BACHATA THE MUSIC

The origin of Bachata is as you probably already know by now The Dominican Republic in the Caribbean both regarding the Music and the Dance.

The music Bachata originated in the El Cibao region and grew fast from there to all over the country among the lower class citizens including the large poor areas of the capital Santo Domingo. The music spread through Bars, Local Musicians and Radio Stations like La Guarachita. The name Bachata was given to the music in the early seventies as an contemptuous term for the lower class music and parties. Bachata is today a highly recognized and popular music genre all over the world including the social dance Bachata made for the music in the Dominican Republic.

Bachata music was in the late fifties and early sixties very semilar to the Puerto Rican Bolero from the fifties and then it over the following decades evolved into the faster, more characteristic and unique Bachata sound as we know it today - The Caribbean Bolero is a Cuban invention from the last quarter of 1800s not semilar to the earlier Spanish Bolero.

Today you can find Bachata music in many varying paces from the slow 'Bolero-pace' to the fast 'Salsa-pace': In the 60ies it was slow like a Bolero. In the 70-80ies it became faster and this sound and dynamic is what we today easily can recognize as the characteristic Bachata. In the 90ies the pace and dynamic reached its heights being very fast in general. In the 00es it became slower again and here in the 10ths we see a lot of romantic Bachata like we saw in the 60-70ies Bachata-Boleros together with mostly medio tempo paces and dynamics.

The first recording in the Dominican Republic (DR) with Bachata (Bachata-Bolero) was with Jose Manuel Calderon and the track 'Qué Será De Mi' recorded the 30 maj 1962 at the radio station "La Voz del Tropico" in Santo Domingo. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the first Bachata-Bolero played in The Dominican Republic but only the first recorded. It was a difficult time for poor musicians to get anything published anywhere without the right connections.

The first vinyl discs for promotion purpose in The Donimican Republic with "Qué Será De Mi" on one side and a waltz "Borracho De Amor" on the other side was printed in San Francisco, California and then soon after again re-printed in thousands and then sold all over the Dominican Republic.

It was from that period the genre was formed even though the music was slower then (Bachata-Bolero) and the music was recorded with acustic guitars known today as Bachata Tradicional or Bachata Clásica.

In 1986 the genre got a new era when Blas Duran started to record with an electric guitar and almost everybody followed that 'new' sound called Bachata Moderna.

The structure of Bachata Music More about the Bachata Music in general.

Long story short: Bachata the music has evolved from the Puerto Rican Bolero witch in general was faster than the Cuban Bolero which was the first Boleros in the Caribbean. Bachata also evolved with influence from the Cuban Son and the Dominican Merengue and this also applies to the real social dance Bachata from the Dominican Republic.

BACHATA THE DANCE

The evolution of the dance Bachata: Bachata was in the beginning of the sixties danced in a close position only like the Cuban Danzon from which both the Cuban Son and the Dominican Son has evolved. But notice when the Danzon steps became the basic steps for the Dominican Son with a slight change in the order of the steps for unknown reasons but still the same structure of the steps, these steps was changed in Cuba for the Cuban Son to a slightly different structure.  As told regarding the music Bachata it was in the beginning a Bolero and the basic steps for dancing to this Bolero was the same basic steps used in the Dominican Son. These steps and other new structures started to Evolve together with the more dynamic Bachata  music coming up in the eighties and nineties. The first evolution was adding a tap as a fourth step, then later also syncopated steps (steps in between the melody beats: 1,2,3,4) and footwork inspired from Dominican Son. Individual turns also became a new feature, first the Vuelta (full turn) and then the Enchufla (position change/half turn). The idea with the Enchufla was to be able to change position and thereby create more dynamic to fit the new dynamics and faster paces in the music. The creation of it was based on the basic steps with the first step to the side and then the second step passing the guy and that also includes the Vuelta with a turning step to the side and then from there turned on the spot. Notice when dancing to the Bolero music which became Bachata music over the years the steps was danced without the Tap and turning slowly counter clockwise. This turning counter clockwise was taken out of the dance Bachata and as mentioned added a tap and the new turns Vuelta and Enchufla together with new positions to dance from during the evolution of the dance e.g. the open position now having both the close, the semi close and the open dance positions to dance from. The bouncing way of dancing some dancers do while dancing is coming from the dance Merengue. Bachata was by this several decades long and still active evolutionary process carefully designed to fit the continuous evolving music and thereby the dance Bachata is the unique bodily expression of the music Bachata the same way all the authentic social dances evolve to fit any unique music genre.

