BACHATA SITE DEFINITIONS AND WORDS USED TO DEFINE AUTHENTIC SOCIAL DANCE
TRADITIONAL: Is the early evolved FOUNDATION of a dance. All social dances are using some evolved elements from other social dances during its bird together with new elements fitted the dance altogether. Many of the evolved elements are inspired from dances which music also are a part of the inspiration for the new music genre that has occurred prior to the dance. Meaning that within a certain time frame, often a couple of decades there is evolved a unique basic dance structure. A new dance in its first stage fitted the new style of music. That is what I call the TRADITIONAL dance, looking back in time to when the first phase of the dance was evolved, a new tradition, a new dance has been born. This is btw. also how you recognize a specific dance by analyzing its basic dance structures.
AUTHENTIC: A new dance will of cause evolve further based on the further evolution of the music (new dynamics, new instruments, faster paces etc.) BUT this further evolution is based on the TRADITIONAL way of dancing. That is what I call dancing AUTHENTIC. Yes there are new elements added to the dance but they are evolved from the TRADITIONAL basic dance structure to secure that the previous generations work as we already know is working perfectly according to interaction, interpretation, flow etc. is not destroyed or changes so much that the dance is becoming less well functioning, which is a very important part of any evolution of social dances.
Those who evolve on a dance HAS to know the dance in all details, that’s why one need to study the dance for many years to get the necessary knowledge to evolve without making the dance change from good to worse. This is actually the largest problem we are facing today with many more or less ignorant people making bad changes to the dances. Those people are a new generation of dancers coming into the social dance scene from the beginning of the zeroes with very little knowledge about social dancing in general, among others many failed sport dancers and contemporary dancers now starting a carrier within social dancing without the knowledge and respect for the fundamental essence of social dancing and its real evolutionary processes. Evolution is that one always will be able to recognize the basic dance structure and the specific body moves to the dance, whatever happens during the evolution of the dance because the evolution is at it always should be evolved from the basic dance structure. That is dancing AUTHENTIC to me. There is always room for further evolution if the music should evolve even further but it's possible to preserve the etiquette AUTHENTIC to the dance because of a respectful and knowledgeable evolution of the dance based on the recognizable structure that we know fit perfectly to the basic structure of the music. If the dance isn't recognizable after the changes it’s not AUTHENTIC any more but a “new“ different dance that should have a new different name also!
ORIGINAL: The same as AUTHENTIC.
BACHATA: The Authentic social dance from The Dominican Republic in the Caribbean evolved from Dominican Bolero in the sixties which again come from the Cuban dance Danzon.
MODERN AND SENSUAL: Western popular dances based on the Dominican tourist dance entertainment at the resorts, a line dance with a line dance structures dancing from side to side and added elements and styling from other dances as American Salsa, Tango, Brazilian Zouk, Sport Dance, Contemporary Dance with none or only very little authentic Bachata and then therefore not really Bachata but as said a western mix of different dances.
Social Dance is about self-entertainment in a social context and since the nineteenth century most authentic social dances have been couple dances danced in front of each other - Previously it was social Group Dances (Country Dance) with many dancing together and with partner changes. When dancing in pairs it was mostly done side by side - Social Couple Dance is also improvised dancing unlike the earlier social Group Dances (Country Dance) which was with different choreographed/prearranged elements all dancers knew.
Social Dance is about the INNER experiences bases on a Lead/Follow connection and the dance content is improvises by the leader based on his experience within the dance - The follower then follow, similar based on "her" experience within the same dance - It means that social dance is the ultimate cooperation between the two because nothing is planed in advance - Every dance is different from the previously and any dance is different from dance partner to dance partner.
Social Dance is NOT about WHAT you are, but about WHO you are, it means your personality and your ability to interact both in and in-between the dances, nothing else.
Dance Sport and Show Dance are all choreographed dances made for entertainment or competitions - Choreographed dancing means it's the same dance/dances the dancers practice again and again to make it a perfect act/show for the judges or the audience - It means little variation compared with Social Dancing and it also means the approach is like in a job by doing the same rutines again and again, day in and day out with a specific goal in mind - Not always just great fun.
Social Dance is ONLY about having fun but also have some other advantages regarding the health, both mentally and psychically - Mentally it gives great pleasure because it keeps your brain in shape and it secrete stimulating endorphins dancing with an effortless flow and dynamic - The more effortless flow you can create together the more endorphins are released in the brain but this off course requires some practice - Psychically Social Dance is beneficial because of the physical movement itself and the significant increased body control achieved by dancing a lot which keep you in a good shape psychically.
But notice to achieve this great fun one also have to practice social dance, it's nothing just coming to you by itself - Good social dancers practice a lot that's why they are good and it becomes great fun - To become a good social dancer first of all takes that you have learned all the basic dance elements and techniques to the specific dance properly and that's your dance instructor responsibility - Therefore be careful with who you choose not all in the business are skilled enough to provide you with the perfect base and that's very important for your future dance skills.
Next is that you are connected with your dance partner whether you are the leader or the follower of the dance - Leaders need to lead clearly with the right timing but always lightly and discrete - Followers have to be attentive and present but not tensed so they follow properly and off course also with the right timing - Both have to have a relaxed attitude regarding the dance, it's not a competition - Also never bee afraid of playing with steps, turns/figures, footwork and body movements - Being playful and experimenting will only make you a better social dancer, you learn a lot from it and it gives your personality - By this you will also learn what isn’t working but be respectful to the original structure of the dance, it ISN'T a coincident how the dance has evolved, don't believe that you can chance a dance and keep it just as good - It takes great skills and long time to evolve a dance in a perfect way.
Don't forget that all social dances are evolved by dedicated social dancers before us over many decades - They have been experimenting and training for a long time to secure that everything works perfectly according to the interactive flow and the musically dynamics - Never forget that! - As mentioned nothing is a coincident regarding the structure of a social dance - If you are skilled social dancer with many many years of experience within a dance you can evolve further on the dance but if you make changes in the structures you will surely destroy the functionality of the dance and at the same time change the look of the dance.
Social couple dance is in reality a trinity between the Leader, the Follower and the Music and notice only few things in life are similar enriching than this feeling being really connected with your dance partner and the music and just letting go...
Bachata Site is written by Frank E who has danced and analyzed authentic Bachata and the western dances called Bachata since 2003 - He has been equipped with video footage from the Dominican Republic dating back to 2000 and continuous forward - He has followed Bachata on YouTube from it's inception in 2005 and thereby reviewed thousands of dance videos with the authentic dance Bachata and the western studio dances together with watching social dancers at many socials in The Dominican Republic and worldwide - The Site is from 27th of Marts 2012.
Frank E teach authentic Dominican Bachata, Merengue and Bolero plus Cuban Son, Casino and Bolero in Copenhagen, Denmark: www.cphsalsa.dk
You can contact Frank E at cphsalsa@gmail.com