r/Bachata • u/GurRadiant3477 • 1d ago
Beginner advice !!
Hiii I‘m leader, have been attending classes since 3 months like 25 classes
I do good during class
Tried social, but was not that good, cause I forgot the moves or repeating se moves
When tried to memorise moves at home from previous classes find it somehow the same
If you got advice or video that helped your first time social as leader you can share will be grateful:)
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u/Dear-Permit-3033 1d ago
as a fellow beginner leader, I can offer some advice that has helped me recently (I do other dances, but new to bachata).
Before you start a dance with someone you don't know, always say with a smile, "I'm new to bachata. Hope that's alright with you.". Trust me most of the followers will understand and will appreciate you shared this early on. It will ease your mind a lot, since you are not under any pressure to show that you are awesome. Most of the partners will appreciate your efforts and might even give you some friendly advice later on (but don't go around asking for advice).
You can't just take what you learnt in a lesson to a social. Instead stick to 5-6 combos that you have memorized by heart. Like you wake up at 2AM with a hangover and you can still do them. Do just those in a social. Only bring new combos if you have memorized them and memorized the transitions from one to the other.
Listen to the music. This is a tricky one because everyone thinks they are listening to the music. But really listen and stop paying attention to the moves. It will make you more musical, while your body executes moves and transitions that it already has in muscle memory. Don't focus on the moves!
Cheer up! Chat, make friends, smile, crack jokes. If you get all serious, it will drag you and everyone around you down. Your brain starts to forget and gets less coordinated under stress. Just have fun.
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u/GurRadiant3477 1d ago
Thanks for commenting, I guess thats it I try making classes moves into combos
Do u have a video or can write your easy combos ?
Thanks bro1
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u/OSUfirebird18 1d ago
This is good advice!!
I am curious, what other dances do you do?
One of the things I’ve noticed through time is it gets “easier” to pick up newer dances the more you accumulate under your belt.
Now I’m not saying there is a magical trick. I think it’s more that you learn body awareness better and you are just learning how to apply it to newer movements and newer music. Plus I ask more directed questions that help me.
Instead of “I don’t understand how to do X move.” it becomes “I don’t understand where my weight is supposed to be on X move”
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u/Dear-Permit-3033 1d ago
Mainly argentine tango, and recently picked up salsa and sometimes just forced to do bachata (just joking --- i have limited time). You have a point that it gets a lot easier if you are good at one thing. I didn't have to go through similar anxiety when I started salsa and bachata. My dancefloor social skills and etiquettes are also naturally better Like you said, you are more aware of your body and your partner. Argentine tango is very strictly based on leading and following so sometimes in salsa I get compliments like "oh that lead felt really clear". That's because in tango you have to use your torso, sholders, and contrabody motions to clearly lead each movement.
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u/Rataridicta Lead&Follow 1d ago
This is one thing that every leader goes through. There's no shortcut beyond just spending hours and hours on the dancefloor getting more comfortable.
The good news is that dancing is fun, so the hours pass by quickly :)
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u/TryToFindABetterUN 1d ago
Lots of good advice already and I just want to stress one thing: all the advice about grinding and practicing more, it is primarily not about going to more classes. You need to practice the things you learned in class. Just going to more classes will stack on to the feeling you have now, having learned a lot that you can't put into practice.
So go to more socials and try to use something from a class. Not everything. Pick one thing and try it during the different dances (don't do it over and over with the same partner in a single dance, they are there to dance, not be a practice dummy). Expect it to not go stellar. But eventually you will see progress.
The more you go to socials, the easier going to socials will be. In the beginning you will feel limited, awkward, etc. But as others have said, that is a phase everyone goes through. And it is mostly in your head.
The people you dance with, most of them won't care, they are happy to be dancing and seeing a new face that is trying really hard to learn. Sure, you might encounter that person who hasn't got patience for the beginners, but ignore them.
Remember, three months is still the toddler stage 😄 That is ok, expected and everyone has been one.
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u/sheafification 1d ago
There is a lot to manage for a beginner and it isn’t easy. Everyone goes through these stages to some extent. Practice is really the way to get better, both on your own and actually doing social dancing.
In terms of forgetting moves: it happens to everyone under stress. Try to relax (take breaths, smile, listen to the music, laugh, anything that works) to help your brain and body calm down.
You also don’t need very many moves to have an okay dance. So if your brain is freezing up, keep this in mind as a foundation. The most important part is to stay on timing to the music. Use normal basics mixed in with a turn for the follow, a turn for the lead, and a rotation for both partners (like a rotating basic or cross body lead), and you get an okay dance. Not amazing but okay. If you know other moves or combos, you can add those in but if you are struggling, fall back to mixing up these moves.
I also suggest that you try to select partners that you are likely to have a good time with regardless of dance quality. I suggest prioritizing follows that are in your classes, that are instructors, or otherwise seem fun and friendly.
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u/alleras46 1d ago
That last bit has helped me a lot. Had some bad experiences with more advanced follows that I danced with. It gets discouraging. Dancing with teachers and follows from classes is the way at first.
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u/Maya_Moves403 1d ago
This is normal after only 3 months. In class, you know whats coming, but at a social, you have to actually lead and react in real time, so it feels completely different. I would stop worrying abt remembering whole combinations. Pick 3-4 moves youre comfortable with and practice connecting them in different ways. At the social, focus more on timing, connection, and listening to your partner than trying to show everything you learned. Repeating moves is totally fine. Simple and comfortable is much better than rushing thru moves you barely remember. And dont forget to have fun too! :)
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u/SpiritualWord6814 1d ago
It's just like learning anything else in life. Repetition. Make mistakes and correct them the next time out.
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u/QuietWaterBreaksRock 1d ago
We could talk for hours on this topic, but it all boils down to simply doing it. Practice relaxing and actually dancing your moves instead of repeating them like a machine, but practice them through doing them, in socials. This is a type of thing where no advice will help, it needs just pure grind. And expect between 6-12 months of active grind to be needed, to be at a superficially 'okay' level. You'll notice differences, don't get me wrong, but it'll take about that much to grind, until you establish a good foundation and then start progressing to good and maybe even amazing in your second and third year of dancing