In Bachata there is as mentioned a unique evolved basic dance structure which is used by all the experienced dancers, but the size of the steps, the angel of the steps, the footwork, the movements can vary because the dancers, opposite in e.g. Dance Sport are working to create their own unique and personal dance style. It's in general what social dance is about, being free to express oneselves the way one want according to the mood and the character of the music but by using the common evolved and now fundamental dance structures in a stylish way. Thereby everyone everywhere can dance together through this common dance structure and still create their own individual style. That is the ideological idea of all social couple dancing opposite sport dances where everyone have to do everything in an exact way making all the dancers look similar on the dance floor.

Like all social dances Bachata also have had certain time periods for how the dance was danced: In the early years as mentioned Bachata was in general danced romantic with less turns, no syncopated steps and no footwork to that time period slower Bachata/Bolero music style. Then slowly there were evolved faster and more dynamic music including the replacement of the acoustic guitars to electric guitars in the second half of the eighties and on that the dance evolved further according to these changes becoming more dynamic adding more turns, syncopated steps and footwork. Today Bachata music are to be found in many paces, moods and dynamics. As a social dancer one has to adapt the dance to the track being played by using more or less of the elements to the dance which you in details can find described below. By learning all the dance elements you will be able to dance to any kind and any pace of the music Bachata.

THE DANCE STRUCTURE TO BACHATA

The purpose of social dance is to create the best physical connection while dancing to be able to have the optimal lead/follow interaction and thereby also obtain the best possible dance flow together. I call it the functionality of the dance. The longer a dance has been around the more the social dancers have been working on making all the basic dance elements the best possible and by this also obtain the best possible dance flow. Please don't underestimate all that work, it takes many years and without this common and well evolved dance structures we wont be able to feel the dance as intensely as the purpose is with this work (see also Musicality).

Paso Basico (Basic Steps): Danced in a kind of square structure with small variations and can include twisting feet and syncopations (taps and steps between the beats), evolved from the Dominican Bolero/Son steps. Bolero as a dance also include walking/traveling steps (Pasealas) going back in several measures/bars or fourth in several measures/bars. Bolero also has a right turn where the couple are turning together clockwise on the spot (Giro) also used in Bachata and Son. There are no individual turns (Vueltas) in Bolero - BASIC STEPS

The origin of the Dominican Bolero/Son basic steps are from the Cuban Danzón which was a very popular music and dance genre all over the Caribbean in the 19th century including The Dominican Republic before the popularity of Bolero and Son displaced Danzón. The Cuban Danzón steps are also from where the Dile Que No (in Cuban Son and Salsa) and the X-body Lead (in American Salsa) evolved from but is in Danzón made much more subtle. 

Giro (Couple Half or Full Turn or More): A turn coming from the Bolero where the couple turn together clockwise on the spot from a half turn to a full turn or more by using from one to several measures/bars.

Vuelta (Individual Full Turn): A unique evolved full turn to Bachata for one person starting with a step to the side and turning the body in the same direction at the same time and from there turned on the spot. The Vuelta can be done over one to two measures/bars (over two measures/bars I call it a Slow Vuelta) - VUELTA

Enchufla (Couple Changing Positions): A Lady inside turn moving forward on the 2nd step and then turn facing the dance partner from the 2nd to the 3rd step, the 1st step is to the side, This turn/position change is also evolved unique to Bachata from the structure of the Bachata basic steps - ENCHUFLA.

