More Workshops, LESS PERFORMANCES, More Social Dancing... (Im just reminiscing, not hating. And hoping...) Looking back when we organized the first bachata festivals in the world and the USA, huge changes has happened since. Let me tell you what was going through my mind during that time. Social Dancing. That was all. I looked forward to dancing with badass dancers. I wanted to see who can last and outlast each other until dawn. You see, one of the main reason, I started bachata festivals in the USA was because, I got tired of salsa congresses (same speed of songs, lots of snobs, etc). Dont get me wrong, salsa congresses in the old days were like bachata festivals; no snobs walking around like theyre about to perform; no gazillion of performances. And you get to watch the Pros dancing with everyone. Talk about cameras and video recordings all over the place. In fact, numerous Pros got popular and hired and rehired all over the place because promoters and people saw them social dancing. I envisioned an international weekend event where it was all about social dancing. And that I did...I chatted with Juan Ignacio Ruiz (co-organizer of Sydney Bachata Festival) & Jorge Elizondo (Dallas Bachata Festival) - Reno and San Francisco bachata festivals later, the rest is history. The first bachata festivals were the most memorable because it was raw. It was new, fresh, and although there were lots of badass dancers, everyone were nobodys - which was damn perfect! No snobs were around.Everyone danced with everyone!!! Sadly, nowadays, bachata festivals are following salsa congresses format to the tee; gazillion of performances every night. The focus on the performances at night. WHO CANT STAND WATCHING PERFORMANCES AT NIGHT FOR MORE THAN 1 HOUR, RAISE YOUR HANDS ???? And the artists that are hired are pretty much anti-social dancers...on top of that, they hate teaching a workshop for beginners, or worse, they hate dancing with a beginner. Dont even get me started talking about Dance Teams - theyre the ones that kill social dancing locally and even internationally. Now dont take this out of context, salsa congresses are awesome! There is a certain community that really enjoys the format and more - just like bachata festivals have a certain target of community as well with different format. But for bachata festival, lets not forget that bachata wasnt meant to be performed or even presented as a dance competition in the first place. This actually goes the same way with kizomba festivals and socials. I am not saying that we should stop the bachata progression now, Im just saying that we shouldnt lose focus and not forget the basic essentials of what bachata is and what bachata dance festivals are for - SOCIAL DANCING. With that in mind, my festivals (hosted by Rodchata Enterprise) will revive what we were good at - a social dance based festival with less performances with more activities thats design to interact with everyone. In fact, Im even thinking of not building a performance stage. Bachata & Kizomba Festival (afrolatinvegas) - Jan 2-4, 2015 I was once a beginner, and I was thinking...If Im a beginner now and attend a dance festival for the first time, I will never go back because I will feel as though I am not welcome there. I want to feel like I belong. I wanted to meet new friends coming from all over the world and hopefully maintain contact with them forever.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:32:25 +0000
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