Yeeees! I would like to come to Sydney! But I cannot this year, maybe next year. Thank u for your words Nestor. You are a very open person, i think that´s the big factor some make a person professional in what he/she do.

I´m working with a choreography with modern dance – modern bachata now, I can send you the video to your mail in some weeks when we are ready. I would like to get feedback from you. =)

I like your style and mix with zouk! I have a very similar step!

You can look this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_kPWOouM_0

It was a training for 3 days ago. I use this video just now for show what kind of Modern Bachata I will teach in my lessons. I use little zouk and I don´t show the modern dance influenced I have in this video, I m working with that with some news steps.

Good luck with the Sydney International Bachata Festival!
Que viva la Bachata en todo el mundo! =) =)

Enzo

if you like Bachata influenced by Zouk you should come to the Sydney International Bachata Festival.

Australian salsa and bachata are both heavily influenced by Zouk.

Body waves, dips, headrolls, muneca, etc are all taught here and used.

I think Zouk goes well with Bachata.

I have also heard that there a few guys i the US who are also starting to fuse Zouk with Bachata, i think thats awesome!!

I remember when i started doing it i was told that it should be done but i still do it…

I would like to see some of your work if i can? email me on nestor@latindance.com.au

Check this clip and you will see what how we mix bachata with Zouk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmY1rT-aJdo

Look forward to hearing from you

Que viva la Bachata!!

Nestor

This forum is great, you are great guys. I have learned a lot reading this. First I need to say, I am not so good in my english, I hope you understand what I want to say.

I dance modern dance, jazz, ballet, salsa, bachata and others dances, nut my specialization is modern bachata. And my opinion begins with the words of Merce Cunningham, the great dancer, teacher and choreographs of the last century. He had a mix of different dance-style in his choreographies and the people loved him, one day a journalist asked him :”What is the different between Modern, jazz, ballet, etc for u? And he said: “The dance is not about differences between type of dances or styles, the dance is about MOVEMENTS INFORMATION.”. I love this word: movement’s information.

From the day I heard this I began to think outside the box with the dance in general When I dance I try to dance in a way some feels good for my personality, depending of different factors as how I interpret the music and what I want to express with my feelings. The dance is a way to express and experience my feelings of love, passion, fury, jealous, etc. Styles?

Now in the bachata is the same for me. I danced first the first evolution of bachata (the standard one, but I agree about the name, I don´t like the name;) ).
I love to dance modern bachata, I began the last year and the inspiration came especially from you Juan and dancer whose name is Korke, I sow the movements information and I create my own version of the movements, but the model in the geometry in the displacement is similar some times. I agree that the modern Bachata is a evolution of the original bachata that open the possibility to break the models and you can mix what you want and create your own geometry models when you move to another place in the dance floor or creating movements with the body. Now and days I´m developing an own sub-style from modern bachata, is a mix 50-70% modern bachata and the rest of the inspiration is coming from zouk and modern dance (the contact improvisation&modern dance adapt each other in a very good way together with the modern bachata). I am not so experience in bachata, only 3 years, and I will have my first class, has modern bachata teacher in two weeks, I think I am the first one who is starting modern bachata curs in Stockholm (You are coming one weekend to Stockholm Petter, I mean a long-time curs ), I am happy to read all the comments in this forum, is important to know . What I want to say to my students are 3 different points, when we speak about STYLES:

- Nobody own the dance, nobody know the true of the good or no good when you are looking for your own style. Some religious people say: “God is…”, and I say “the dance is”. The people try to express feelings from love, experiences from the history of a country or from they own lives, with each movement, in a dance, , but the WAY, is different for every person or culture-group depending of the experiences, sources of inspiration some the music (the music is a big source of inspiration, but not the only one, the environment of the dance place, the culture in the country, the experience of the two persons some are dancing, etc all is influencing you in how you want to express with your movements).

- You create your own dance style. Each song you dance is like to play a movie. You go in a roll, the woman has a roll, you make a history together, and experience a history of love, of tragedy, of jealous, etc. The style is just to try to use a name of a group of movements some are popular for a high group of persons, but you can have a mix of styles in your movements and you can create new movements at the same time you are dancing…

- Sist men inte minst (The last but of equal weight). This is exact the same point som Petter said in one message, I agree with him 100%, this is my way to relate with the girls. I think in the same way, I copy-paste Petters words:

“(…) The only thing I have to make sure – is that IF the woman don´t know what I´m doing, I will make sure to correct whatever I´m doing in a way so that the woman never knew I was trying to do She didn´t understand! THAT is what is important for the ladies. If they felt everything worked SO smoothly, they will remember that dance until the next time. And you know what – she will feel that SHE is a GREAT dancer as she could follow every single move!! THAT is important!! (…)
I think all the people can pursue they own styles, and if you learn a style you begin soon creating a sub-style or mix of styles depending on different factors as the music, the culture your are living,

Thank u guys! Continue sharing thoughts about this wonderful dance!

“Let the good instructors shine” ??? point to one?

Let the good instructors shine, it’s thanks to them that Bachata is so popular now!

