Bachata Dance Classes Jupiter FL (Palm Beach County)

Bachata originated in the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean during the early 20th century, and includes Indigenous, African, and European musical elements. It became popular in the rural neighborhoods of the island, but was censored almost to extinction during the Trujillo dictatorship (1930-1961). After the end of Trujillo’s reign, Bachata flourished again and quickly spread to other parts of Latin America and Mediterranean Europe. The first Bachata music wasn’t even recorded until after Trujillo’s assassination in 1961. When his dictatorship fell, the Dominican Republic’s national pride grew and Bachata became widely and openly accepted across the nation. Bachata music and dancing boomed in popularity, and has now become an identifying and prominent element in Dominican culture. Equivalent to the Blues in the U.S., Bachata is a very sensual dance, often centered around subjects of heartbreak, romance, and loss or to express romantic feelings.

The basics to the dance are three-step with a Cuban hip motion, followed by a hip movement on the 4th beat.  Generally, most of the dancer’s movement is in the lower body up to the hips, and the upper body moves much less. Today, Bachata is a popular nightclub style dance which is widely danced all over the world, but not identically. This style is danced with soft hip motions, turns, and side-to-side footwork.

Today, Bachata is danced all throughout the world, including the United States where it is a popular style of dance in Merengue and Salsa nightclubs. Authentic Bachata has evolved to include faster music, fancy footwork, dazzling turns, and alternations between a duo dancing in closed and in open positions. Bachata dancers in the Western world have incorporated influences from Ballroom dancing and often use dips, undulations, and other body manipulations.