Originating in the Dominican Republic, Bachata is now one of the most popular dances around the world.
While there are many different styles of Bachata, on this page, you'll find mostly variations for the contemporary side-to-side version that is popular around the world. This version is sometimes called Modern Bachata, to differentiate it from the box-step-based Dominican Bachata, or hybrid dances like Bachatango, Bacha-Zouk, and Bachata Sensual.
Here are some additional Bachata demo videos, from our class assistants' mini-lessons at UT Austin:
For full instruction on many of these Bachata moves, as well as others, see our full Bachata course at the University of Dance:
Here are some of our favorite Bachata songs, arranged by tempo:
© 2014-2023 Nick Enge
For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.
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