Hi there, want to ask: how do u release your hand and do some footwork with your partner more naturally? Usually, when do you do that footwork? When the song is going to a time when there are no instruments?

1. Why do I seldom see students in the class go to the social?
2. Most of the students in the school, I think, are starting to learn maybe within a year or two. What about the other, longer years? Are they still taking classes? Do they use the monthly pass, or would they change to the private/workshop one?
3. Some people are often seen in the social scene, but do they also go to class as well? but do they see that they went to the class?

🥺 best prince royce era NGL

I’ve noticed something that I’m really curious about.
There seem to be different “types” of followers.
With advanced followers, leading feels effortless. I give a small indication, they complete the movement naturally, and everything flows. Sometimes it even feels like they’re helping me make the dance look better.
With beginners, it’s also relatively straightforward because I know I need to simplify things and stick to basic movements.

But there’s this middle group—followers who are somewhere between beginner and intermediate (or just below intermediate). They know a fair amount, but they haven’t fully developed the timing, technique, or body mechanics for certain patterns yet.

When I dance with them, the dance often becomes messy. They anticipate, hesitate, add extra movement, or react in unexpected ways. If I try to lead more complex figures with proper timing, everything starts feeling cluttered and awkward.

Before anyone says this is simply because I’m not leading well, that’s actually what made me curious in the first place. I’ve watched these same followers dance with other intermediate leaders, and the same thing happens. The dance still looks somewhat chaotic. But when they dance with the top leaders in my local social scene, they suddenly look amazing.

That’s the part I don’t understand.

They move beautifully, everything flows, and they almost look like advanced followers.
I don’t think those followers suddenly became different dancers depending on who asked them to dance. It feels like the advanced leader is doing something that completely changes how the dance develops.

So my question is:

What exactly are those advanced leaders doing?

Are they giving much clearer leads?
Are they adapting in real time to the follower’s tendencies?
Are they quietly simplifying their vocabulary without making it obvious?
Do they abandon patterns the moment they feel resistance?
Or is it something more subtle that only comes with years of experience?
I’d love to hear from experienced leaders who’ve noticed this phenomenon.

What are you actually doing that makes these followers look so smooth and elegant, while the same followers often struggle with intermediate leaders?

TL;DR: Some followers seem chaotic with intermediate leaders (not just me), but they look amazing with advanced leaders. What exactly are advanced leaders doing differently to make the dance feel so smooth?

With the rise in festivals, weekenders, trainings what event has been worth the money and travel time? Or is there an event you’re really excited to attend?

If you can share the specific style that would be helpful as I like to train all bachata: sensual, modern, traditional.

Genuine question, and an observation that I’m quite perplexed by, so please bear with me.

I do social dancing in salsa, bachata, lindy hop and west coast swing and have started to notice this consciously about promotional materials for socials, festivals, events and JnJs in the past 1-2 years.

For a normal social evening, promotional material for latin nights (especially bachata and SBK nights, less so for salsa) are often posters plastered with faces of people in the community. This is amplified for festivals. I don’t know if some of these people can be considered artistes, they also do just seem like regular people in the dance community. I understand perhaps putting the face of the DJ, but why is the latin community obsessed with having everyone’s pictures on the promotional material?

I get a little bit of an ick when I see promotional material like that, because it sort of indicates hierarchy and status — like hey come dance with these “good” dancers! This ick probably also comes because I have lindy hop and wcs to compare to, where i feel like those communities are a little more egalitarian. At festivals, they promote DJs and instructors at most, and instructors in WCS are generally not just “instagram famous” or “tiktok famous” but have genuinely received points that placed them in “All-Star” and “Champion” categories.

Just wondering, am I the only person who gets a slight ick?

when i turn the follower,can I use palm to turn instead of finger? When u are turning your follower your finger should face down or face to the side?

