When I started dancing Bachata, it was not comfortable for me to be close to girls, but after a while, I got used to it, especially by focusing on the music. I haven't seen anyone touching a follower's face, but in Bachata, there is a lot of standard intimate touching that someone may not be okay with, like chest to chest, thigh to thigh, side butt to leg, or hand to waist or stomach.
Being from a culturally Muslim [since left, not for dance reasons] background, I wasn't initially comfortable with close body proximity in any dance except salsa - which afforded some distance in the dance. It took a while for me to re-adjust my previous "shyness", but even now although I now occasionally dance bachata and kizomba, which are closer contact, I am still keenly aware not to overstep my partner's space. I do wonder at times if this makes me a "cold" dancer though...
I had what sounds similar experience in the context of body closeness at the beginning. I remember it took a year of watching kizomba in the parties. Even today there are things I would still say I don't feel comfortable with like this ting where 3 or 4 ppl, 1 guy sometimes all girls dance with eachother in a line hugging eachother, it's exactly how it sounds 😅 or dancing with another man. But I would never stop anyone doing it, it can be hard as people can also change, what is ok today may not be tommorow and vice versa
@sidstam it definitely doesn't. Being a warm dancer means you are polite, smile, and look after the girl on the dance floor. Not hing to do how close you dance to her 😇
Not forgetting the danger sometimes posed by high heels Had my Achilles tendon strafed by a few stilletos though though that's a bit tricky in as much maybe the fault rests with the leader for not being aware of other dancers?
I learned to dance zouk from my German teacher for three years and everything was fine. but one day we had a teacher from Brazil who explained what was wrong with the German distance. The shock of the Brazilian distance is even greater for the leaders than for the followers -)
Hello Rasa! Which dance do you think is more sensual? Sensual bachata or urban kiz? Surprisingly O am more comfortable with the closeness in urban kiz. Probaby b/c all the body rolls makes me feel awkward since I have a large bust.
@tubbywumbkinsl3846...I now you did not ask me, still...I support your statement that Bachata is more sensual than Urban kiz Kind of like sexy in bikini and sexy in a elegant dress
Enjoyed this one. I’m a vet of 20 years dancing. Coming back to the scene I love, and I’m a big bachata guy. Met my wife on a performance team and we used to get lots of attention dancing bachata. I danced what many considered “Dominican” style but I consider all bachata to be sensual. The Bachata music I grew up with was meant to be an outpouring of the soul in lyric and in the dance that is expressed as well I believe. Coming back and seeing bachata mixed with what appears to be yoga moves was weird. Married now I’m mindful of space and these moves seem to require or at least invite a lot of unnecessary close violations of space. A lot of follows also assume too much that everyone wants to do these “sensual” bachata moves and will lead themselves into it. Or maybe I’m not understanding how this new “wave” of bachata interpretation is led or interpreted (used to struggle with so called “bachatango” and “zoukchata” as well lol so). I respect the music and try to respect all interpretations and bodies, but good golly this new dance can do damage to an old timers back! I’m just trying to survive on the dance floor now😅!
Filtered soft version : in any social dynamic you going to come across things you like and don't Solution is try not.to put oneself in situations you are not comfortable with or learn and practice boundaries and assertiveness and most importantly practice what one.preaches 💯
I hate the sandwich too, especially when it’s someone I have never danced with before. It’s so uncalled for. Even my regular classmates who I trust have more respect than some people.
I having been diving deep into the empathy ting last year. Pont is i dont want to discourage alot of good ppl, sadly the ones that r the problem dont care and will do what they want anyway. However you have some of the soft ones becoming scared to appraoch or make a move wich is also not good Rasa, we need to encourage the good ones to step to light and be brave more for 2025 💯 To help the men be braver # badboy ting is not true, its the authenticity # girls only go for tall guys, high starus,rich and short guys invisible is again completely not true, anyone good with girls knows this 💯 I agree qith qhay the video is aiming at and fully support respectable contact, lets not discourage the genuine good ones too.
