Bachata Dance Classes

Bachata is the most romantic of the Latin dances, indeed bachatta music originally was called 'amargue' meaning 'bitter music' as the songs speak of sadness, heartbreak and love. The beautiful soulful music is guitar based, blending traditional Caribbean, Latin and bolero rhythms with the bachatta instruments of guitars (lead, rhythm, bass, acoustic, electric...), maracas, guira, bongo and tambora drums.

In Bachatta dancing couples dance in close hold, in keeping with the sensual, romantic Bachatta rhythm. Moving from side to side in a natural Cuban motion the couple dance to a sequence of 8 beats, changing direction and hip movement on each beat of 4 (1, 2, 3, hip, 5, 6, 7, hip). As in the other Latin dances the male leads his partner in various directions and turns, and she follows his signs staying close to him as they move across the dance floor.

History of Bachata

Although music and particularly guitar music is central in Dominican Republic culture, the Bachatta style of music originated in the countryside regions amongst the poor neighborhoods, and was traditionally despised by mainstream Dominican Republic society. During Trujillos 30 year dictatorship and censorship, merengue music was proclaimed the nations official music, and promoted with big orchestras. Although controversial as the nations official music, merengue helped the peoples spirit through much hardship, and other native types of Dominican music began to be seen in bad light.

This stigma developed native Bachatta music even further, pushing it underground to the brothels and barrios and into becoming the free expression of the underground life of the nation. Bachatta started telling the real heartfelt stories of this life, the music speaking of themes of lovers, sex and prostitutes, plights of the poor and hungry, despair and crime, country people working hard, barrio dwellers, and expressing all the delinquency, slang and sexual undertones of this underground culture. Needless to say this content fuelled the contempt of mainstream society, and the term 'Bachatta' started to be used to insult and brand this 'crude' forms of music as culturally backwards. 'Bachatta' translates as 'a raucous party', and this name depicts people with 'loose' morals and low class - village peasants, lacking respect, partying with food, drink, music and dancing ...

Bachata Over Time

The first recognized Bachatta was recorded in the early 1960's, alongside in general the emergence of freedom and music following the end of Trujillos 30 year reign and censorship in the Dominican Republic. Through the 1960s and 70s, Bachatta music was largely unheard of on radio or TV, bacheteros were barred from performing publicly, and the music continued to be played in the poorest neighbourhoods, bars and brothels. But the popularity of this music continued to grow, and despite merengue having the public arena bachatta continued to outsell it. Indeed due to its popularity by the early 80's radio and TV were playing Bachatta, and Bachatta began to change in content and become more culturally acceptable mainstream and merge with merengue. By the 1990's Bachatta music and dance had become as internationally popular as the other Latin rhythms dances, and today there are many forms and styles of bachatta music and dance - Dominican style bachata, traditional style bachata, modern style bachata: (bachata moderna), bachatango, urban bachata.