Lincoln Center Moments At Home

Bachata with Joan Soriano

Goals

Experience the music of Bachata through body percussion- clapping, slapping, stomping
Learn the Bachata rhythm, and dance together
Translate rhythm into an artwork.

Scroll down for a video and corresponding activities. You can replay the link for reference as you experience the activities below.

Video

In this video you can use your mouse to move the screen around the room!

You can click on the screen and drag the view to look around the stage or turn the camera towards the audience.

In this video, Joan Soriano infuses steel string bachata with equal parts romance and grit in his performance at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center on October 5, 2017.

Bachata is a style of Latin American music, originating from the Dominican Republic. It features primarily African rhythms alongside Indigenous and European musical elements, reflecting the cultural diversity of the Dominican Republic.

Warm Up

A group stands in a circle a brightly lit room, holding hands with their arms outstretched over their heads.

Photo Credit: Kevin Yatarola

Take a deep breath in for two counts and out for two counts.
Take a deep breath in for four counts and out for four counts.
Continue breathing as we all count out loud

Inhale: 1,2,3,4
and
Exhale: 1,2,3,4

Repeat this several times

We’ve started to create a rhythm with our breath.

Now, without the breath, clap it.

Clap: 1,2,3,4 and 1,2,3,4

Reflection / Discussion

1. What did you notice about the musicians?

How did they interact with each other?
How did they interact with the crowd?

Audience members dance in pairs on a crowded dance floor.

Band member plays guitar on stage behind a microphone, audience stands in the background, person stands in front of stage recording on a phone.

Joan Soriano, a man with dark skin and cornrows pulled back, wears a blue blazer, plays guitar on stage surrounded by three band members.

2. What did you notice about their instruments?

In a Bachata band there are typically 5 to 7 instruments:

Requinto (lead guitar)
Segunda (rhythm guitar)
Bass guitar / Electric guitar
Bongos
Güira (a percussion instrument)

On the left Joan Soriano, a man with dark skin and cornrows pulled back, wearing a blue blazer, plays guitar on stage. Center a band member sits playing bongos, on the right another member stands playing guitar.

3. What did you notice about the rhythm?

How did it change throughout the performance?
How did you feel when it got faster? When it got slower?
Rhythm is all around us. For example, walking has rhythm, a clock has rhythm. Where else in our lives do you hear rhythm?

Movement Activity: Rhythm and Dance

Ba-Cha-Ta Rhythms are from the Dominican Republic.

Let’s explore these rhythms together through movement.

Activity Video

This video will take you through the extension activity below with a facilitator. You can choose to watch the video and do the activity along with it. Or, you can read the activity and participate by scrolling down.

1. Start by counting the rhythm out loud several times:

And 1, 2 and 3, 4

And 5 and 6 and 7, 8

Linda, a white woman with short brown hair and glasses wearing a yellow shirt, lifts her hand towards the camera.

2. Now add some body percussion
(using our bodies to create movement and sound):

Try it with a clap

Try it with a tap on your lap then shoulders

Shake out your hands with this rhythm

Take teeny tiny steps underneath yourself.

Linda, a white woman with short brown hair and glasses wearing a yellow shirt, sits in front of a window eyes closed, clapping.

3. Add more movements...

You can stand if you like and move around your space.

Move your hips and arms and shoulders to the rhythm too.

Bachata is danced with a partner, feel free to grab a partner and continue moving.

Linda, a white woman with short brown hair wearing a yellow shirt, sits in front of a window looking at the camera, left hand on her belly, right hand bent at elbow stretched right.

Art Making

We are going to create a rhythm using visual art.

Supplies:

White piece of paper, or any solid color
Newspaper
Glue or tape

First, tear up the newspaper into four different sizes.

Small, big, long, short.

Four piles of torn newspaper in various shapes and sizes on a wooden table.

Then sort all the cuttings into their own piles -

all short together, all long together, etc.

Now, create your rhythm by gluing the shapes onto the paper in repeated patterns.

For example, my rhythm is:

Big, small, small
Long, Long, short, short, short
Big, Big

Torn pieces of newspaper in various patterns on a white paper.

Additional Activity

Create your own instruments, using things you have at home.

Try experimenting with different size containers and filling:

Empty bottles of soda, olive oil, creamer, salsa, and vanilla extract, half-empty salt shaker, and cardboard paper towel tube.

Bag of nuts, dried rice, and two bags of dried beans

Or use something found at home to be your instrument:

Blue ballpoint pen on a book with a black plain cover, sitting on a wooden table.

Plastic bottle of cat treats with a red lid sits on a wooden table.

Shake and tap along with
Joan Soriano’s music.

Take turns playing your instruments.

Feel free to change the tempo (speed).

Explore More

Extension Questions:

How was your art-making inspired by the Bachata rhythms?
How does Bachata compare to your other favorite musical styles?

Additional Links:

To learn more about Joan Soriano, click here.
To learn more about Bachata music, click here.
To watch more videos from Lincoln Center at Home clips, click here.

Share:

Tell us what you think! Email us at access@lincolncenter.org to share your thoughts on the activities and website.

Post photos of your art projects using the hashtag #LincolnCenterAtHome.

Click below for a printable copy of these activities

Joan Soriano_Digital Activities

Click here or use the navigation bar to view more videos and activities from past weeks.

To learn more about Lincoln Center Moments and upcoming programs, click here.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse