The Bachateros.com.au website was created by Juan Juiz, a crazy-for-bachata man who lives is Australia.
I collaborated writing a few articles for the site from 2008 to 2009.
I’m reproducing the articles here.
It was fun and it was great talking to fellows on the dancefloor about the Red Dragon, or how “un-boring” bachata is!
Juan Juiz & Tania at Sydney International Bachata Festival 2009
August 6, 2009
According to Juan’s girlfriend, Josie, this is what he is: “the sexiest man on Earth“.
This was no longer a secret as we all found this out in a full house at Brisbane City Hall on the Saturday night performances at the Brisbane Salsa & Brazilian Dance Congress in June 2009. The tell-tale was Luda Kroitor from Dancing with the Stars 2008 (Australian edition).
The funny thing was that one of our male friends told me: “If I were a girl I’d do him” that is the kind of power he exudes.
You want to know how? It is just by loving life! That is what you see in sexy guys. They are in love with life and love being in their own skin.
The same is valid for dancers, when they love the dancing, more than anything, is when they look “on top of the world”.
There is a thin line here though: narcissist and self absorbed and loving to show off their dance doesn’t make anyone sexier… can you see the difference?
It is not about how you look. It is how you feel. It’s about people that dance the same way when alone in a room, on a stage, or at a packed dance floor where no one can see anyone.
Sexy dancers are the ones that are totally in connection with their partners when doing a couple dance (Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, Forró), not with themselves.
They look at their partner’s eyes now and then (no freakish starring, please) and really dance with them even when doing individual steps like styling or shines.
If you do partner dancing, have you ever gone for a whole night of dancing with one person? If not, you have to do it. Find a way! It is one of those “dreams come true” experiences of life.
I’ve done it a few times and I wasn’t romantically involved with these partners, and it was simply divine. I imagine that if there is a romance it must be even better.
For a night of dancing with just one parter, the rules are:
The “high profile” people will have to deal with the disappointed crowd. I know that there are more ladies than guys in the dance scene, and because of that, the men start thinking they are god’s emissaries to the dance floor.
They feel the power, they love having all the ladies asking them to dance. But they will have to get over it, they will have to say no on this special night, find an excuse if needed; and dance with one partner. I promise it will be well worth it.
You know that sensation that we have of reading each other’s minds? For example, when he is thinking of turning his hips that way hers are already on their way? He is still thinking which side he is going to lead her next turn but she already knows his decision?
This is the goal. This is what you achieve at the end of the night. You lose the anxiety of knowing who you are going to dance with next, what kind of moves they will do, which song, and just enjoy dancing.
You will feel, on this night, that you have turned into the sexiest man or woman on Earth!
Written by – ‘Louca por Bachata’ Tania
NOTE: Juan Juiz did not persuade Tania to write this article, neither he asked to be called the sexiest man on earth, but… He did like it though :0)
I just came back from a week of holidaying in New Zealand. It was great! Being there, I was trying to take time apart from the only two addictions that I have in life: Latin dancing and my mobile phone (this one, only recently developed).
The withdrawal effects were really soon noticeable, especially my dependence on dancing.
I was based in Christchurch, the third largest city in New Zealand, so I went out night hopping to find… people.
There weren’t many except on New Year’s Eve. What we did find though was a nice little night club that played 70’s to 90’s songs that are nice to Boogie to. Their decorations were fun, with a lighted floor and an old VW Kombi as the DJ box.
So there I was, using the bit of dancing energy that I accumulated over the past few days of absolutely no Bachata, no Zouk and no Salsa.
What was really nice to see though (and here comes the Bachata part of the story) was when I arrived the second time at the Boogie’s night club and find a couple dancing Bachata to the old songs.
They were actually doing the dance that fit better with the rhythm of the song then they danced Cha-Cha, Salsa and then some more Bachata.
It is funny how some people just do not realise they are not supposed to do something and simply do it anyway. It is how great inventions come about, how dreams become reality and how genius minds work. Amazing… Those two were having so much fun just dancing what felt good with the songs, and it worked!
I couldn’t feel envious. Had I found someone to do exactly the same with me I would have done it for sure!
It is like Bachatango. People sometimes feel that there is not much else to be invented and there comes someone that never felt that way and just do it. Mixing Bachata with tango was a brilliant idea.
I know, I know, I was told that knowing a bit about Bachatango doesn’t give me the right to go to the tango clubs and think I’m dancing tango. Apparently the deed was done by the Bachata geniuses… so the tango dancers seem to be a bit unhappy about the arrangement, as they say it isn’t proper tango.
All I care about is having fun, and that this is still a new style that is fun, beautiful, daring and pleasant. I’ve done a workshop and liked it a lot, almost feeling like an Argentinean Tango Dancer, I’ve put my nose up, got on my toes, drawn crosses with my legs and pretended I was the best. I have no idea what it looked like, all I know is that it was great.
