(Updated 13th October 2024)
I feel like there may be a misunderstanding, at least in my social dance community, of what dance moves are regular moves versus what are advanced tricks. In other words, moves that are safe to do with everybody at a social dance party versus complicated and potentially dangerous moves that you should maybe only try with your dance partner or close dance-friends. To avoid injuries and make everyone have a good time, we should have a good understanding of the differences.
I want to talk specifically about bachata here since this is the dance where as a follower, I get my back and neck hurt most often.
What Is Causing the Confusion?
There can be many reasons for why dancers can’t tell the difference between regular moves vs tricks. For example:
- Leaders who have never tried follower’s role don’t understand how difficult some things can be.
- If followers don’t speak up when they feel uncomfortable in dance classes, leads will never know their struggles and vice versa.
- Leads may forget that followers who have had professional dance training since they were young or do regular fitness training on the side, will find tricks easier to do, hovever not every follower is like that.
- Sometimes instructors just want to teach their students something exciting and flashy, forgetting to mention the potential dangers.
To help you get an idea of what is dangerous and what is not, I put together two lists of bachata moves, one for safe moves and one for advanced tricks.
Dangerous Bachata Moves
Let’s look at some examples of “tricks” aka advanced movements that require good physique, additional training etc. These tend to be moves from sensual bachata style.
Dips/Cambrés
Dips can be dangerous because followers need to have strong core muscles to hold themselves so their lower back doesn’t get hurt. If followers don’t have a flexible upper back, there is added tension to the neck. Strong neck muscles also required because gravity is pulling the neck back. Dips should definitely NOT be done fast or in a whip-like manner!!
There is also a danger of hurting the lead’s back – followers should not throw themselves into a dip unless they’re 110% sure that this was actually lead by their partner.
Head Movements
Head movements can be dangerous for the neck if not led and executed with correct technique, without preparation or too fast. Followers need very good balance, strong neck muscles, flexible upper spine and more to execute them.
Small head roll where upper body is not included and head doesn’t go back is a safer one though.
Tilted Turns
Followers need very good understanding of their body in space and excellent balance required for this move to not lose balance and fall. Proper technique also needed from both followers and leaders.
Lean In
“Leaning in” move can be dangerous if the back of the follower is not flexible enough and you go over her limit. Follower unfortunately has very little control here to adjust how deep she wants to go, she’d have to abort the move completely to save her lower back. The more upright the safer.
Multiple Fast Turns
Multiple fast turns or spins on the spot are not overly dangerous, but followers may lose balance and trip. Requires lots of energy and good core control, therefore not good to do when tired at the end of the night. Leaders should do a very good and clear prep.
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Tricks are moves you could ideally lead to your dance friends who have confirmed they don’t have any back/neck injuries, have good fitness level and like doing tricks on the dancefloor. Simply assuming that someone is fit for these moves is risky, e.g. being young and skinny doesn’t necessarily mean being fit. Followers should choose to follow through with these moves only with advanced leaders who give proper preparation and lead clearly.
If you want to dig deeper, I have an article here that goes a little bit more in depth with the technique for some of the beforementioned advanced tricks.
Safe Bachata Moves
Next let’s look at the safe dance moves. By safe I do not mean boring or easy, I mean you can do these moves with people you have not danced with before and whose skill level you don’t know yet.
- Basic step (to the side, on the spot, forward and back, in box, changing places)
- All Dominican footwork
- Body isolations (Some followers may not have the flexibility or body control for these moves, but it’s not hazardous. Still, be careful not to force it.)
- Body wave to the side (Some followers may not have the flexibility or body control for these moves, but it’s not hazardous. Still, be careful not to force it.)
- “Madrid” step
- Simple turns, half turns, 180° or 360° turns
- Booty roll / hip roll (This may be uncomfortable if your follower doesn’t want to dance sensually, but has little injury risk.)
- Shadow position
- Break forward
- “Paséala” and walk around
- Body wave to the front (Body wave is safe, but don’t add a cambré backwards to come up. May be uncomfortable if your follower doesn’t want to dance sensually.)
- Slide
- Elbows in
- Fall forward
- ( … and more)
These were lists of safe bachata moves to try with everybody, versus advanced tricks you should only do with your dance partner or friends whom you know very well. These lists are by no means exhaustive, but hopefully gave you an idea of what are safe vs risky dance moves.
To make bachata safer for everyone, leads should try to be more careful with their choice of moves and followers should get additional strength training to prevent injuries. If anyone would like to add to the hazardous moves list, let me know in the comments!
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Hi – I have had years’ experience with Middle Eastern (belly dance) styles & am fairly supple for my age – almost 76 now! (a yoga teacher once remarked how flexible I still am!) I had been attending Cuban Salsa classes in latter years (LOVE THIS; nothing risky to me – yet in a small town there is little, or no, choice)
Hence other classes I HAD been attending regularly which started in 2018 (apart from Covid break from which it appeared to me they restarted far TOO SOON i.e. close partner-dancing)
The latter have consisted of : 1) session 1 ‘Cuban salsa’ (not authentic at all!); very short break to follow and then: 2) SENSUAL BACHATA!
I love the music, the rhythms, etc. BUT , although we have a kind of ‘warm up’ for each session – more of a ‘line up’, NOT one thing is said/ asked if anyone has any back/neck/ mobility issues of any kind – including knees – I’m OK with those so far! There is NO explanation on how to execute the isolations (most of which I am fine with!) but many new people have never even seen such moves done before! They are rarely ‘broken down’ into how these are done & can develop.
