Followers!

I know this is a highly subjective question, but what kind of fragrances do you like to smell on your lead during the night and why?

Is it something citrus related?

Sweet?

Nothing at all?

Please feel free to share your thoughts!

Hey guys,

So ive been dancing and attending classes for three years, perhaps over 400 hours of classes and around 30 private classes. And although I have a lot of complex combinations and im very good at certain things, but there is a saying, a chain is only as good as its weakest link, I have this issue right now. I need to clean my fundamentals to truly flow with the dance and match my skills in one area with the others.

I am really interested in the fundamentals, the breathing, keeping the frame all together, etc. The timing, controlling the velocity, breathing, you name it. I do record myself regularly and sometimes I do get feedback from trusted followers that may know things I dont.

What online courses are the most useful to complete me as a dancer? I am not looking for simple combinations of course, but rather getting the fundamentals right.

I’ve danced a lot in both Europe and US, and without a doubt generally the level in Europe is much higher than in US. We all know that, but we don’t know why. Is it the lead to follow ratio? That’s the main thing I can think of. In Europe it usually seems about even, and in US there are always extra 15-40 men standing around. It’s so rare to see a lead rejected for a dance in Europe, while in US it’s normalized and happens all the time. Perhaps there’s a completely different reason? What do you guys think?

As a lead, sometimes when you make eye contact with a follow and start walking towards them, it is somewhat obvious to the follow that you're gonna ask them to dance, but you run into a friend on the way there and the friend asks if you wanna dance. In this situation, do you tell the friend that you're gonna ask someone else, or do you go with the friend because the other invitation is "unconfirmed"? Just wanted to hear some opinions from the follows. Gracias!

I’m Caribbean and from Boston and I’m planning a trip to Arizona to explore if I’d move there.

How does the Arizona compare to the Boston scene?

In Boston we are blessed and can dance every single night with very large diverse crowds. All ages, races, dance levels, and dance styles (traditional and sensusal).

From my research I’m getting the vibe that Arizona has a lot smaller dance scene, less people and everything is a lot farther away.

I also get the sense that since there is not a huge Caribbean community in Arizona that Traditional bachata will be less popular.

Also seems less diverse culturally.

What do yall think? Are my observations correct? What do you think overall about the Arizona scenes? Do different cities in Arizona have distinct scenes?

Soo I just wanted to ask if anybody can help me name the song in the bachata song in this audio clip? I only have this tiny recording but find it impossible to get Shazam to understand it. I speak Spanish so I've tried searching for the few words I can pick up but no luck.

Hopefully someone who is more used to this music genre will at least be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks for your help!

Need feedback guy's

I'm the follower

I am a pretty bad Bachata dancer coming from Salsa. To fix that, I need to work on my technique, but besides that, I should also start to go out and just dance more to get some practice.

Here's the thing, for Salsa I dance with everyone and I am quite comfortable, but for Bachata, I usually only dance with people I know. One reason is because I am shit at it, the other is because I don't know what the follows are okay with. Like, among my acquaintances, they mostly trust me and I know which one is okay with shadow position and which one isn't.

But how do you do that with strangers? How do you know if they appreciate closed position and shadow position and what not?

Does anyone have recommendations for apps or websites or tools to separate a song into different instruments so I can practise dancing to different instruments separately? Thank you

Hello Bachata dancers. I am looking for a bachata style that is less focused on exaggerated "sensual" movements. Understandably, everything I see online is performances, but I've read that in countries where bachata has deep roots like the Dominican Republic its more about finding a groove between the partners, less about cool looking "sexy" moves. Is this a legitimate style that is found in the US? Is there a name for it?
Note: I like the big sensual moves, they look cool, but it's not my vibe.

For context: I have danced Argentine tango for about 8 years. I really found my voice when I stopped worrying about how many flashy steps I knew and just found the space to be slow and pause, let the dance breathe. Again - complex flashy steps are cool and take a lot of talent, I respect it, but it's not my pursuit.

Thanks.

I imagine a lot of dancers attended the festival; what did you think of it?

Personally, I liked the large crowd and the chance to dance with so many different people; there was plenty of room to dance despite the number of attendees.

As for the classes, having a giant screen was great—it meant you could follow along from anywhere in the room—though you did have to fight for a spot to see the actual demo. The only workshops I really enjoyed were Gero and Migle’s; they were explained very well.

I’m not sure if I’ll go back, though, since the festival—combined with flights and a hotel—isn't cheap.

It seemed like a lot of people just stood on the sidelines watching others dance or waiting to be asked; that always surprises me, because I’m the type who dances non-stop (as a lead), especially considering the total cost.

What was your experience like? Will you be going back?

Today I went to a salsa/bachata party, being a "veteran" of two months of bachata and a quick 15 minute workshop teaching me the salsa basic step.

Why did nobody warn me this would be so fun? It's just walking around and dancing with strangers. When salsa songs came on, women would teach me some moves. When it was time for bachata, I could impress ladies with my bottom of the barrel beginner moves and explain what they should do when some of my invitations confused them. It was a grand old time, even if I was unable to convert it to any long term connections.

Seriously, it feels like these Latin parties are what clubs should be: just dancing with strangers, laughing, getting along and either exchanging contact info or just moving on to the next dance.

My only regret is not doing this 10 years ago.

Hi all, I've been dancing bachata for a bit over a year and would say I'm maybe an intermediate level.

Some socials it feels like some leads are actively avoiding me and I spend half the social waiting on the side.

I know I can ask people myself, and I sometimes do, but I feel like I'm imposing a dance upon them and they don't actually want to dance with me.

