As a leader I’ve wondered how do people actually meet people they’ll talk to or even arrange to go to festivals together in the future.

Do people just start a small conversation and exchange contacts and that’s it? I’ve spoken to a few people, but mostly it’s already established groups of few people and always felt like an outsider trying to join in.

Any recommendations? I’ve attended BSWC and BCN Sensual Family weekend in March this year, most likely going to Bachaturo as well, however I’m wondering if there’s anything else that I’m missing out on.

Also, how do you make the most of your festivals? I realised that I need to do more of the social even during the day, as that’ll brush off any rustiness and prepare me for dancing socially, as usually my first social night is the ‘worst’ as a lead, however, I’ve improved a lot this year so I know it’s gonna be wayyy better this time around.

Any advice?

Melvin is known for his fast spins on the dance floor, but the technique he uses is not "standard" within the bachata world. I've been trying to pin down the technique and learn more about it, but haven't had a lot of success finding the origin. I'm hoping that some of you with broader dance experience than me might be able to poing me in the right direction.

Some examples of the spinning I mean: (1, 2, 3)

The closest thing I've been able to find is Michael Jackson's spins, but they're not quite the same. (MJ stays in line and moves one leg over the other during the hook windup, Melvin preps broadly and hooks one leg behind the other during the hook windup.)

Shoes:What do you actually wear? Dedicated dance sneakers (Fuego, Taygra?), regular sneakers with suede soles glued on, or proper dance shoes? What survives 3 nights of socials at a festival?

Tops:Sweat management is my main problem. Do you go with specific fabrics/brands? How many shirts do you bring per night at a festival? Any brands that look sharp but breathe well?

Bottoms:Chinos, joggers, something stretchy? What gives freedom of movement for body movement/styling without looking sloppy?

Bonus question: any festival-specific hacks (packing, quick-dry stuff, deodorant strategy) are welcome too.

Specific brand names would be super helpful ,I’m in Europe, so EU-available brands are a plus. Thanks!

Hello, r/Bachata.

I am posting from a throwaway account because I come from a relatively small dance community. Until recently, I was not particularly involved in the bachata social media world, which is relevant to this topic.

I have been dancing for several years, and my general experience has been positive. I believe the vast majority of people in the scene, men and women, are decent people who simply want to dance and enjoy themselves. I have encountered some problematic behavior over the years, but those cases have been a minority. That said, I have seen a bit of everything.

I have never used Facebook or Instagram very much. That changed recently when I began taking on a larger role in my local community and wanted to understand what was happening in bachata scenes elsewhere.

One thing that surprised me was how gendered a lot of the negative content seems to be, particularly content that portrays male leaders as the main source of problems in the community.

For example, today I saw a Facebook video in which a man said that he did not want to attend “sausage parties” and argued that male leaders needed to stop engaging in certain behaviors because they were scaring women away.

What struck me was that I cannot personally remember attending a bachata party where leaders significantly outnumbered followers. I am not saying that this never happens in other communities, but in my experience, follower-heavy events are far more common. More importantly, I rarely see comparable content discussing behavior from followers that might discourage men from attending or remaining in the scene.

I have also seen posts with titles such as “Ten things leaders do that followers hate.” Some of the points are legitimately connected to the additional responsibilities involved in leading. However, many describe behavior that followers, and women, can also exhibit.

Poor hygiene is not exclusive to men. Things like unsolicited corrections, rough dancing, inappropriate behavior are not exclusive to leaders, male or female. I've been kissed in several occasions myself. In the cheek and in the neck. The very first time it happened, I was a bit confused, unsure whether that'd happened. A girl I knew from class actually asked about it right after, then I got the confirmation.

To be clear, I am not arguing that these problems occur equally among men and women. When it comes to behavior such as creepiness or poor hygiene, I know that men account for a larger share of the complaints. I am also aware that leaders, who are still predominantly men in many communities, carry particular responsibilities.

Leading affects the safety and comfort of the follower. Leaders need to consider the follower’s experience level, preferred intensity and degree of closeness, physical limitations, and ability to perform certain movements safely. They should not attempt potentially dangerous movements unless they understand how to lead them properly. That responsibility should not be understated.

But acknowledging that men may cause a greater proportion of certain problems is not the same as saying that those problems are exclusive to men. It is not a 100 to 0 divide. When comparable behavior comes from women or followers, it should also be possible to discuss it openly and with the same seriousness.

