Celebrating Latinx Heritage Month: Bachata with Brooklynn Mack
For our three-part event series in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, we collaborated with professional Latinx dance instructor Brooklynn Mack to host a bachata class on October 14th.
In our class, we learned a little bit of bachata history, some footwork, and the best part—booty rolls. For those who’d like to playback our IG Live, we danced to “Traicionera” by Tony Berroa, “Havana Bachata Remix,” and “Prayer in C Bachata Remix.” Visit our Instagram, @Industry_Collective, and navigate to IGTV to watch the complete session.
Starting Out
Normally, when Brooklynn hosts a class, she’d have us do two warm-ups: one for the head and one for the body. But for this class, we did just one!
Brooklynn has been dancing specifically Latinx style for about 8 years, but has also enjoyed a little bit of everything since she was a kid. Her passion stayed with her through adulthood. She currently teaches at a dance studio in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Beginnings of Bachata
Back in the old days, bachata was for “gente de la calle,” the people of the street. The people that listened to bachata were the people that made it.
Meringue came from the Dominican Republic and is considered “higher class,” unlike bachata, which you likely wouldn’t see at a public function.
The music itself for bachata is a mix of African and Latinx music, hence the diversity of beats and movements seen in traditional bachata dance.
Over time, music and artists have evolved, and bachata finally gets the recognition it deserves.
Bachata is very heavy in guitar, footwork, and the hips. That’s considered old school, OG bachata—the music we know and love.
Contemporary Music
The contemporary music we know today—such as sensual bachata, tango bachata, hip-hop bachata, and others—all come from the original bachata. These new iterations are considered subcategories of bachata.
If you ask any bachata dancer from back in the day, they’ll tell you bachata is a feeling. As Brooklynn shared, “If you don’t sing and dance it from the soul, that is not bachata.”
Brooklynn identifies as African-American, and dances bachata as a way to pay tribute to the origins of the dance rather than as a form of cultural appropriation.
Getting Warmed Up
Make sure to wear comfortable clothes when dancing bachata. It’s important to drink room temperature water versus cold as cold will shock the body.
Starting off, you’re going to warm up to a bit of music. Warming up is essential to prevent injury and improve fluidity and flexibility when dancing bachata.
Bachata is rather simple. Once you learn one side, the steps are the exact same for the other side. This makes bachata friendly for beginners, no matter your dance skill level.
The rotating basic is actually more American than exemplary of Dominican bachata, but it’s definitely a variation of bachata seen today.
After warm-up and teaching the staples of bachata footwork, Brooklynn ran us through some routines to the beat of the music. She gave us passion, energy, and words of encouragement. We found out for ourselves that you don’t have to be a professional dancer or performer to learn. Bachata brings everyone together, and did so for us during this class.
Closing Out
Just to bring this high energy class to an exciting close, our fearless leader, Tiona Langley, made an appearance at the very end of the class to show her footwork from class.
You truly had to be there to experience the energy and exhilaration of the class, but if you missed it, don’t worry. You can playback the lesson on our Instagram here.
We hope everyone enjoyed celebrating Latinx Heritage Month with us. May you dance the night away!
About the Contributors
Brooklynn Mack is a native of Sunny Miami, Florida where she teaches dance at the Nuevolution Dance Studio and works in a life sciences lab. She's all work, but makes time to play, sharing her love for the arts, exploring the magical world of Black Biz and enriching herself through all kinds of experiences.
Catch her online @mackpack_07 or hanging with the Industry Collective fam whenever possible.
Cassandra Arrigo-Pastore is a writer and editor based in NYC, passionate about mental health advocacy, work/life integration, and neurodiversity. Born in Arizona and raised in Florida, she received a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations from the University of Central Florida, and post-grad remains actively involved in ethical branding and the global advertising space. Aside from her freelance and agency work, you can find Cass at your nearest aboveground train, with the New Yorker mag in one hand and an iced dirty chai in the other.
