Salsa lovers beware: the growth of bachata's popularity is worrisome. Its sex appeal is so obvious, salsa looks tame in comparison. Besides this appealing "feature", bachata's simplicity in music and dance moves also attracts those who find salsa too strenuous and too difficult to learn. Will it overtake salsa and "cure" many salseros of their salsa addiction?
Those were my thoughts when I saw the crowds of local and visiting dancers - mostly "former" salsa junkies - grind and sweat in the huge ballroom of Park 55 hotel in downtown San Francisco where the second bachata festival took place last weekend. The 3 dance floors were almost completely in the dark, presumably to make everyone attractive for the intimacy of bachata :-D
Out of the 2 smaller ballrooms downstairs dedicated to the salsa festival run concurrently with the bachata event, one was empty and the other was never packed attracting salsa die-hards taking a break from bachata. A few pros would show up late at night and assemble a crowd of onlookers.
This year the San Francisco bachata "pusher" Rodney Aquino, the organizer of the festival, pulled all the stops and invited a few dance luminaries and bachata bands to make it a full blown 7 day event involving local clubs like Roccapulco that opened its doors for the opening night and The Glas Kat that hosts monthly bachata dances as well as other venues.
In 12 years I've known him, this shy salsero went through several transformations getting tired of salsa patterns, "1 or 2" debates, Cuban style and finally bachata. This journey made a promoter out of a dancer. In my review of the first bachata festival last year I came out as a non-fan of bachata and for me nothing has changed. But, as a former singer familiar with the ugly side of show business who would never again deal with cranky managers, unreliable musicians and everyone in between, I must sing praises to Rodney's hutzpah: he raised awareness of the dance that was not on anyone's radar before he introduced it to the Bay Area.
The festival had all the trappings of a salsa congress: nice hotel, vendors, great dance floors, workshops, competitions, shows and dances. And just like many salsa congresses, it featured presentations of beginner dancers who should never set foot on stage and waste the audience's time. Add to that the MC's ramblings, hocus-pocus performances etc. and the social dancing that is THE main reason dancers attend these events, is cut drastically. No wonder promoters pitching future festivals promise to cut shows to 45 min or less.
Years ago when as beginner I liked dancing to fast songs, one wise and experienced salsero pointed out that you could do more with slower music. Do what? DANCE. In salsa you can run through the song showcasing your technical prowess, but with bachata and its slow languishing moves styling is even more important. Those who think they mastered these basic steps and can now perform, think again.
Still, there were a few memorable performances, including a fusion tango with classical music. Technically it looked great and the music was enchanting, too bad the couple had no chemistry or passion. A pair of ballroom dancers were superb in their rumba to Jose Feliciano's rendition of Suzie Q - let's just say his version would probably be banned from most radio stations..One non-dance performance attracted attention: Vassili's songs from the Seattle's band Children of the Revolution. Nice voice.
Quite a few bachata performers were creative and experimented with moves from other dances even non-partner stles. Do they look like the original bachateros? Does it matter? Like salsa, street dances often have their own lives and develop with the flow - nothing to be argued or complain about. This is not ballroom with its strict rules and "allowable" moves.
The introduction of other dances to the workshop lineup was a pleasant surprise as well: from West Coast swing (reflecting Rodney's past forays) to lap dance (?!) Add to this poll dancing and striptease and your bachata training would be complete:-)
There are so many other dances we don't about - yet. Europeans are good at exploring the world and bringing its cultures into the limelight. Zouk, soca, zumba etc. are already making inroads into local dance scenes. America catches up eventually thanks to entrepreneurial folks like Rodchata & Co
DIP (dance in peace)
I always wondered about the virtual absense of zouk in the bay area clubs given its popularity all over the world. May be zouk needs a promoter like Rodney to get it started.
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