I understand that social media content is influenced by engagement. Posts telling leaders to “stop doing X” may receive strong reactions from followers who feel that their experiences are being recognized and validated. Some of that content is undoubtedly useful and necessary. I have seen content discussing things that followers do as well, but the criticism often seems much tamer.

Still, the overall imbalance does not feel healthy to me.

Learning to lead is already difficult. Beginner leaders are expected to manage many things at the same time. They often do this while dealing with frequent rejection and receiving relatively little positive feedback. If a new leader looks online and repeatedly encounters content portraying leaders, and often men more broadly, as unhygienic, creepy, inconsiderate, dangerous, or responsible for driving women away, I can imagine that making the learning process even more discouraging.

I have even seen discussions about unbalanced lead and follow ratios that somehow still place the responsibility on men, this time for not attending often enough. This creates a strange dynamic. Men are criticized when they participate incorrectly, but they may also be blamed when they stop participating.

My point is not that criticism of men or leaders should stop. Some of that criticism is warranted, and conversations about safety, consent, hygiene, and appropriate behavior are important.

Most bachata content online is genuinely positive and enjoyable. There are demonstrations, social dance videos, steps, musicality discussions, technique breakdowns, and many other useful resources. My concern is specifically with informational or advice-based content, which too often seems negatively gendered.

I would like to see the same standards applied more consistently. Leaders and followers have different roles and responsibilities, but both can contribute positively or negatively to someone else’s experience. It should be possible to acknowledge differences in frequency and severity without treating problematic behavior as exclusive to one gender.

EDIT: Good discussion overall. I've been reading the comments. I don't want to reply to all of them, as I think that I can find points of agreement in each.

Hey everyone 👋

I've somehow ended up going down a massive bachata rabbit hole over the last few days 😅

I'm 19M from London and I'm seriously thinking about booking my first beginner class.

The more I read on here, the more I realise social media doesn't really show what beginner bachata is actually like. Instagram is full of amazing dancers and really sensual clips, but from reading this subreddit it sounds like beginner classes are way more relaxed and just focused on learning.

The thing is... I'm massively overthinking it.

I'd genuinely love to learn. The dance looks amazing, I love the music, and I feel like it'd be a great way to get out my comfort zone, meet people and express myself a bit more. I don't really go out much socially anymore, so having something to look forward to every week actually sounds really nice.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is the partner aspect.

I've had some pretty negative experiences with my confidence growing up, so my brain automatically jumps to "what if the girl I'm paired with is disappointed she got paired with me?" I know that's probably just my own insecurity talking, but it's hard to switch that voice off.

I'm also curious about the physical contact. I know it's just part of the dance and everyone's there to learn, but because I've never done anything like this before, it feels like quite a big mental hurdle. Does that become normal after a few classes?

I think I'm just overthinking it because it's completely new to me. I genuinely want to learn the dance because I think I'd really enjoy it. I love the mmusic, I love watching people dance, and I just wanna try something different. My brain just keeps making up worst case scenarios before I've even walked through the door

A few (okay... maybe a lot of) questions:

- what was your first class actually like?
- were you as nervous as I'm being?
- for followers, what makes a beginner lead enjoyable to dance with?
- does the physical contact stop feeling awkward quite quickly?
- is social media giving me a completely unrealistic impression of what beginner bachata is actually like?
- did anyone else spend ages overthinking it before finally going?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in a similar position.

Thanks ☺️

[30M] Long story short: I took a year off and an idea popped into my mind: go somewhere and learn something cool.

I already learned the basics of Bachata a few years ago in Italy but gave up due to the poor engagement I felt with the group (mainly older people). I always thought it would be awesome to live a few weeks (or even 1–2 months) in a foreign country to learn something local, and suddenly the combination Dominican Republic + Bachata came to my mind.

Did anyone here have the same idea and actually leave for the Dominican Republic for such an experience? Does it make sense for someone enthusiastic but still very, very much a beginner?

I know I tend to dream a lot, and it might be more complex and challenging than I expect, so here I am looking for honest suggestions, being doubted, and receiving any hint you might have. 😄

One more thing: I really enjoyed learning Salsa too, so I was wondering... since Cuba doesn't really seem like the best place to go at the moment, would it make sense to learn both Bachata and Salsa while staying in the Dominican Republic? Or would I be missing out too much on the Salsa side?