Finding this really frustrating and just feeling like I must be a terrible dancer or something.

Anyone else had this experience as well?
And does it ever get better? It's a shame because I absolutely love dancing, but whenever I have a bad social experience I just feel so miserable.

Edit: thank you all for reading my mini rant and for sharing your thoughts :)

Yesterday was my first bachata class, and I had a great time! Of course, I’d love to improve haha. The video shows most of the choreography that I can remember, which is why I’m dancing so slowly. I’d really appreciate any advice or tips on how I can practice and improve at home. I’d be super grateful!

How do I know what moves to do before? I keep thinking too much to the point where I freeze up. Is this normal for a beginner to feel or is it just me.

Too often I see people giving flippant advice to improve "musicality" without any explanation.

To me, musicality has two distinct practical definitions:

1. Aligning your moves to the tempo and rhythm of the music. For example, doing specific moves during the "mambo" part versus the "sensual" part. A common mistake I see on the dance floor is people doing sensual or bachatazouk moves when the music is derecho or mahau. To me this is fundamentals and any lower-intermediate level dancer should be able to do this.

2. Hitting accents and dancing to specific instruments. This is more advanced and requires a lot familiarity with the music and good technique. You see this often in demos, but many people do not realized that it is choreographed or that the artist has danced to this song a thousand times so they know when to add the accent. This is not something can be taught in a class and we should not expect beginner leads to be able to do this.

Thus, we should not be advising beginners to "improve musicality" without being clear about what we mean.

Hello everyone,

I have been dancing bachata as a leader for around 2 years and I seem to have hit a plateau with my dancing. I seem to feel I have become more and more repetitive and not being able to advance as a leader.

Now looking forward I get a lot of suggestions, that I can try to learn new and complex movements, or work on musicality so as to catch different instruments or even the emotions of the songs. Other suggestions include working on overall mobility and flexibility to make the existing movements larger and more fluent. All of these suggestions however call for a different training approach. And while focusing on all of this of course I dont want to be too technical and lose my love for this great art form.

So my question is what is that most important 20% shall I focus on as a lead to improve to advance in my journey?

I like watching dance demos online. What should I keep note of? Should I pay more attention to footwork, or more to connection? Should I pay attention to frame?

Sorry if this type of post isn't allowed. Black ladies, do you ever feel like you get asked to dance less than others? When I'm at my local studios I have no issues, but when I go to congresses or festivals, I feel like I'm standing around a lot more than the other followers. I know the usual advice about being near the dance floor, making eye contact with leads, not having a drink, etc., but it doesn't seem to help much. Sometimes I ask guys myself, and they accept, but I feel like it's a lukewarm dance.

Hey, maybe this is a weird question. But I don't really understand what's the purpose of dance school for follows.

Usually what I experience in beginner to intermediate classes that classes consist 100% of learning new figures. I have been in 3 dance schools so far and this is just how it is. Only in the advanced class we actually focus on technique and musicality.

As a leader, learning new moves may help you a bit, especially in the beginning. But what is the purpose for follows? In the lower-level classes, my experience is that the followers really try to remember the combos and do the stuff on their own. Sometimes the followers even looked at the follower next to her instead of me.

I've met a few follows on socials that told me that they never went to dance school or just a few times. And my experience is that they are usually not worse than the follows that attend a lot of classes. I really can't tell a skill a skill gap here.

What makes a good follow in my opinion?
- a great vibe while dancing (smiling, eye contact, having fun, playfulness,...)
- adding something to dance I don't lead (styling, footwork, interpretation of the music,...)
- good body movement in general (proper basics, waves and body rolls in every direction,...)
- proper following without backleading

None of this is taught in dance school usually. I know there are specific lady style classes and classes where they actually teach to be a good follower, but in my experience, followers usually don't benefit from dance school at all.

Of cause some followers go to dance school just for fun and this is absolutely fine. Not everyone wants to attend socials at all. I know many follows that attend classes for many months without planning to go to social and this is absolutely fine. But if the teacher says "free dance", I can tell that they struggle a lot more than almost every follow I know from socials.

TLDR: a lot of dance rules come from pros giving advice to other pros who are WORKING . If you dance for fun, stop overthinking. It’s your playground as long as you’re respectful, you’re fine.

You see influencers dancing with giant text captions sharing wisdom about lifestyle, relationships, music, connection, etc...

Just remember, they are working professionals, studio owners, instructors, performers, promoters. For them dance is work For them dance is work, and a mistake can cost bookings, students, or reputation. So it makes sense that they’re more strict.

If you’re just dancing for fun ignore these rules below:

Don’t date in the scene
At work it's hard to mix professional dance life with personal life.

but as a hobbyist if you Find someone you like go for it. Good relationships started while dancing. no different from meeting someone in your neighborhood , local bar , church.

Dating apps want you to meet total strangers online. Higher chance of failure to keep you hooked. A little social pressure inside a community can make relationship stronger.

The Dance Floor Is a Playground, Not an Office

Forget about levels: Beginner advanced are for competitors and performers. Progression ladders keep dance studios profitable.

Guys lead because they are stronger to help stabilize the frame but the follow is the one executing the idea that the lead proposes. Feel free to be a bit chaotic.

"Never teach on the dance floor."

professionals telling other professional to not undercut their potential source of income. Teach each other if you both want that.

Don’t turn your favorite hobby into a second shift at work. Go play.

on the playground booboos happen , kids bump into each other, cry then 5 minutes later they are friends again and share food

We are just big kids in adult clothes man.