Bachata
Bachata is a couple's dance and music from the Dominican Republic. According to UNESCO it comes from a fusion of rhythmic bolero with Afro-Antillean genres such as son, cha-cha-cha and merengue, and the word first meant a lively gathering or party. The social dance emerged in the 1960s and was first danced in closed position, like the bolero.
Traditional bands use one or two guitars with bongos, maracas, guiro and bass, and the lyrics speak of love, passion and nostalgia. The dance has a simple eight-count structure with sensual hip movement, learned from childhood and taught in more than a hundred academies and schools. UNESCO inscribed Dominican bachata in 2019. Later styles include bachata moderna from dance schools and bachata sensual from Spain.
Sources
- UNESCO: Music and dance of Dominican Bachata (Representative List, 2019)
- Wikipedia: Bachata (dance)
- Academia de Bachata (iASO Records / official site)
Organisations connected with this dance
- Ministerio de Cultura de la República Dominicana
- Academia de Bachata (Cabarete, iASO Cultural Foundation)
Listed as references; being listed is not an endorsement by or of the organisation.