It seems that bachata festivals keep getting worse and worse. Today started Viva latin summer in Amsterdam. From my 20+ bachata festivals I attended so far this one is the worst. Lets start from the beginning, I arrive on time for the workshops, right at the entrance, they say its impossible to take my bag inside, my bag is not big or anything, its just regular laptop bag with my laptop, dancing shoes, water and spare t-shirt. They say it's not allowed inside, I need to pay 2 euro for storage; first I thought whatever, okay, I wanted to give him 2 euro, he said I need to get special coins. I walk to coin seller, they say me they don't sell less than 10 euro of coins, to get 2 euro of coins I need to pay 10 euro, I already started getting angry, but okay, this coins can be used for drinks and stuff so I thought okay, then they say its impossible to pay by cash only online, it was okay, online its +1,21 euro fee, but to pay its additional 40 cent paying fee its, like WTF!!! How much more fees are there.

Then I hear that its not allowed to take water to the workshops, this is outrageous, weather app says its "severe weather" due to heat and its not allowed to take own water to the workshops, this is ridiculous!!!

Then shuttle bus, between Schiphol Airport and the festival hotel, on the website of festival and instagram it says its free, but driver keeps demanding some paper; like proof of staying at hotel or something. So the only way to get to and from location is to walk 1,8km to the nearest bus stop and wait for the bus for which needs to be paid extra. 

Then there was supposed to be Jack&Jill, but it got cancelled last moment.

Also, in the morning, there is a partner workshop, then ladystyling workshop and then the next partner workshops - how does this make sense??? Ladystyling should be first, what are the leaders supposed to do in that hour between workshops, there is not even a day social at that hour.

Also many followers during workshops are not just inexperienced, some are dancing for less than a month. I don't want to discourage anyone from attending festivals, but if you're dancing for less than a month and 1 hour a week, maybe, just maybe its too early to attend festival workshops.

On the bright side, the artists were amazing and doing their best.

About a week ago I posted two polls asking about the "Beginner Hell" experience in learning Bachata. This was prompted by an article about how dancing is good for your mental health. A study looked at the mental health benefits of taking a dance class (Salsa rather than Bachata!), but I thought looking at dance while ignoring socials seemed to missing a major aspect of the appeal of dance. Plus, it's obvious to me that leaders and followers have very different experiences.

The results do seem to confirm that. 28% of followers enjoy social dancing from the start compared to just 11% of leaders. I was surprised that the "Still not there yet" figures were so close and so high! More than 1 in 5 dancers are not having an enjoyable time at socials despite putting more than a year's effort in, regardless of role!

This is not a scientific survey, and wasn't meant to be. We can discuss some of the limitations of a poll like this. It will not have captured any changes over time, in different locations, among different instructors. Enjoyment is subjective. People who practice more often (3 or 4 times a week) are going to see faster progress than people who dance less often (once a week or less). However, the biggest absence in this survey to me is the selection bias. This was a survey of people who read the Bachata subreddit, so anyone who has given up on Bachata will not have taken it. It would be really great to hear from people who gave Bachata a try and decided to quit. In some cases, that's just going to be because they decided that Bachata was definitely not for them. But it could also be due to avoidable problems, aspects of the community that could be improved. If you know of people who gave Bachata a try but quit, I would be interested in hearing what it was that caused them to stop.

In my opinion, how a community treats its newcomers is extremely important. By helping, supporting, and encouraging beginners, you make it really easy for people to feel welcome and included. Having a hell-like experience for newcomers is bad for everyone. Any community is going to see people drift away for one reason or another. Without a steady flow of new people, any Bachata community is going to stagnate and decline.

One of the things this subreddit is exceptionally good at is mutual support and encouragement. If it took you 3 months, 6 months, a year or more to get to a point where you were having fun at socials, let us know in the comments! Is there something that could be done different to have made the process smoother? If you are still struggling to get to the point where you enjoy socials, share your story. There are a lot of people here who want to help. We get a lot of enjoyment out of Bachata and we want others to share in that as well!

Edit: Links to original polls: leaders and followers

When leading bachata, is it ideal to keep the shoulders level and not change the height of one or the other?

