post I made on my personal timeline. I am copying it here for wider sharing and so it can be a resource for the future.

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Lately I've been getting a lot of questions from dancers in my scene that express confusion over the many names of Bachata. What's Dominican Bachata vs. Traditional Bachata vs. Modern Bachata vs. Sensual Bachata?

Let me explain.

Bachata is the dance from Dominican Republic. It is actually currently evolving with each new generation and is as modern and evolved as other styles claim to be when you compare it to where it has come from. (Bachata began evolving from Bolero Campesino, a rural guitar music in DR, around the early 60s.) Dominicans continue to call this dance Bachata, and thus, I call my dance classes and events by this name, too, as I try to always honor the culture it comes from.

Hallmarks of Bachata on the island are a focus on using a variety of basic steps to create intrigue and to use grounded body movement to create the feeling of the dance. Decorations include deeper body movement of the hips and footplay. It’s important to add that different regions of the island can dance differently, but I think I spoke generally enough to still be accurate, at least for the most part.

The names Traditional/Dominican/Authentic Bachata are attempts by congress organizers to distinguish this style of dance from the westernized counterparts (that I'll get to in a moment). However, in the congress world, workshops with these names rarely resemble what's happening on the island. Many (thankfully not all) workshops with these names have become fusions of Modern Bachata and Dominican flavor, often taking all the possible decorations from the island and producing a style almost exclusively relying on these decorations. Sometimes it's almost completely Salsa footwork to Bachata music. I will not name names, but I'll let you do more research on your own, maybe visit the island if you're able, or just follow Dominicans living on the island on social media to learn to see the difference.

Okay, okay, so what's Modern Bachata? Modern Bachata is the dance that was created when social dancers in westernized countries/areas like the US, Australia, and Europe began to have greater access to Bachata music (thanks to the booming success of Aventura in the early 2000s) but did not have much access to the dance or to Dominicans. These dancers admit to have used the little they learned from Dominicans (step step step break) and what they already knew of Salsa and other dances to create basically something brand new. They continued to call this dance Bachata, even though it did not resemble the dancing in DR very much. Hallmarks of this style are using 1 or 2 basic steps (side to side and maybe forward-and-back) and adding a lot of turns, spins, hammerlocks, redirections, and dips to create the intrigue. The hip movement also starts to change with a focus on taking wider steps. Most dance classes unfortunately labeled as "Bachata" are actually Modern Bachata or a mixture of this style and the next one I will describe. (This is what I first learned when I started dancing Bachata. It was fun!)

Sensual Bachata is a style of dance that was created by a single couple in Spain, Korke and Judith. This dance is based entirely off of Modern Bachata, but with the addition of "sensualized" torso isolations in the form of body rolls, body waves, and other upper body isolations, as well as tricks to form this style. The focus of this dance is on the hips-up. While it has a lot of similarities to Brazilian Zouk (another fusion dance), Judith and Korke deny having known about Brazilian Zouk at the time they created Sensual Bachata. B-zoukers openly doubt and criticize this.

When it comes to music, yes, some people do try to label music as "Traditional" vs. "Modern" but rarely are these labels used with any consistency. Sometimes they mean it by decade (i.e. the music from the 90s = traditional and 2000s and up = modern), sometimes they mean it for music composed in the original evolutionary strand vs. the music influenced by R&B that started with Aventura, but most of the time I hear people use these terms really to denote the difference between Bachata music that uses live musicians and instruments vs. DJ-produced music.

Musicians and Dominicans will tell you there's only 3 categories: (1) Bachata, music originally composed to be Bachata, (2) covers, music originally composed as another genre that a Bachata musician re-composed and produced as Bachata, and (3) remixes, music originally composed as another genre that had some basic Bachata rhythms added later.

Remember, it's appropriation to let an outside culture take a cultural art form and be the one to carry the torch of "modernization." The dance and the music are still evolving just fine within their native culture.

Resources: I have a lot of sources that provide this information in the Bachata Library on my website: www.fortheloveofbachata.com/library

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*PLEASE DO NOT DISPARAGE ANY STYLE IN THE COMMENTS* This is an educational post for new dancers trying to understand what they're seeing and not meant to be an outlet for anyone's drama. I will delete any comments that disparage a style.

A 6-Minute Guide to Bachata

What is Bachata?

Bachata (originally meaning an informal gathering among family and friends) is a style of dance that originated in the Dominican Republic around the 60s as a rural dance and over time has become a world-wide phenomenon. Today it boasts multiple dance and music styles and fusions including Bachata moderna, Bachata sensual, and even Bachatango (Bachata + Tango). Here at For the Love of Bachata, our passion for Bachata lies primarily in Bachata as it is currently danced in the Dominican Republic.

Naturally, since its birth, Bachata has evolved a lot both as a music genre and as a style of dance. With time, both have incorporated new elements and inspirations as the younger generations take over. However, it still maintains its traditions of feeling the music deeply and being something that can be enjoyed by any age. This is a dance you can share with your grandma, your aunt, or your father. Thankfully, Bachata continues to thrive in DR and was even named an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019 by UNESCO. To many people in the studio-dancing and dance-congress world, they still give the name “Traditional Bachata” or even “Dominican Bachata” or “Authentic Bachata” to this modern style. Here, we prefer to just call it by the name used by Dominican dancers and musicians - Bachata.

