Dance with Passion!!

The Bachata is a sexually charged dance with origins in the Dominican Republic. The music it's performed to, also called bachata, is generally slow and sensual, a ballad.The focus is more on intimacy with your partner, markedly different from the flashy, showy moves of the more popular salsa. If you have listened to the music on any of the pages so far, chances are you've heard it already.

The Bachata is a simple 8-beat movement. As with other latin dances, the male leads his partner. While it was originally danced backwards and fowards, this became right and left here in the U.S., as Dominicans brought their dance to the clubs and dancehalls, and it was exposed to R'n'B influences. Modern Bachata, largely developed in New York, in addition to the basic step, includes intricate footwork: enchufles, lock steps, guapachas, slides. This transition was aided by bands such as Aventura, who helped to popularize the new step. Bands such as Aventura have also changed the way bachata is played, incorporating R'n'B, Hip-hop, and reggaeton beats to form a new sound.

At any rate, the only way to appreciate the Bachata is to see it, or dance it yourself. Below is a video of one of the best Bachata routines I've ever seen, incidentally, performed by Dominicans.

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