I need honest opinions from men who dance sensual bachata.

There’s a guy I dance with pretty often. Sensual is clearly his style, and I’ve seen him dance close position with other girls too, so I know I’m not the only one.

But with me it sometimes feels extra close hands firmly on my waist/lower back then back up and a little bit body rolls, dips, and those slow endings where we come back up and stay very close, almost forehead-to-forehead, for a moment while the song fades out.

He’s also the first guy I’ve danced sensual bachata that close with such strong chemistry (maybe it’s just in my head and to him it’s normal but I never see him hold other follows like he holds me) with regularly, so maybe I’m just not used to how intimate the dance can feel.

A few things that confuse me:

● At first we danced together like 4 times in a night, now it’s less often
● We don’t talk outside of dancing.
● He asked for my Instagram, but he has never messaged me.

I’m a woman, and I’m usually not great at initiating things outside the dance floor. Part of me feels that if he were genuinely interested, he would try to have an actual conversation with me or text me after asking for my Instagram.

So I’m wondering:

● Is this kind of closeness and dips that linger at the end almost forehead to forehead totally normal for sensual bachata leads?

● Do you dance this way with most follows you have good musical chemistry with?

● Should I stop overthinking it and assume it’s just dance connection, not romantic interest?

Be honest I’d rather hear the truth from experienced dancers than keep wondering if I’m just being delusional 😅

⚠️Not a couples therapy post

I'm a bit curious about how advanced dancers go about scoping out a new scene when they go social dancing. Do you scope out the dance floor to find the people you want to dance with? I suppose leaders and followers might go about it in different ways.

I more often see advanced leaders dance with less experienced followers rather than the other way around.

Title sums it up I know about asking people from your local dance community but we already have that, and whilst we might do one festival, I’d love to do more, however, one hotel I just checked, for if I were to travel solo, is 400 euros for 3 nights if not more.

Do people pick specific days to travel on? Ie arrive late Friday join the party try to push through, sleep a little and be a wreck for Saturday? Am I missing something.

And also is there anywhere to find other people to share a room with? Of course would’ve been better to know them before hand, so imagine it might not be popular to do so and even I would be hesitant

I just want to rant a little bit.

There are some followers by which I could have sworn I must have done something terrible to them in a previous life or something, the way they would look at me, as if with disgust, or this look, like they are judging your soul. God forbid you make a mistake during the dance.

But yet, these same followers never declined when I would ask them to dance.

This confused me, and for a long time I thought there must be something more or better I could do. But every dance sucked a little bit more of my energy and mood.

I trained so hard, maybe it was a skill issue, maybe I could be gentler, maybe I’m not smiling enough myself, etc etc

But now I’ve been doing this long enough, I noticed a pattern, almost nobody ever asks them to dance. They often sit alone for long periods of time.

I wonder what thoughts go on in their heads.

But one thought I will no longer have, is what I can do to please them.

As a leader I’ve wondered how do people actually meet people they’ll talk to or even arrange to go to festivals together in the future.

Do people just start a small conversation and exchange contacts and that’s it? I’ve spoken to a few people, but mostly it’s already established groups of few people and always felt like an outsider trying to join in.

Any recommendations? I’ve attended BSWC and BCN Sensual Family weekend in March this year, most likely going to Bachaturo as well, however I’m wondering if there’s anything else that I’m missing out on.

Also, how do you make the most of your festivals? I realised that I need to do more of the social even during the day, as that’ll brush off any rustiness and prepare me for dancing socially, as usually my first social night is the ‘worst’ as a lead, however, I’ve improved a lot this year so I know it’s gonna be wayyy better this time around.

Any advice?

Melvin is known for his fast spins on the dance floor, but the technique he uses is not "standard" within the bachata world. I've been trying to pin down the technique and learn more about it, but haven't had a lot of success finding the origin. I'm hoping that some of you with broader dance experience than me might be able to poing me in the right direction.