Zapato/a (Footwork): A part of the styling and playing with the syncopated rhythms in the music, some Cuban Son inspired and some newer made for the dance in accordance to the many syncopated rhythms in the music Bachata - FOOTWORK.

Movimiento (Movements and Styling): Natural soft African moves which can be danced with or without Bounce which is moving the body down in between the beats and up again on the beats by spring the legs a little, coming from the Dominican Dance Merengue. Danced with homogeneous soft Arms, Hands, Hip and Torso movements with curved lines, women with a feminine attitude and men with a masculine attitude, NO straight lines in Arms and Fingers as in Dance Sport - STYLING.

Figuras (Figures): More dynamic ways to use the combinations of vueltas and enchuflas combined with variations of the basic steps or/and footwork - FIGURES.

Nueva Evolución (New evolutionary elements of today by expanding on the original basic elements above):

Vuelta Opposite: An Individual Turn done the opposite way than usually starting e.g. on the right leg on the 1st step but then turned to the left (opposite as usual) on the 2nd step and finished on the 3rd step. There are different ways of doing the opposite turn, it can be done as a half turn (180 degrees) or as a full turn (360 degrees).

About Syncopations which are are steps in between the melody beats made to fit the many dynamic syncopations in the Bachata Music:

Ordinary Syncopations are as mentioned steps coming between the beats and they are normally coming between the 1st and 2nd beat and the 2nd and 3th beat dancing the Basic Steps as mentioned above by twisting the feet between the beats or tapping between the beats moving your legs inward. There is also a Kicking variation where the steps can be done between all the beats and in those you are moving the legs outward between the beats (kicking).

Significant Syncopations are steps between the beats also but where they are marked by an accent in the body also.

They appears as an extension of the tap between the tap and the following step e.g. if the tap is on the 4th beat the significant syncopation is coming between the 4th and 1st beat in the following Bar. Those are the one you also can se as "cha cha" steps going back and forth in the basic steps to the more dynamic music (not semilar to the cha cha chá steps in the dance ChaChaChá). Some call what I call Significant Syncopations for double steps or triple steps.

About Footwork which here is defined as combinations with varied kind of steps, slides, kicks etc. also including syncopations. Footwork can be performed from one to several bars in the music and from relatively simple to very advanced.

Dance Connection: Open where the turns and footwork are done with 1 or 2 hand connection. Semi Close with the classic connection with the mans left hand and the women's right hand connected including the mans right hand behind the women's back and women's left hand on the mans shoulder, no torso contact. Close is the same as Semi Close or embracing with torso contact.

Musicality is about dancing to and with the music, it's about two very important issues: The first one is how the dance has evolved to and with the character of the music Bachata by the generations of social dancers in DR from it's start in the early sixties until today which have been a long evolutionary journey based on the Bolero and with the social dances Son and Merengue (which music genre also have affected the evolution of the music) as inspiration for the creation and the evolution of the dance elements, I call this for the evolutionary musicality (the unique corporal expression created on the specific musical genre). The second one is how you as a leader or follower in the dance Bachata interpret the specific track you are dancing to here and now regarding the mood, dynamic, pace, rhythms etc. using these elements evolved for the specific dance (the evolutionary musicality) which I then call the spontaneous musicality (the unique corporal expression of the specific mood and dynamics of the music track being played). Both are very important and both takes lots of experience in social dancing in general, first of all to be able to evolve on a dance together with and to the nature of the music and it's evolution and second to be able to dance Bachata of today using more or less of these evolved dance elements according to the specific track beeing played and how this track include syncopated rhythms, a specific mood, pace and instrumental dynamics etc.

Bachata the dance and its given name: To any dance it's the basic dance structures together with how the body is used in the dance (styling) which define the dance. And accordingly the dance is given a name. To Bachata it's the above described dance structures made and evolved by its inventors and evolutionists of Bachata, the social dancers, which define the dance Bachata. The dance Bachata got its name in the seventies in the Dominican Republic as the lower class music and social dance who also was those who evolved and transformed the music from the Caribbean Bolero.

BACHATA MUSIC PLAYLIST (CLICK HERE)