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.