Dancing bachata to bolero?

ColdSalsero

ColdSalsero

Son
So a year or two ago in Boston, we had a live band playing at one of our local salsa clubs, and someone requested that they play a bachata. So they started playing...a bolero. You know, songs with that "dun DUN dun" syncopation a beat earlier than cha chas, ie "& 4 &...& 8 &..."

So a friend of mine asks me to dance with her, and I point out that the song isn't bachata, to which she then suggests to me that you can still dance bachata to it, because it has that "dun Dun dun" in about the same spot.

So I attempt to dance bachata with her to a bolero, and it just didn't feel right. Yes, there was an emphasis around the 4th beat, but it just didn't feel like bachata, and it felt very awkward.

So, do you agree with me that you can't dance bachatas to boleros?

And as a side thing, here's a mostly bachata performance I found a while ago...to a bolero (turns into cha cha later on)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_sET0rqOiU
 
It's possible because people make it so. With the 4/4 timing you can dance Bachata to Cha Cha and vice versa. For this discussion I am throwing all Boleros and Guajiras under the Cha Cha label since that is how it is typically referred by dancers. Had to clarify before I get jumped on by a certain few.

In this sense it reminds me of West Coast Swing. And yes I have seen people dance Bachata to Club or dance music
 
The trick is to figure out what she wanted with bachata.. :) To your question, I feel that bachata is boleros musical offspring, but I just don't feel multiple layers and syncopation in bolero, that I enjoy in good bachata. Also when I want to make a statement, I could dance bachata to silly chachacha, not to strong guajira, which too powerful to override.
But in the real world I don't have much clue why girls are so much into bachata/zouk/kizomba something.
 
Mambo T said:
It's possible because people make it so. With the 4/4 timing you can dance Bachata to Cha Cha and vice versa. For this discussion I am throwing all Boleros and Guajiras under the Cha Cha label since that is how it is typically referred by dancers. Had to clarify before I get jumped on by a certain few.

In this sense it reminds me of West Coast Swing. And yes I have seen people dance Bachata to Club or dance music
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Herein lies the problem.. its called "education", the very thing that DJ Ara ( and I ) dislike.
Cha and Guajira together ?, OK , I can deal with that, but, Bolero ??... there is NO syncopation written into the dance .

Even the "speed " of the music is distinctive from the other 2.

And what is it that reminds you of WC Swing ?. ( Please dont say that on the swing format !! )
 
Smejmoon said:
I mean music and I guess you mean dance? That would be irrelevant to the question.
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More to the point.. again.. mis labeling music in its incorrect genre, is what eventually leads to the misunderstandings of the specific styles that music was designed from and for .

The 2 are synonymous .
 
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