Surprise for Girlfriend- how do I learn bachata on my own during the pandemic?
Question By User PotentiallyHappy
Hey guys!
My girlfriend has been learning bachata for years and has been really down she hasn’t been able to do it because of the pandemic. I do feel the drive to dance but I never do in public because I have zero rhythm and I’m very socially conscious of this. I would love to surprise my girlfriend by learning bachata on my own so that when I can see her again after lockdown in my country I can dance with her and make her happy.
I was wondering if someone here could give me advice on what might be the best way to approach this and what courses/videos/websites could be the best? I do totally understand that bachata is a pair dancing activity and there is a limit to what I can do on my own, but I’m thinking maybe I could learn all the footwork and hand motion stuff to a level where it might be still fun for her to dance with me?
Answers
Users FIVE_6_MAFIA
The best surprise would be for you to reveal to her that you’re interested in learning bachata!!! Then you can learn together!
Users ChiraqBluline
Start listening to the music and get the basic step, learn to adjust when you mess up, learn to have fun with it and to correct back to the main steps… play at home with the basic 3 steps, crank that music up… incorporate a mirror, get the rhythm down. Make yourself comfortable enough to be confident when getting lessons later on. You can learn a lot on your own, and you can learn to lead a bit too. Footwork is fun too. And many people learn it solo… you don’t need a partner yet your not there yet
Users hatzfeld
You could look at Marius and Elena YouTube channel. There is good content for beginners. But at one point you’ll have to try with a partner!
2 choices in my opinion: tell her about it after learning all you can from YouTube, or getting a few private classes to learn the basics with a partner. The second option is more expensive but I am not talking about getting 10 classes with a famous teacher, more like 2–3 classes with an experienced dancer or local teacher to get the basics.
I am not a big fan of advising people to learn from YouTube, especially when starting! But depending on your goal.. It might be enough. Do not commit to YouTube too long though!
Users Banzai416
If you aren’t musically gifted it will take a couple of months of in person classes to reach that level. There is a strong possibility that you will learn bad habits if you have no one to correct you. What you can do is practice rhythm and musicality since it’s the backbone of everything.
Users anusdotcom
The Dance Dojo classes are quite comprehensive and progressive…
Users cld8
If you haven’t taken at least a few in-person classes from a qualified teacher, I would not recommend trying to learn on your own from videos. That is how you pick up bad habits. My advice is take classes whenever they resume in your area. After you have taken about 6 months of classes and have the basics down, then you can learn footwork or more complicated moves from videos.
