Bachata is an 8-count partner dance that originated in the Dominican Republic in the 1960’s. The original bachata, bachata Dominicana, was danced in a square fashion in closed position but has evolved with the addition of more footwork, turns, and free style moves in both closed and open positions. A basic bachata step is side to side with three steps with the 4th step as a tap with a small hip movement (“Cuban hip”) and then continuing with three steps and the tap/hip on the other side. As the popularity of bachata grew and spread to different countries, other bachata variations were created such as bachata moderna (influenced by styling from salsa, ballroom, and zouk-lambada dances), bachata urbana (the addition of hip hop moves to bachata moderna), bachatango (a combination of styling from bachata and tango), bachata sensual (incorporation of more circular movements and body waves) and bachata fusion (a combination of different bachata dance styles or other dance styles with bachata).
Bachata is not only a style of dance but is also a style of music. The father of bachata music, José Manuel Calderón, recorded “Borracho de amor” in 1962 which was a fusion of the musical genres bolero from Spain and son from Cuba. At that time, bachata was considered to be too vulgar and sensual and was actually illegal! It was relegated to bars and brothels in poor Dominican neighbourhoods. However, in the 1980’s, the popularity of bachata proved to be too strong which led to more air time on major radio stations. Merengue, another popular dance and music style in the Dominican, also appeared to influence the new style of bachata being played on the airwaves. Bachata music transitioned again in the 1990’s into the style closer to what is heard today with the artists Antony Santos and Luis Vargas. As with the dance, hip hop, R&B, pop and other Western-style music influences has led to a new type of bachata music fusion made popular by artists like Prince Royce, Xtreme and Anthony Romeo Santos (a former member of the popular group Aventura).
Bachata is one of the most popular forms of Latin American dance and music in the world today, and we have the Dominican Republic to thank for it.