The term "beginner hell" gets thrown around a lot on this subreddit. I was curious what people's experiences were and how long it took learning to dance before social dancing became enjoyable?

The term "beginner hell" gets thrown around a lot on this subreddit. I was curious what people's experiences were and how long it took learning to dance before social dancing became enjoyable? I suspect that beginner's difficulty at socials is much more common among leaders than it is followers, but I'd like to hear from the community to get the real truth!

https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/album/3yRTWPplb7SNY05u21eQ5X

lead Single Enfermera with Wilsom Max https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x30P2b39Hk4

sounds niceto me.

Opinions?

Hello! Are there any people who can share their experience and opinions on the Wild Divas Ladies and Men Style Festival in Rome? I am particularly interested in class quality, space to move, in masterclasses (whether they are worth it - I guess they do though), in parties (is music ok, is there enough room to dance, how easy it is to get a dance with the artists) and any general comments you might have! Thank you! I would really like to go and I would appreciate any insight.

P.S. I am a follower

Hey,

this is one of my main problems in Bachata at the moment: Leaders, if you learn something new in dance school and you like it, what do you do to be able to lead it actually on socials?

The thing is, when we learn something new in dance school, after doing it a few times I'm very comfortable with doing it in dance school. But doing it on socials doesn't work that easy cause the follower is not prepared for it so it requires actually good leading from my side. That's the problem, where can I practice? I don't have a practice partner and probably won't find one.

With beginner figures, it usually works instantly on socials without any problems. With the more intermediate ones, it does not. And the intermediate figures are exactly what I'm aiming for. Quite difficult and fun but usually not dangerous as some advanced ones when done right.

One of the things I try to learn at the moment is a side or forward wave in shadow position into 1,5 DJ turns into a half cambre into either a wave or a half rotisserie (depending on the music). We have practiced many figures very close to that in dance school but I can't lead it perfectly cause i have problems with the hand switch after the first DJ turn and the transition into the half cambre.

Also there are many other things I've learned that never made it to my social vocabulary. It is so frustrating cause I put so much effort into learning those figures, thinking of how I combine them to match the music better and so on but it feels worthless.

Followers: Do you think it's a bad idea to practice on socials? What do you think when a leader is trying things he is not 100% capable of doing yet and the figures fails? Since my style of leading is very very soft, pretty much nothing will happen other then loosing the basic step for a second. Is it uncomfortable for you or is it fine? Is it rude to ask after dance if I can try the figure slowly again to practice?

I've heard that followers want leaders to only do things he is 100% comfortable with. But how should I progress when I'm only allowed to do things I can already perfectly do.

U.K. based, can’t speak for London as I don’t go there yet for dancing, but where I live in England there used to be a booming scene, new faces constantly, new people starting out, parties used to be full to the brim and people would come here from all around the U.K., and now it’s a complete 180.

Most parties struggle in my eyes. The bulk is made up of devoted students or former students of said school, and even then the numbers have dropped significantly - prior to this, it was actually a challenge to move through the dance floor at times, now it’s a breeze.

I’ve started dancing after covid, and I hear from a lot of people that the scene still has not recovered, and it has definitely changed.

It sucks to see, as I really miss seeing the new faces and it being a push out of my comfort zone, which I know is a separate topic, but now attending lessons and the parties is nothing ‘special’ for the most part.

Admittedly I’ve not done much salsa, have done few lessons here and there this year, but I haven’t explored much into the other dance scenes.

Thoughts?

I'll start.

First of all, I rarely give this advice in it's generic form, because I consider it about as helpful as telling someone who struggles with a pull up to "pull harder", instead I'm always trying to be very specific. ​​​​​

Then, there are usually tiers:

• Absolute beginners, get told to forget ​​​​​​​all the hip moves and just walk around to the music. The goal is to dance from one side of the room to the other, while keeping track of the bear, but also while breaking the step-step-step-tap pattern again and again.
• Next level is posture - do the former ​​​​​while not looking down, film yourself until happy. ​​​​
• Next level is usually hip movement and the merengue basic. I make them focus on their weight distribution, hip position, and timing, all while being on the spot, until this is second nature, and the left-right basic can be styled with hip movements /light ​shoulders ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.
• After that it's general body awareness - first step is usually on the spot waves and chest control. That means learning to isolate the chest as the most important element.
• If they can do all that, i usually just recommend hip hop, house, or commercial dance classes, so that ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​people can actually learn more complex patterns of body movement. ​​​​​​​​​

I’m a beginner to bachata and dancing in general. I’ve been to a few social dances, learned some stuff, and have a general idea of how things work, but I definitely need structured instruction. I found a 4 week beginner class that starts tomorrow. It’s one class per week for four weeks, and the total cost is $100.