[COMMENT HAS BEEN REMOVED BY MODERATOR DUE TO INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE]

and those dominican that you said don’t think like me well they are sale out just trying to get a piece of the pie. If you can’t beat them join then that is what they are doing.and for your information bacahata can be dance solo you just don;t know how.

We all have opinions which are right or wrong only to people who agree or disagree with them and here is my little one

I love Bachata and am very happy with the growth that its getting and the amount of promotion this dance is getting which is great for everyone, teachers, dancers, music artists etc.

However, I do believe that Carlos opinions is negative promotion especially for the Dominican Style. Carlos can you not see that your ranting is actually having the opposite effect, I do not see you as a promoter of Dominican culture or Bachata but rather the grumpy old man who bangs his walking stick asking for the music to be turned down, DUDE CHILL OUT!!

I along with Buena Vista Dance (Moro & Gaby) promote Dominican Style but above all else we promote the love of Bachata. We are not Dominicans and you do not have to be Dominican to dance like one, you just need to learn to love and feel it that’s all. I also have had the privilege of studying bachata in the Dominican Republic and being Dominican does not mean that you love and feel Bachata, that is why they have Bachata teachers in the Dominican Republic because they have to learn the same way we do. I am Italian but cannot make pizza!

We as a school urge you to try out and dance all the styles, and within those styles there is the individual style of that teacher. I may teach but I have always seen myself as a student, my learning door is always open, never closes and I learn from everyone I do not overlook anyone as we are all different and our individual interpretation makes us unique although we are all doing the same thing at the core. My teachers make me a better dancer and my students make me a better teacher.

All I will say is lets all keep doing what we are doing and that is continue to spread the love of bachata, continue to dance it, continue to request the dj’s to play more bachata and so on and so on

CHEVERE !!

To be honest, Bachata is still considered as some sort of anigma in Israel. Most salsa dancers know it exist, some of them know the basic moves of the Standard Bachata, but very few have bothered working on their style and advanciing the dance to be more then an excuse to be doing naughty things to girls on the dance floor without it being considered a harassment. ;-P I’m happy to see that in some parts of the world, people actually spend time on developing and improving their Bachata dance with various styles.

Tell you the truth, I enjoy the proximity and intimacy that Bachata brings to the couple (even if they are not a couple in real life), and as such I’m not really connecting to the Modern Bachata. It takes the intimacy of the dance and put too much space between the partners. If you watch Standard Bachata dance without sound, you will know it’s a Bachata for sure. Modern Bachata without sound, can look like any other dancing style, with the exception of some lovely hip movements that can be viewed as the Standard Bachata imbued in the Modern Bachata (I hope I made my meaning clear. Kinda hard to explain. ). I’m not dissing Modern Bachata, and the movies I’ve seen of Juan and that Spanish instructor that I forgot his name, are very impressive and fun to watch, but I’ll keep to the intimacy and close proximity provided by the Standard style.

I don’t like the name “Standard” btw. I know it’s without bad intentions, but it sounds as “basic and boring Bachata for beginners”. Maybe it’s just me.

Carlos, I dunno how old are you, but I’m hoping that you’re about 15 so you’ll have an excuse for the way you think and write. I dunno if you heard about Chivelery or the concept of Gentelman, but women are to be treated with respect and honor on equal basis. Both dancers need to adapt to one another, but since the guy is the one doing the leading, he should adjust himself accourding to the lady he’s dancing with. You need to remember she’s a human being as well, and if you see that she’s not a gifted dancer as you are (or think that you are, whatever), then help her understand how to improve herself, or take your dance a ffew notches down, so she can enjoy the dance as well. There are all sort of things to enjoy from a Bachata dance, and you should find those in every dance with every dancer, and not just stop the dance and ditch her on the dance floor. I don’t know if someone did it to you, but trust me – the feeling is not great at all. It’s a good thing I’ve met quite a few Dominicans to know that even they think that your attitude is wrong and that you don’t represent them or their way of thinking, so please stop saying things like “we dominican”. The way I teach it in here, the man is a frame and the woman is a beatiful painting, and the man is measured by his ability to make the woman look amazing on the dance floor. If you focus on yourself that much, maybe you should find a different dance style which involve solo dancing and not couples dancing.

Anyway, enough for one post. Again, glad to see live Bachata community out there, and a warm greeting from Israel Bachata community. I hope someday to see famous Bachata names or faces in the International Salsa Festivels being held in Israel every year. Until then, I’ll keep on spreading the word and the love for this amazing dance.

Alon.

“we dont like dancing with cocky jerks that think they know it all. If she doesnt “know” the dance you are doing, it is your job as the lead to quickly adapt and make that woman comfortable on the floor.”

to tell you the truth we dominican do not adapt to anything, she adapt to us or you or we do not ask you a second time. I have told women on the dance floor that we should stop cause it was not working for me.

I have said this so many times, there is no essence in the crap that you are dancing from Juan to that Aquino guy, now that you got into the debate i’m looking forward to watch some of your videos, can you point me to your best, i will like to see you dance.