Bachata: Why did it conquer our hearts?

Bachata emerged around the middle of the 20th century in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean. Its roots came from a mix of some African rhythms, the Cuban son and the bolero. At first, this musical style was valued and listened by the most common and humble social classes, and rejected by high-level society.

Bachata in its origins was not highly appreciated by society, over time it has evolved and has gained an important place in the world of dance. Little by little, bachata has been reaching many countries and attracting everyone with its sensual rhythms, dance steps and especially with its romantic lyrics, however nowadays Bachata songs can be even from pop to reggeaton with the bachata track on it, what makes them more entertaining.

Etymologically, the word bachata was known in the Dominican Republic as a reunion or party, where popular music was played and listened to. Towards the year 1950, the rhythms that would form the bachata that we know today were developing, substituting different initial instruments like some guitars. In the following years, bachata took acknowledgment in many small places in Santo Domingo, but it is in the 1980s when it becomes significant, right after being heard on radio stations and other media and reaching people from all parts of the world.

Between the late 80s and early 90s, Juan Luis Guerra appeared; he is a recognized singer who didn’t limit himself to one style of music, instead he worked on bachata fusion, boleros, merengue, salsa, among others; speaking of bachata tho, he popularized it globally. His work “Bachata Rosa” was quickly placed in the top sales positions in the Dominican Republic, and got popular in other countries such as Mexico, Colombia, United States, Spain, Ecuador, the Netherlands, and more.

Within Bachata singers we must talk about a very popular group, called Aventura. Their debut was in 2002 with their album “We Broke The Rules”, and their successful song “Obsession”, which was part of that album and was sold throughout the world, establishing them as ambassadors of bachata internationally. This band marked the guidelines for many other groups and artists, who were aware of the impact that bachata would have on the dance floors. Besides, they also gave us one of the greatest Bachata icons that we have ever had, “Romeo Santos” who was the lead singer of the group Aventura, but In 2011 dropped off the band to focus on his personal music projects, which happened to become international bestsellers that you might have listened to or even danced to, as an example of this we have “Propuesta Indecente” or “Indecent proposal”.

Regarding the other members of Aventura, despite the separation of Romeo Santos, they have continued their trajectory, trying to leave a mark in the bachata universe as well, and stand out as individual singers. Other very important names such as Prince Royce, Zacarias Ferreira and Toby Love sound familiar in bachata scenarios.

Getting more into bachata dance we know it is a couple’s dance characterized by lateral hip movements. It is a complex dance that has received different influences and has evolved little by little. Currently, on dance floors, we can see different ways of dancing it, merging along with other genres. To mention some examples we have:

Dominican bachata

By its name, we know we are talking about the traditional style. It is also called “original bachata“. The steps are usually free, performed from side to side and usually without turns, and can be in either open or closed embrace. If you want to learn a little bit more about this dance you can watch one of our StepFlix classes, this one, in particular, teaches how to perform the basic movement accompanying the beats of the music.

Traditional bachata

Its origin was in the United States and Europe. It is a very consolidated style in the world. With very romantic twists, a closed embrace, visual drops, and hip bumps in times 4 and 8, and changing direction right after every tap.

Sensual bachata

It is very popular in Spain and it is basically an evolution of the traditional bachata, with more importance in body expression and with a wide variety of movements, such as body waves, head rolls, isolations, and dips, that you can also find in Belly dance. The most important thing in sensual bachata is the connexion with your dance partner. In order to understand every movement both have to interpret the beats of the music, more than the turns or footwork itself. If you want to see a demo of this style you can check it out here.

Modern bachata

This particular type of Bachata has been incorporating different steps. It mixes typical Bachata movements with elements from other dance styles like hip-hop isolations, crosses or salsa turn patterns. If you want to work on your chest isolations we suggest you take this StepFlix hip hop class

Bachata tango

It is another variation of modern Bachata, that uses kicks, falls, spectacular turns and pauses that add harmony and romanticism to this dance. The beautiful thing about dancing bachata is that you can form your own style, taking different components of other trendings within the dance world. Don’t miss the chance of trying this rhythm, once you start enjoying it, there is no escape from it.