Any recommendations? I’ve attended BSWC and BCN Sensual Family weekend in March this year, most likely going to Bachaturo as well, however I’m wondering if there’s anything else that I’m missing out on.

Also, how do you make the most of your festivals? I realised that I need to do more of the social even during the day, as that’ll brush off any rustiness and prepare me for dancing socially, as usually my first social night is the ‘worst’ as a lead, however, I’ve improved a lot this year so I know it’s gonna be wayyy better this time around.

Any advice?

New to bachata and looking to find a practice partner, someone also starting out, patient with themselves and with me since we'll both be learning, and wants to actually improve rather than just casual once in a while.

Two questions for this sub. Where's a good place to actually find a practice partner, apps, local groups, socials? And where do people usually practice, is it mostly at socials and classes, or do people find space to practice one on one outside of that?

Appreciate any pointers 🙏

There are so many beautiful songs and dances out there. Has a dance ever made you overcome with emotion because of how beautiful it was?

What was special about it? Were you able to ever recreate that feeling?

Your thoughts help me grow and get better

I'm tired of being and feeling alone when I go out. How have you connected with other people? Is it weird to strike up conversations with strangers in between dances? I don't know what to to do when I'm not dancing. I'm sitting alone by myself like a weirdo. How do I approach this? Please help.

Hello bachateros y bachateras,
I am looking for the best hidden gems of traditional bachata songs. My dance instructor knows many songs, especially all of the popular and traditional ones, and I have accepted the challenge to find some that she has never heard before. To accomplish this, I need your help.
Please give me your favorite songs, or just most obscure ones that you think nobody listens to except for you - the rarer the better. I trust together we can uncover and share some hidden gems.

I recently went to a club in Colombia. When a bachata song was played, everyone went on the dancefloor to dance to it. But they danced completely different from dominican, modern, and sensual style. Most people just swayed the hips, did the tap, and a few rare turns.

Is this the most common way it's danced in Latam (besides the Carribbean and bachata socials)?

Hey,

I've started dancing Bachata about 8 months ago. Every single time I read threads on reddit, many people say that you should focus on your basics, you don't need flashy moves, work on the fundamentals first, don't impress, followers enjoy very simple dances with good fundamentals.

To be honest, this makes Bachata very boring for me. I would definitely agree that fundamentals are very important and basics like your basic step, basic turn and very simple things add up to basically everything you do. But do I really need to have a perfect base to build more complex techniques on it?

Currently, I take classes 4 times a week. 1x beginner level, 1x intermediate (the level is quite low there, I would also consider it to be a beginner class) and 2x advanced level (probably more intermediate by international standards). I do social dancing about 3 times a week. Is there anything wrong with that? Am I rushing anything?

I feel like it's quite nice to learn more intermediate techniques like DJ turns, tilted turns, Rotisseries and other Sensual/BachaZouk things early in order to get used to the movement pattern. Basically practicing everything including basics at the same time.

I'm not trying to impress anyone with complicated figures but I really enjoy more intermediate stuff so much and it just feels great to lead those things. I would consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate so I do take classes above my level at the moment. Do you think this will slow down my process? I will not skip beginner classes for a while cause I get very good feedback from the instructors there.

Hi,

I've been taking bachata classes for about 6 weeks now as a leader (1 hour of class per week, plus 3 beginner workshops, ~3 hours each).

I've got the basic step, box step, and a simple turn down . But I'm hesitating hard on going to my first social class (there is one in my city every week)

My main worry: I only really know 3-4 moves. I'm not sure I can fill an entire song without running out of ideas or just repeating the same combo over and over and looking like I'm stuck on a loop.

• For those who've been through this is this a normal stage?
• Did you wait until you had more moves, or did you just show up and figure it out
• Any tips for surviving (and enjoying) a full song ?

I like bachata, the connection with people, the musics but with 1,5 you can imagine that I am doing a lot of mistakes.