@shutting88 you guys decide the moves, so you have to assess how close it is. It's not always your fault in making mistakes, but how close you'll be and what moves you do is on you 😉.
Omg thank you for this Rasa!! I have been studying bachata for the past 2 years and have been wondering about what is a legit level of closeness. I've seen some sensual teachers touch foreheads for demos, but rarely see it in socials. I once had a teacher put his forehead on mine in a social, and I froze during the dance really awkwardly😂 Mind you, he's not a teacher I regularly learn from and it was our first dance together😅 He's nice and I still respect him because I think it was quite obvious I was uncomfortable and he pulled back 😂 But ever since then I have never been sure how frequently forehead touching is done or if it's something more experienced dancers do once they reach a certain level of being comfortable with others. I personally don't want anyone touching my face in any fashion, and I would def get a bit aggravated if this keeps happening. I just hope that leaders aren't watching teacher demos like this and thinking it's ok to just get up in people's business like this. Lol
Agree with all. As a leader, the comment on follower styling is spot on. I'll take it a bit further.... Some women (usually not Spanish speaking) think Salsa is some sort of El Zorro/Antonio Banderas/Latin Fantasy-esque dance and go overboard with styling making it some weird sexualised dance that honestly it's just not, it is not. Stop it please, I die of cringe every time it happens 🤣
When I started dancing Bachata, it was not comfortable for me to be close to girls, but after a while, I got used to it, especially by focusing on the music. I haven't seen anyone touching a follower's face, but in Bachata, there is a lot of standard intimate touching that someone may not be okay with, like chest to chest, thigh to thigh, side butt to leg, or hand to waist or stomach.
Being from a culturally Muslim [since left, not for dance reasons] background, I wasn't initially comfortable with close body proximity in any dance except salsa - which afforded some distance in the dance. It took a while for me to re-adjust my previous "shyness", but even now although I now occasionally dance bachata and kizomba, which are closer contact, I am still keenly aware not to overstep my partner's space. I do wonder at times if this makes me a "cold" dancer though...
I had what sounds similar experience in the context of body closeness at the beginning. I remember it took a year of watching kizomba in the parties.
Even today there are things I would still say I don't feel comfortable with like this ting where 3 or 4 ppl, 1 guy sometimes all girls dance with eachother in a line hugging eachother, it's exactly how it sounds 😅 or dancing with another man.
But I would never stop anyone doing it, it can be hard as people can also change, what is ok today may not be tommorow and vice versa
@sidstam it definitely doesn't. Being a warm dancer means you are polite, smile, and look after the girl on the dance floor. Not hing to do how close you dance to her 😇
10:55 This is what I named *Elbow To The Teeth* 💪💢😂
😅😅
Not forgetting the danger sometimes posed by high heels Had my Achilles tendon strafed by a few stilletos though though that's a bit tricky in as much maybe the fault rests with the leader for not being aware of other dancers?
Thank you Rasa❤❤❤
@@juratepetrikauskiene9908 🥰🥰🥰
I learnt after doing the 'standard' salsa hold on someone that said she did it before. She jumped away and started crying. Not the normal reaction!
@@robertbrown3413 definitely not 😶🌫️
I learned to dance zouk from my German teacher for three years and everything was fine. but one day we had a teacher from Brazil who explained what was wrong with the German distance. The shock of the Brazilian distance is even greater for the leaders than for the followers -)
Hello Rasa! Which dance do you think is more sensual? Sensual bachata or urban kiz? Surprisingly O am more comfortable with the closeness in urban kiz. Probaby b/c all the body rolls makes me feel awkward since I have a large bust.