When I used to teach belly dance some years ago now for up to 5 years; I was a member of an organisation called Mosaic Arabic Dance Network …with whom I needed to attend annually a ‘Health & Safety Day’ as required for my obtaining my Public Liability Insurance.. which I would then apply to my students ‘to the letter’ – firstly asking each time if everyone OK, no injuries; including anything any lady who might have preferred to speak to me privately about.
‘Warm ups’ generally included first: shoulder rolls gently back & forth… followed by neck rolls – but NEVER, EVER, to the BACK! Additionally, important not to start exercise/dancing if COLD but also ESSENTIAL there is adequate ventilation.
Mid July of 2024 in another style Salsa class it was extremely hot during a heatwave. Other ladies told me they were feeling ‘giddy’ yet wouldn’t ‘speak up’! There was LITTLE or no ventilation in a huge ‘barn’ hall! There is, as in these salsa / partner work styles, constant rotating between different partners too… in that heat! Next day awoke with extremely sore throat – developed an enteritis VIRUS which developed complications and lasted almost 3 MONTHS! (I do have some ME/CFS & this can cause any sufferer to ‘pick up viruses quickly that then ‘hang on’) I did politely comment to the leader of these- not been since – not sure if anything was done: 2 back doors are opened when they remember but NO ‘through draught’! SO unhealthy! Yet this (nice) man has been running these classes for over 19 years!!
Due to my many years’ experience of belly dance, isolations come more or less ‘naturally’ to me BUT not these severe bends, ‘dips’, side leans – flicking head up (need a strong neck for that!); dropping neck/upper spine right BACK.. within Sensual Bachata. No-one is taught how to execute such moves, using the ‘correct’ muscles to help posture strength. I can often spot people behind me really struggling during the line-ups.
I have had problems within my lower back for quite a long time now, i.e. some years ‘on & off’: been to a physio.; have exercises to practise getting strength into back, in particular. I recently underwent (via my G.P.) DEXA scans – to measure bone density. (had had early menopause) I have had issues with my neck strength – actually over many years – definitely since the 1980s! A physio. did give me neck exercises to strengthen the muscles.. and have even managed a few, careful, ‘head/hair flicks’ when belly dancing. I admit I often find it difficult to ‘stop’ myself!!
For anyone with medical knowledge, my last DEXA (bone density) scan showed the following: .. from my G.P. referring me:
QUOTE: low back pain – tender over lumbar vertebrae – occurred after heavy lifting.Please check for # ray’ XR Lumbar spine: The bones in the lower thoracic and lumbar spine are osteopenic. (pre osteoporosis)
There is a scoliosis concave to the left. Moderate/severe degenerative changes in the disc at L4/L5 and L5S1. Severe facet joint degeneration in the lower lumbar spine. END QUOTE!
HENCE I can hardly be thinking of those back and/or side bends in sensual bachata! NOT ONCE did I, or any other student get ASKED/WARNED about many of the moves within this dance form. I’ve personally found the men do bend less as they are leading (or meant to be! ) leading their followers; these being more often than not followers they don’t even know/ not met before. However, the male leaders do often need to ‘take some of the weight’ to help/lead their followers. Not a good thing if they, themselves, have spinal issues.
Some of us think such teachers are all about ‘money, money, money’, sadly.
Extracts from a (much younger than I am) experienced dancer/teacher: she is qualified dance teacher – of MANY styles – has added more or less the following:
“Bachata sensual is very dangerous….and at least with ballet students are pretty much warned it can come at a health risk”..Thankfully this lady says she has had training (ballet) up to age 17 so didnt do much damage!
HOWEVER, she also finds that ‘sensual bachata’ has no warning….there is no warm up/cool down…and people going straight into back bends….Even for a strenuous class such as a ballet class, the warm up is 30 minutes….and this lady adds that she found bachata sensual more demanding than ballet…the dancers are bending their backs …over arching their lower back and full rotation 360 of the neck….and really needs awareness….”men love it because women put themselves in positions i.e over arching lower back..bum out…no no no!! “
On another occasion (now here ALL ought to be taught SPATIAL AWARENESS, as I did with a group of ladies all turning etc.) I got led right into one of my teacher’s SPIKY stiletto heels many ladies wear, albeit with ripped jeans etc!!! I had a deep ankle laceration; did get taken to ‘minor injuries’ then needed regular re-dressing of the wound by the wonderful, specialist, nurses at my local GP practice! It took MONTHS to heal! I had to use a stick for a while and felt very ‘down’. Got an initial apology from the ‘leader’ but after that all seemed ‘laid back’ to me! Yes, it WAS an accident but more awareness of what is going on around a pair of dancers ought to be ‘instilled’ into the leaders, in particular. There have all too often been various ‘bumps’ and knocks suffered by others.
(However, to my surprise about 4 years previously I had been able to manage… NO partner.. a ‘back bend’ with a hip shimmy – on the floor during a short belly dance performance!!) I think I came home and applied an ‘ice pack’ later on!!
I & now, at least 2 friends’ really want to publish these issues up somewhere in a Facebook ‘suitable’ group without directly admonishing the present salsa/sensual bachata teachers. If they ‘pick it up’ & read – fine.
P.S. Also now need some ‘lifestyle’ changes: NO trying to cut the lawn; NO reaching up gardening; AVOID lifting of what seems moderate weight shopping bags; often involving checkout staff in supermarkets being asked to SLOW down pushing everything through (they are NOT ‘timed’) I guess most of latter is really ‘normal’ in ageing really but dance forms ought to be available for ALL ages……..and most definitely NOT ready for those ‘armchair exercises’ NO WAY! I know about those from past employment with Age UK. I manage a Monday morning kind of ‘funky’ ‘DanceMix’ – a little like Zumba – and love it!
Thanks for reading – it is awfully LONG!! 🙂
Thank you for your thoughts! Safety should come first!