Question 1

What is Bachata?

Accepted Answer

Bachata is a romantic music genre and social/partner dance finding its origin in the Dominican Republic during the 1960s. Since then the dance has become very popular all around the world with new substyles being developed since the early 2000s (moderna, sensual, bachatango, ...). We teach mainly Bachata Fusion (moderna with elements from the other styles incorporated).

Question 2

What Bachata style do you teach?

Accepted Answer

We combine different Bachata styles in our classes. In our beginner series we start with the basics of Bachata Moderna. In later levels other styles such as Bachata Sensual, Bachata Dominicana, ... are gradually introduced. Our advanced classes are what we call Bachata Fusion.

Question 3

What is Salsa?

Accepted Answer

Salsa is a popular form of social dance originally from Cuba. The movements of Salsa are based on the Afro-Cuban dances like Son, Cha-cha, Mambo and Rumba. The dance, along with Salsa music, saw major development in the mid-1970s, especially in the US, leading to the distinct salsa styles we know today (Salsa Cubana, L.A., New York ...). We teach mainly Cuban Salsa.

Question 4

What Salsa style do you teach?

Accepted Answer

We teach mainly Cuban style Salsa.

Question 5

What is Kizomba?

Accepted Answer

Kizomba is a dance and music style that originated in Angola and since the eighties and nineties it has spread across Europe and other parts of the world. The dance is characterized by the importance of connection, small and controlled footwork, and a strong focus on leading, following, and musicality.

Question 6

What Kizomba style do you teach?

Accepted Answer

Kizomba (sometimes also called traditional Kizomba) is the primary dance style offered in the lessons. In the higher levels styles like Semba, Tarraxinha and other related genres are also introduced. Fusion Kizomba and Urban Kizz are generally not included in the curriculum.

Question 7

What is a 'leader' or 'follower'? What does it mean?

Accepted Answer

Couple dances, such as Salsa and Bachata, are usually not choreographies practiced in advance, but an improvisation of the moment: the leader decides which movements the couple will dance. He leads the movement, and gives directions to the follower so that the follower can complete the movement in time (according to the rhythm). These quick decisions make dancing an excellent brain sport! It also ensures that dancing with different partners, e.g. at parties, is possible and interesting. 
Usually in Latin dance, the guys lead and the ladies follow, but feel free to choose the role that suits you best. The only reason we ask this is to ensure that the leader/follower balance is maintained in our classes.

Question 8

Can you recommend some good music/songs?

Accepted Answer

We compiled a few spotify playlists with songs we like! Feel free to check them out:
- Salsa con Emoción
(https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bcO7Skg2RhHDaFpHOHXZd?si=OBgZvgCRR5qB3nGC-JgNWw&pi=ykfDkI1UQliCS&nd=1&dlsi=0ac5464ece6647c7)- Bachata con Emoción (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/44FUqsU5QJ2etPjyFFxM07)

Listening to Latin music outside of class will help you learn how to feel the rythm, find the '1', predict the breaks and accents in the music, etc.