THE MUSIC

Bachata as a music genre contains a minimum of 6 instruments, though depending on the musicians’ inspiration, can include others. The 6 core instruments are: bongo, guira, lead guitar (also called a requinto), 2nd guitar, bass guitar, and voice. Most of the instruments have a prescribed rhythmic pattern which changes predictably between rhythmic sections such as verse, chorus, and instrumental breaks. The lead guitar and the voice are the exceptions to this rule, as they contribute to the melody. The most common instrument for studio-trained dancers to hear is the bongo (it sounds like takay-dukay-takay-BOOkay or tak-tak-tak-BOO depending on the rhythmic section) and many people dance starting on the 1st beat of the 4-beat rhythmic pattern, finishing with a break or tap on the strong 4th beat. In DR, however, you will find Dominicans dancing on any count. What is important is the feeling of your movement with the music and your consistency. Another fun fact: the follow is the one who begins dancing first and sets the timing and the lead then picks it up and begins.

ROLE OF LEAD & FOLLOW

Historically, the roles of lead and follow have been assigned by gender. Over time, these roles are adjusting as people abandon their fixed notions of gender roles and open themselves up to new options. It is extremely common in the studio-dance or dance-congress world to find women leading and men following or two people of the same gender enjoying a dance. This often has nothing to do with sexuality and everything to do with finding a new way to enjoy the music. In fact, many dancers have found that being able to switch roles has enabled them to get more dances and to even use their new learning, let’s say, as a lead, to understand better how to follow and vice versa. In the Dominican Republic you can see some places where this new open-thinking is embraced. However, as with many Latin cultures, the societal viewpoint has not modernized as quickly as it has in the United States and other western cultures and these choices can be met with criticism.

WHAT DOES BACHATA DANCING LOOK LIKE?

The most essential component to any fundamental step of Bachata is 3 steps and a break of some sort, which can be a tap, a push into the ground, a syncopation, or another variation. Aside from this, sometimes it feels like the sky is the limit. The basic steps can be done totally in place, from side-to-side, forward-and-back, or in some other combination such as in the shape of a box, a zig-zag, and others.

Similarly to the ways our languages easily develop local dialects (I am from Pittsburgh, PA and we have a “Pittsburghese” dialect that includes words such as “nebby” and “slippy,” for example), dances also often develop regional differences and preferences in their native culture as well. Each town in DR has the potential to create or harbor its own unique style, so explaining what Bachata looks like may be a challenge. In the studio-dance or dance-congress world for (“Traditional”) Bachata, instructors often teach a wide variety of fundamental steps, often called shapes, to give the students flexibility to dance with many people in many different environments. This variety can also enrich the dancer’s creative experience. As studio-trained dancers, there is no shame in not dancing 100% in congruence with a regional style of Bachata as if we were bonafide Dominicans. That may not be a realistic goal for many and the stress of dancing with 100% accuracy to a single style could hold us dancers back from engaging in a wider selection of dance opportunities, such as when we travel to attend different socials, festivals, and congresses. Our main purpose as dancers is to have fun while expressing ourselves through the music. Connecting to the native culture can deeply enrich that connection and expression, for sure, as can learning multiple styles so that we can be flexible enough to dance with the many types of dancers we will eventually meet.

History & Roots

The direct antecedent to Bachata is a sub-genre of Bolero called Bolero Campesino, which was popular in DR. It is also a guitar music with a heavy bass-line that is so prominent, people usually dance it beginning on the 3rd beat to stay in time with the bass (3, 4, 1——-, 3, 4, 1——-). Bolero is not the only influencing genre or dance style to contribute to the creation of Bachata, but it deserves a lot of the credit.

The early years of Bachata coincided with the death of dictator Rafael Trujillo, who had strictly controlled music production in the country during his reign. He was personally a big Merengue fan and promoted and even commissioned songs to be written about his political influence, elevating Merengue to a high status while oppressing some other genres. Music recording was strictly controlled during this time and Trujillo prohibited poor, rural musicians to record their music (much less allow it to air on the radio), relegating them to low-society events such as brothels and informal gatherings. Even after the fall of the dictatorship, access to recording was limited and musicians playing Bachata were not always able to preserve or distribute their music outside of live music opportunities. The road to recognition was a long, hard one for Bachata as the stigma of its low-class, rural roots followed through the decades. However, this identity became woven into the early music and contributed to the early themes. One of Bachata’s first names was “Música de Amargue” (Bitter Music), highlighting the pain shared in many songs. Juan Luís Guerra, with the release of his album Bachata Rosa in 1990, carved a new niche for romantic and poetic lyrics to exist inside Bachata, and due to his influence, today you can find a variety of themes in this beautiful genre we all know and love.

SOURCES/LEARN MORE

Bachata: A Social History of Dominican Popular Music, Deborah Pacini Hernandez

Adam Taub, Documentary Filmmaker, Bachata Researcher & Dance Educator

Areíto Arts, Bachata Researchers, Dance Educators, & Musicians

Carlos Cinta, Creator of “Bachata Breakdown,” Bachata Musicality Educator, Dance Educator, & DJ

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING:

Bachata and Dominican Identity/Bachata y la identidad dominicana, Julie A, Sellers.

The Modern Bachateros, Julie A. Sellers

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