The Bachata dance is a very popular sexy, fun, Latin social dance style with a music genre having the same name. The Bachata dance originated in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's with the most important influence being the Cuban Bolero. This dance has undergone many phases in its evolution and has been refined over the many years that it has been in existence. You can see a demonstration of the Bachata dance in the Bachata video on this page.
The Bachata dance does not progress around the dance floor but is danced on one part of the floor. Bachata utilizes Cuban Motion (a figure eight movement of the hips created from the alternate bending and straightening of the knees when changing weight from foot to foot) and a "pop" movement of the hips. The "pop" movement is an exaggeraterd up and down action of the hip alternating on each fourth beat. Depending on the dancer's style a foot tap can be added or other stylized footwork can be used when dancing the "pop" movement. Bachata can be danced in both closed and open dance positions depending on the mood of the dancers.
Bachata music is written in 4/4 time and is counted 1 2 3 4("pop"the hip), 1 2 3 4("pop"the hip). This dance can incorporate side-to-side steps, forward and back walks and many exciting, fun turns. Again, you can see a demonstration of the Bachata dance in the Bachata video on this page.