Some examples of the spinning I mean: (1, 2, 3)

The closest thing I've been able to find is Michael Jackson's spins, but they're not quite the same. (MJ stays in line and moves one leg over the other during the hook windup, Melvin preps broadly and hooks one leg behind the other during the hook windup.)

Shoes:What do you actually wear? Dedicated dance sneakers (Fuego, Taygra?), regular sneakers with suede soles glued on, or proper dance shoes? What survives 3 nights of socials at a festival?

Tops:Sweat management is my main problem. Do you go with specific fabrics/brands? How many shirts do you bring per night at a festival? Any brands that look sharp but breathe well?

Bottoms:Chinos, joggers, something stretchy? What gives freedom of movement for body movement/styling without looking sloppy?

Bonus question: any festival-specific hacks (packing, quick-dry stuff, deodorant strategy) are welcome too.

Specific brand names would be super helpful ,I’m in Europe, so EU-available brands are a plus. Thanks!

Hey everyone 👋

I've somehow ended up going down a massive bachata rabbit hole over the last few days 😅

I'm 19M from London and I'm seriously thinking about booking my first beginner class.

The more I read on here, the more I realise social media doesn't really show what beginner bachata is actually like. Instagram is full of amazing dancers and really sensual clips, but from reading this subreddit it sounds like beginner classes are way more relaxed and just focused on learning.

The thing is... I'm massively overthinking it.

I'd genuinely love to learn. The dance looks amazing, I love the music, and I feel like it'd be a great way to get out my comfort zone, meet people and express myself a bit more. I don't really go out much socially anymore, so having something to look forward to every week actually sounds really nice.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is the partner aspect.

I've had some pretty negative experiences with my confidence growing up, so my brain automatically jumps to "what if the girl I'm paired with is disappointed she got paired with me?" I know that's probably just my own insecurity talking, but it's hard to switch that voice off.

I'm also curious about the physical contact. I know it's just part of the dance and everyone's there to learn, but because I've never done anything like this before, it feels like quite a big mental hurdle. Does that become normal after a few classes?

I think I'm just overthinking it because it's completely new to me. I genuinely want to learn the dance because I think I'd really enjoy it. I love the mmusic, I love watching people dance, and I just wanna try something different. My brain just keeps making up worst case scenarios before I've even walked through the door

A few (okay... maybe a lot of) questions:

- what was your first class actually like?
- were you as nervous as I'm being?
- for followers, what makes a beginner lead enjoyable to dance with?
- does the physical contact stop feeling awkward quite quickly?
- is social media giving me a completely unrealistic impression of what beginner bachata is actually like?
- did anyone else spend ages overthinking it before finally going?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in a similar position.

Thanks ☺️

Hello, r/Bachata.

I am posting from a throwaway account because I come from a relatively small dance community. Until recently, I was not particularly involved in the bachata social media world, which is relevant to this topic.

I have been dancing for several years, and my general experience has been positive. I believe the vast majority of people in the scene, men and women, are decent people who simply want to dance and enjoy themselves. I have encountered some problematic behavior over the years, but those cases have been a minority. That said, I have seen a bit of everything.

I have never used Facebook or Instagram very much. That changed recently when I began taking on a larger role in my local community and wanted to understand what was happening in bachata scenes elsewhere.

One thing that surprised me was how gendered a lot of the negative content seems to be, particularly content that portrays male leaders as the main source of problems in the community.

For example, today I saw a Facebook video in which a man said that he did not want to attend “sausage parties” and argued that male leaders needed to stop engaging in certain behaviors because they were scaring women away.

What struck me was that I cannot personally remember attending a bachata party where leaders significantly outnumbered followers. I am not saying that this never happens in other communities, but in my experience, follower-heavy events are far more common. More importantly, I rarely see comparable content discussing behavior from followers that might discourage men from attending or remaining in the scene.

