In Bachata, and partner dancing in general, the lead is traditionally male and the follow is traditionally female. But do you ever switch roles when you dance?
Here in Russia it is not common, but I like to practice my leading skills and have been taking classes as a lead and asking girls to dance at every party. Most look scared or surprised when asked, and I have even been rejected just to see the same girl say yes to a dance from a male lead right after. I’ve even been told by other dancers not to dance as a lead because I would lose my femininity.
𝒟𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒶 𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒶𝓁 𝓁𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓊𝒶𝑔𝑒
This is not a language for a man and a woman.
It’s important to be inclusive, open minded, and curious to truly have fun and grow your skills in any area, including dance! Plus, this way we can get to know more people in our dance community just like all of the girls I met in Russia this week who I would not have met otherwise.
Want to learn to lead or follow? Check out our weekly drop in classes, or all of our classes directly on our site!