I love new creations, new ideas, and people that think outside the box.
Another great example is the Bachata Moderna. Suddenly someone got out of the lines, the crosses, the squares, the side-to-side and back-to-front and simple went crazy! New things bring life to life and dance to dancing!
So the message is for this New Year is: try new things! Have fun! It doesn’t matter where or how… Do what your heart sings to you. Even if it is dancing cha-cha-cha to Mama-mia! Go Boogie!
I have a theory that Bachata was conceived during the inquisition times as a means of torture when the Spanish in the Americas were trying to break people into confessing they were Witches and Warlocks.
They would say one of two things:
‘Hey! You two! Do you like each other?’
Male: ‘Yes.’
Female: ‘Yes.’
‘Ok, so this is what you are going to do: you are going to dance to this song, this way, one, two, three, hip… But you are going to do it close. Really close to each other.’
Male and Female: ‘Like this?’
‘Closer, now!’ The torturer instructs shouting. ‘If I see one sniff of air between the two of you, I’m going to cut your heads off!’
So the inquisitor would put this music on and make them dance.
Never mind about any turns or twists, patterns and any of the more elaborate stuff.
I’m talking about just the Bachata basics, that’s all.
After the dance that is when the torture would really begin. He would say:
‘Now, go to your cells. Separate cells, I said!’
I bet in ten minutes they would be begging for hellfire.
Now back to real life, I keep wondering why we do this to ourselves. This dancing thing, it is like the sweetest of all tortures.
You have these beautiful songs and your insides go all mushy, funny and all strange. Making you yearn for something you can’t describe or even understand what it is. I think it’s more addictive than any drug.
You keep going out on Tuesday, Wednesday & Sunday nights knowing that the next morning you have to wake up early and when you wake up you will be feeling like an animal hit by a truck and yet, there you are. Midnight long gone, you’ll dance just one more Bachata but walking to the car is close to impossible.
Every step makes you think you are going to your cell all alone with a pure bed of nails for you to rest on.
I used to think it was only the ladies that would get soft knees after one dance with a mythical creature like the Red Dragon or some other. But recently I heard from a reliable source that guys suffer just the same.
The other thing the inquisitor would say is – Do you like each other?
Male: ‘No.’
Female: ‘No.’
‘Ok, so this is what you are going to do: you are going to dance to this song, this way, one, two, three, hip… But you are going to do it close. Really close to each other.’
Male and Female: ‘Like this?’
‘Closer, now!’ The torturer instructs shouting. ‘If I see one sniff of air between the two of you, I’m going to cut your heads off!’
So the inquisitor would put this music on and make them dance.
That is, the basics steps. But it would be one of those endless songs. The fifteen minute one that is usually associated with Salsa.
The victims would truly confess everything, or maybe not. Because, even with someone you don’t much like, Bachata is still nice.
If you think Bachata is boring, I’m sorry to say, but you are not doing it the right way…
If you think Bachata is too close, too hot and too saucy, it’s ok, you’re doing it the right way. But you’re just not ready for it yet.
Followers have a huge advantage in this regard because Bachata is easier than other Latin rhythms; all we have to do is follow. Ladies that know their basics and dance with a proper Bachatero (rider or not) will get it straight away.
The Bachata dance itself can go two ways: The guy might get slapped at the end of the dance, or the lady might just melt away. By the end of one song, you will know it, all can change.
I am now quite used to such comments from ladies, “Oh, I don’t like Bachata. It’s boring.”
This usually occurs in the middle of a party or club. My job is so easy! I tell them:
‘See that guy right there? Ask him to dance. At the end of the song you come back and tell me what you think.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘No idea, we just call him the Red Dragon.’
The lady goes on her mission. After the Bachata song she comes back to me and says the exact same thing they all say….
‘You know what? I think I like Bachata.’
Of course on these particular missions I only send women who have enough self-assurance to not slap the guy at the end of the song… or in the middle… or right when he grabs her for a close dance. This is not a dance for the naive or beginners.
To come back to what I was saying before, girls can get all that there is to bachata in one song, not just the technique, or the steps, and surely the “not-boringness”.
The guy has a much harder job, he needs make it happen, even if he dances with a lady that knows how to do it, he might not get it first-off but that is one of the beauties of the couple dance. It’s all up to the guys. Ladies, we just follow.
To finish off, I know what you’re thinking… If you are a lady you’re thinking: “Who’s the Red Dragon?”
And guys you’re either thinking one of two things:
If you think Bachata is boring , you are thinking ‘What am I missing?’
If you love Bachata, you are thinking ‘Am I the Red Dragon?’
My advice on the guys on how to discover who the “Red Dragon” is, ask as many of us girls to dance Bachata as you can. Only a few of us have this precious information. And dance as well as you can.
Ladies! Don’t tell! We will get more and better dances this way! It may be that it is all a trick, then again maybe not.
taniacreations.com 