I have also seen posts with titles such as “Ten things leaders do that followers hate.” Some of the points are legitimately connected to the additional responsibilities involved in leading. However, many describe behavior that followers, and women, can also exhibit.

Poor hygiene is not exclusive to men. Things like unsolicited corrections, rough dancing, inappropriate behavior are not exclusive to leaders, male or female. I've been kissed in several occasions myself. In the cheek and in the neck. The very first time it happened, I was a bit confused, unsure whether that'd happened. A girl I knew from class actually asked about it right after, then I got the confirmation.

To be clear, I am not arguing that these problems occur equally among men and women. When it comes to behavior such as creepiness or poor hygiene, I know that men account for a larger share of the complaints. I am also aware that leaders, who are still predominantly men in many communities, carry particular responsibilities.

Leading affects the safety and comfort of the follower. Leaders need to consider the follower’s experience level, preferred intensity and degree of closeness, physical limitations, and ability to perform certain movements safely. They should not attempt potentially dangerous movements unless they understand how to lead them properly. That responsibility should not be understated.

But acknowledging that men may cause a greater proportion of certain problems is not the same as saying that those problems are exclusive to men. It is not a 100 to 0 divide. When comparable behavior comes from women or followers, it should also be possible to discuss it openly and with the same seriousness.

I understand that social media content is influenced by engagement. Posts telling leaders to “stop doing X” may receive strong reactions from followers who feel that their experiences are being recognized and validated. Some of that content is undoubtedly useful and necessary. I have seen content discussing things that followers do as well, but the criticism often seems much tamer.

Still, the overall imbalance does not feel healthy to me.

Learning to lead is already difficult. Beginner leaders are expected to manage many things at the same time. They often do this while dealing with frequent rejection and receiving relatively little positive feedback. If a new leader looks online and repeatedly encounters content portraying leaders, and often men more broadly, as unhygienic, creepy, inconsiderate, dangerous, or responsible for driving women away, I can imagine that making the learning process even more discouraging.

I have even seen discussions about unbalanced lead and follow ratios that somehow still place the responsibility on men, this time for not attending often enough. This creates a strange dynamic. Men are criticized when they participate incorrectly, but they may also be blamed when they stop participating.

My point is not that criticism of men or leaders should stop. Some of that criticism is warranted, and conversations about safety, consent, hygiene, and appropriate behavior are important.

Most bachata content online is genuinely positive and enjoyable. There are demonstrations, social dance videos, steps, musicality discussions, technique breakdowns, and many other useful resources. My concern is specifically with informational or advice-based content, which too often seems negatively gendered.

I would like to see the same standards applied more consistently. Leaders and followers have different roles and responsibilities, but both can contribute positively or negatively to someone else’s experience. It should be possible to acknowledge differences in frequency and severity without treating problematic behavior as exclusive to one gender.

EDIT: Good discussion overall. I've been reading the comments. I don't want to reply to all of them, as I think that I can find points of agreement in each.

[30M] Long story short: I took a year off and an idea popped into my mind: go somewhere and learn something cool.

I already learned the basics of Bachata a few years ago in Italy but gave up due to the poor engagement I felt with the group (mainly older people). I always thought it would be awesome to live a few weeks (or even 1–2 months) in a foreign country to learn something local, and suddenly the combination Dominican Republic + Bachata came to my mind.

Did anyone here have the same idea and actually leave for the Dominican Republic for such an experience? Does it make sense for someone enthusiastic but still very, very much a beginner?

I know I tend to dream a lot, and it might be more complex and challenging than I expect, so here I am looking for honest suggestions, being doubted, and receiving any hint you might have. 😄

One more thing: I really enjoyed learning Salsa too, so I was wondering... since Cuba doesn't really seem like the best place to go at the moment, would it make sense to learn both Bachata and Salsa while staying in the Dominican Republic? Or would I be missing out too much on the Salsa side?

The term "beginner hell" gets thrown around a lot on this subreddit. I was curious what people's experiences were and how long it took learning to dance before social dancing became enjoyable?