@tubbywumbkinsl3846...I now you did not ask me, still...I support your statement that Bachata is more sensual than Urban kiz
Kind of like sexy in bikini and sexy in a elegant dress
Enjoyed this one. I’m a vet of 20 years dancing. Coming back to the scene I love, and I’m a big bachata guy. Met my wife on a performance team and we used to get lots of attention dancing bachata. I danced what many considered “Dominican” style but I consider all bachata to be sensual. The Bachata music I grew up with was meant to be an outpouring of the soul in lyric and in the dance that is expressed as well I believe. Coming back and seeing bachata mixed with what appears to be yoga moves was weird. Married now I’m mindful of space and these moves seem to require or at least invite a lot of unnecessary close violations of space. A lot of follows also assume too much that everyone wants to do these “sensual” bachata moves and will lead themselves into it. Or maybe I’m not understanding how this new “wave” of bachata interpretation is led or interpreted (used to struggle with so called “bachatango” and “zoukchata” as well lol so). I respect the music and try to respect all interpretations and bodies, but good golly this new dance can do damage to an old timers back! I’m just trying to survive on the dance floor now😅!
Filtered soft version : in any social dynamic you going to come across things you like and don't
Solution is try not.to put oneself in situations you are not comfortable with or learn and practice boundaries and assertiveness and most importantly practice what one.preaches 💯
I hate the sandwich too, especially when it’s someone I have never danced with before. It’s so uncalled for. Even my regular classmates who I trust have more respect than some people.
07:14 was an f-word gonna come out there or am I wrong? 😂
@@pachinkothemachine612 🤣🤣🤣🤣was very close 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I having been diving deep into the empathy ting last year. Pont is i dont want to discourage alot of good ppl, sadly the ones that r the problem dont care and will do what they want anyway. However you have some of the soft ones becoming scared to appraoch or make a move wich is also not good Rasa, we need to encourage the good ones to step to light and be brave more for 2025 💯
To help the men be braver
# badboy ting is not true, its the authenticity
# girls only go for tall guys, high starus,rich and short guys invisible is again completely not true, anyone good with girls knows this 💯
I agree qith qhay the video is aiming at and fully support respectable contact, lets not discourage the genuine good ones too.
poor guys, so it's always the guy's fault, except in some cases, like when the follower initiates the sandwich at the beginning of the dance.😅
@shutting88 you guys decide the moves, so you have to assess how close it is. It's not always your fault in making mistakes, but how close you'll be and what moves you do is on you 😉.
Omg thank you for this Rasa!! I have been studying bachata for the past 2 years and have been wondering about what is a legit level of closeness. I've seen some sensual teachers touch foreheads for demos, but rarely see it in socials. I once had a teacher put his forehead on mine in a social, and I froze during the dance really awkwardly😂 Mind you, he's not a teacher I regularly learn from and it was our first dance together😅 He's nice and I still respect him because I think it was quite obvious I was uncomfortable and he pulled back 😂 But ever since then I have never been sure how frequently forehead touching is done or if it's something more experienced dancers do once they reach a certain level of being comfortable with others. I personally don't want anyone touching my face in any fashion, and I would def get a bit aggravated if this keeps happening. I just hope that leaders aren't watching teacher demos like this and thinking it's ok to just get up in people's business like this. Lol
@hirokococonut5034 exactly right. That's why I make these videos. In the hope those who need it reach them 😇.
Agree with all. As a leader, the comment on follower styling is spot on. I'll take it a bit further.... Some women (usually not Spanish speaking) think Salsa is some sort of El Zorro/Antonio Banderas/Latin Fantasy-esque dance and go overboard with styling making it some weird sexualised dance that honestly it's just not, it is not. Stop it please, I die of cringe every time it happens 🤣
I have become very cynical with dancing of late 0:17
@@honeybadger6313 👍👍👍
Haha my goodness.. Rough lead with long nails.. Definitely a no 😅
@@IndigoHazelnut 🤣🤣🤣
Ok. How about kissing... I mean, the hand? 😉🙃
@@KINGas78 no 🤣