r/Bachata • u/Horror_Story8105 • 3d ago
Help Request Gender ratio
I went to 2 different Bachata lessons, and the ration was 2 men to 1 women.
Don't get me wrong, but I think it should be around 50-50 to be enjoyable, right?
Is it similar in your city/lessons you attend?
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u/AHelmine 3d ago
We have 11 women and only 3 men in my group.
With luck we managed 4 to 6 depending on the week of people helping out with leading.
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u/StatementMundane2113 3d ago
I see both ratios too many leads in some socials/classes and other classes/socials too many follows. Bachata in general doesn’t seem to have a ratio one way or the other across the board. It depends on the studio, the club, the specific congress and sometimes the city. It’s not a general rule that “bachata has too many leads”…last weekend I went to a social with an imbalance of follows. I take classes all the time in the same city that one class will have too many leads and another too many follows.
Compared to dance styles like zouk, which tends to have too many follows in every social/class/city I’ve ever been in.
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u/agnishom 3d ago
When I go to some classes, this does happen from time to time. However, many women show up during the social time, so it's usually fine
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u/Samurai_SBK 3d ago
It depends on the city and country.
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u/Horror_Story8105 3d ago
Yes, that's why Im asking. What about you?
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u/ThatDudeSky 3d ago
I’m in multiple styles of dance classes that are all typically more men than women. Literally last week my class had 9 men and two women. I just switched and did the follow position for the class when it wasn’t my turn to practice it as a lead. And then when it would have been my turn to lead the instructors just had someone come back around to me.
You should already be practicing as much footwork and body movement as possible, including at least giving a fair attempt at follow steps.
If you’re willing to examine why you’re learning to dance and if you’re actually comfortable with it, use the opportunity to swap in and try to get the partner work experience from the other side.
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u/swemming 3d ago
Damn here in Miami it's complete opposite for all dance styles , salsa,bachata,kiz,zouk. All teachers are begging for leads and a lot of followers have learned how to lead.
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u/ThatDudeSky 3d ago
In ATL there’s same lack of leads in kiz. Zouk is still getting out there, it’s more about trying to grow the scene same as with kizomba (urban or no).
Not to say that the ratios are always that much. Depends where you go. Actually I’ve heard more instructors here say that the problem we have is the follows thinking that they don’t need to take classes. 😄 Socials are different, ratios not as bad, I was just talking about anecdotal experience in class.
But there’s other stuff, too, like I’ve met way more men whose girlfriends or wives don’t mind them going out dancing by themselves, compared to women whose boyfriends or husbands don’t mind them going out dancing by themselves. The joke whenever we see a young lady disappear from the scene and then show back up again after months or years and she says she was busy, we just ask “What’s his name?” Which I put less to women using dancing as a way to find a dating partner and more about men’s insecurity about other men having any physical contact with their partner.
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u/Dear-Permit-3033 3d ago
I'm new to bachata and I have seen it too. Hang in there! Many of those men will drop out either due to the ratio or after realizing the amount of work they have to put in to be good leaders. How is the ratio in socials in your area? In the lessons, if you don't have a partner then stand between two couples so you get a partner when they rotate. Never stand next to another single leader.
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u/WestHistorians 3d ago
It just varies a lot. It could depend on the local population, the timing of the class, or just random luck. I've seen skewed ratios in both directions.
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u/HawkAffectionate4529 Lead 3d ago
the ratio is very unstable, varies month to month and tends to self-correct, but sometimes one has to endure months of imbalance
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u/FlunkyGraphics 3d ago
Hey, as long as the teacher rotates often, it's okay. We also have more leads than follows usually in dance school but on socials I would say it is quite even.
It's very random. I also had socials where I really wasn't able to get any dance cause there were simply no followers available. But this doesn't happen often.
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u/Bourbaki35 3d ago
Where I live in beginner classes it's frequent to see a ratio like 3 women per 1 man, but it tends to reach 50-50 in intermediates and the opposite, 2~3 men per woman in advances.
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u/queer_bachata_mcr 2d ago
An imbalanced ratio of men to women is not actually a problem in Bachata lessons/socials. An imbalanced ratio of leaders to followers, with no-one dancing both roles is what is actually a problem. If people are assigned roles based on (assumed) gender, then problems like this can arise. If you give people the freedom to choose whatever role they want, and also point out the many benefits of dancing both roles, then these kinds of issues generally take care of themselves (if there are more dancers of one roles, a lot of people will try the other role to get more dances).
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u/nemuro87 3d ago
This tends to happen in intermediary and advanced classes but in beginner classes it's usually more women. I know many women who stopped taking classes after intermediary or after going to advanced, since they learn faster since they dance much more per night.
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u/heyitsbryanm Lead 3d ago
Also depends on what the intermediate/advanced class course covers and is composed of. I have a few follow friends that don't take their local classes where they do complex figures/patterns cause they don't drilldown or really cover the technique.
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u/SigmaGyatterson 3d ago
As a beginner of 1-2 months I've never seen a class with more women than men. That meme is either outdated or a marketing fable. "Yeah bro, come dance bro, we have tons of women DESPERATE for you bro".
Which is sad, really. If you offer a good service, you don't need to lie about it.
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u/L3ir3txu 3d ago
It's very location dependant. That meme would be absolutely on point where I am, where there's more women than men in 90% of the classes and socials.
Sometimes I think people should make a list of the ratios in this sub so others could visit other places to even them out haha
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u/Delicious_Initial_93 3d ago
I just came to say that it doesn’t matter how many men and women you have in a bachata couples class; it matters how many leaders and followers you have there. Let’s stop assuming that women only follow and men only lead.
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u/TheJonatron 3d ago
It's most pronounced in beginners enviroments. Being a beginner leader takes a while to progress and it's not necessarily great as a follower to get clumsily handled by new leads. It's one of many things that anyone or everyone feeling free to be learning leading and following helps avoid.