Why Bachata?
Bachata is a unique social dance complexity, in that it incorporates multiple cultural dance forms into one holistic form. In context, many of the other cultural dance forms are culturally specific to one region, and have historical and cultural connectivity to those regions. From this perspective, Bachata is comparable with English as a language versus other languages; like English, Bachata adopts components of other dance forms to grow and does not limit itself to regional exclusivity - it just assumes the best possible form from a diverse set of descriptors. It draws from others to be better, and is thus conceptually “culturally greedy”: a unique position in a highly regionalized multicultural and multigenerational series of dance frameworks.
Some proofs would be the integrated frameworks of Bachata Sensual (formed through the synthesis of Bachata Traditional, Zouk and Contemporary), Bachata Moderna (formed through the synthesis of Bachata Traditional and Salsa), BachaTango (formed through the synthesis Bachata Traditional and Tango), etc. Amongst many examples, various combinations of various mixtures of Bachata styles amalgamate to a larger unifying vision: Bachata Fusion. This unifies the influence of all convergent dance forms as a larger expression of Bachata. Bachata (specifically, “Bachata Fusion”, though we use this descriptor greedily) is a form through which one can express any and every style of dance - even outside the norms of “Bachata”.
As it happens, said forms are physically undemanding on the human body (due to their largely basic forms), thus enabling anyone to adopt its principles and improve their health, whilst enjoying the benefits of community and culture. This unique and exciting dance form is fundamentally a new culturally charged opportunity to maximize mental and physical fitness - and thus, generate revenue as the opportunity manifests its cultural growth through recognizing the opportunities within the growth of the community.
We believe this curious cultural dance affectation will eventually (and is already) radically commercialize Bachata at the international stage and will eventually lead to a specific generational domination of Bachata as an umbrella dance form. The Bachata dance form is the fastest growing dance form on the planet. Our initiative merely capitalizes on this raging growth opportunity through stimulating the growth of the existing community and creating onramps for new dancers: whilst collecting administration and promotional fees during the process using technology.
Witness the famous (but aging) Salsa, whose form is strongly tied to Cuban forms (and thus is stylistically limited), and Zouk (tied to Brazilian movement) and Kizomba (tied to Anglan forms), though these Latin dance forms are remarkable and invigorating in their own right, they are ostensibly limited to the professionals who dance within their form. This is a prized - but broken - value and limitation in the dance world. Some forms are exponentially growing: others are dying. Globally, Bachata is dominating them all, due to its attitude and approach.
Witness key social media influencers, such as Marco and Sarah, Daniel and Desirée, etc., whose social significance is exponentially increasing comparatively to other forms’ dance influencers.
Bachata, like the Canadian culture, absorbs parts of different worlds to achieve a common goal, whilst maintaining the variety and beauty of the various forms. Where connected forms, like salsa, have a very limited range of influence, Bachata currently incorporates a variety of different pieces to achieve a global ethos, through allowing and incorporating dance moves across every form of (Latin) dance, where other forms do not.
In this way - Bachata is the perfect manifestation of the Canadian identity. It leverages and respects various dance forms combined into a singular dance form to achieve a common unity of beauty. Many different talented professionals can teach within the same overarching umbrella, embracing teachers from many disciplines. This allows Bachata to be the common language for all dance studios, events and communities.
Bachata Canada has a series of goals intended to drive the higher purpose of dance in Canada. This goes beyond the current dance community and extends to all Canadians interested in movement, community, health, art, physical communication, and more.
We believe that this non-denominational, open-minded holistic and inclusive perspective is not only consistent with what it is to be Canadian, but also fundamental to the Bachata dance form: acceptance and cultural fellowship. Through this mechanism of embracing common artistic values, a unique and remarkable opportunity exists for this art form to be central to the Canadian cultural identity - a competitive advantage to all other regions and cultures.
With this vision in mind, we have called together events, studios, artists, and anyone genuinely interested in promoting the Bachata dance form to join together at the highest possible level to promote one another on an international stage. Our goal, without prejudice, is to promote the Canadian talent that already exists and will exist towards an international relevance. We believe Canada can be a unique and unifying force in the Bachata dance world, and - given its inclusive culture and identity - have an international impact on society.
Admittedly, Bachata Canada stands on the shoulders of existing Canadian talent - giants in the international scene, yet unrecognized in many cases - to validate the cultural conduciveness of Bachata‘s values and Canadian identity. There have been moments where cultural, gender and racial small-mindedness have crippled the growth of dance forms. There is ample local evidence that this has unnecessarily limited Canadians at an international level: and we reject this. We plant this flag here and now: we believe Canada is uniquely suited to represent all human beings as equal and remarkable. Any race, any gender, any one: you and your art are welcome here. Come dance, come be awesome. This is Canada.
