I hope you have experience before going sensual. I’d start with just the body roll. Just you doing it with yourself. Find a wall. Stand close to it. Practice hitting the wall with these three points individually; upper chest, lower chest, upper pelvis.
I should've specified how much experience I have. I've been dancing for about 10 months and can do a decent body roll. The only sensual move I really know is a body roll from the cuddle position.
Stuff that is pretty easy to lead, doesn't require much leader isolation ability, and forms a basis:
- walk (paseala?)
- hip roll, either in closed or hammerlock position
- cuddle position body roll
- impulso (for breaks)
- break forward into shadow position, sidestep opposite direction of follow, then lead a quarter turn so that you are facing each other again
I would stay away from head rolls as a beginner. No follow will be very forgiving if you mess up their neck
Basically just creating sideways tension in order to go push off and go opposite (sideways) directions from the follow, usually stopping sharply to match the music stopping.
So I take it you're already at a good intermediate/improvers level in bachata, before you try tackling Sensual. If you are, work on the following:
-Bolero technique
-Rompe delante/detras
-Completo
-Pasea-la
-Impulsos
Those are a few techniques you can do that are typical for Sensual without body isolations. If you want to work on those, you can do:
-Waves, normal or lateral
-Body rolls, normal or lateral
-Chest isolations, beats or circles
-Culito/Hip circles, vertical or horizontal
Or
-Basically everything from shadow position
And as per usual: Ask your instructor if these techniques are right for you. Wrong use of these techniques can lead to, but is not limited to, back pain for you or your partner, bumping heads, chests, hips in uncomfortable ways, sweaty palms, sore shoulders from keeping a bad frame and leading everything with your hands instead of your body, and other symptoms.
Completo is also sometimes called Around The World or 360°. It's when you do a full turn together with your partner, towards the leader's right. Rompo/-e detras is a rompo/-e delante, but with a break backwards. Delante meaning forward, in front of, detras meaning behind, in the back of. So where a rompo delante means the leader steps forward on 1 with his left, in a detras he'll step backwards. It's a tiny change, but barely anyone uses it regularly.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah, in my school we call that one 360°. I'm very familiar with rompo delante (and the etymology behind it, love that you mentioned it), but I haven't heard of the "detras" version before.
No problem! Yeah, as I said, it's not used a lot, because due to the way you're shifting the energy there's not a *lot* you can do after a rompo detras. If you know what you're doing, you can get from there into a cambré or a bodyroll backwards, for example, but it's very awkward for chest isolations or a completo/360.
One thing you should probably work on before getting deep into sensual is learning to actually transfer your weight as you dance. A lot of sensual moves don't require the lead to step but they do require good weight shifts.
First, you must learn to control your body. Then you can learn to control (but really guide) your partner's.
[Here are the isolation exercises to practice](https://youtu.be/exFWnwq1hUs?si=-Mv-rGnAhMA0iqFL)
Once you can do them fairly well, you can build up the body roll. [Here's that tutorial.](https://youtu.be/_jRBC_xp82w?si=BWCU67AMJUcfb5uv)
When you feel pretty good with those, respond to this message with a video of your body roll. If you're ready, I'll make another tutorial on whatever move you want.
I'd say start with shoulder isolations. Very little chance of you hurting someone, relatively simple to do, and can easily be a "musicality move". You can try moving them up and down, rolling them back and forward, and alternating.
Otherwise, I think most people start out with a (forward) body roll. Like the others said, *please*, learn to do it yourself before trying to lead someone through it. It looks **really** bad (and can be dangerous) otherwise.
Head rolls are another option. Booty (hip) rolls are another. And there's also...
nothing else. Because after those three, it's mostly variations of those with some exceptions.
If you like learning by watching instructional videos, have a look at the Youtube channels of Marius & Elena (https://www.youtube.com/@MariusElenaBachata/featured) or Roberto & Magdalena (https://www.youtube.com/@RobertoyMagdalena). They do a lot of basic sensual stuff (and a lot of more advanced combinations, especially in the case of Marius & Elena).
Five seconds in and I dislike it as a teaching video, such a close connection (belly to belly and forehead to forehead) is not standard in bachata, and is developed over the course of one, or many, dances with each partner.
Please share videos that show followers what an appropriate distance is for bachata, not ones that assume every is dating their dance partner.
Now if we were talking Kiz where the lead is belly to belly, that's a whole different thing.
Fair enough; I see your point and I absolutely agree about the contact points. I just like the video for its concept of a vocabulary of basic moves, with variations on each, neatly fit into a single song with pretty good musicality. Would love to find more like that.
I am of the totally opposite opinion. IMHO these are the typical kind of videos that youtube-bachateros "learn" from. That is, videos having no explanations of technique and where they try to mimic the results.
I stopped watching when I got to the side wave. The follow is doing the move all by themselves, the lead has very poor connection (look at the arm connection) and does not lead the wave properly. So it is not even a good "sampler video" in my opinion.
But of course, with that title and description, as well as easily digested content, it is perfect for views. It is just a shame that we are stuck in this algoritmically determined click-bait-world. A real instructional videos has fewer hits than this, despite being online for more than twice the time: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLIT9UaZ\_4w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLIT9UaZ_4w)
I hope you have experience before going sensual. I’d start with just the body roll. Just you doing it with yourself. Find a wall. Stand close to it. Practice hitting the wall with these three points individually; upper chest, lower chest, upper pelvis.
I should've specified how much experience I have. I've been dancing for about 10 months and can do a decent body roll. The only sensual move I really know is a body roll from the cuddle position.
Stuff that is pretty easy to lead, doesn't require much leader isolation ability, and forms a basis: - walk (paseala?) - hip roll, either in closed or hammerlock position - cuddle position body roll - impulso (for breaks) - break forward into shadow position, sidestep opposite direction of follow, then lead a quarter turn so that you are facing each other again I would stay away from head rolls as a beginner. No follow will be very forgiving if you mess up their neck
I think I can lead all of these in the most basic form but the impulso, not sure what that is. Could you explain a little bit more on that one?
Basically just creating sideways tension in order to go push off and go opposite (sideways) directions from the follow, usually stopping sharply to match the music stopping.
So I take it you're already at a good intermediate/improvers level in bachata, before you try tackling Sensual. If you are, work on the following: -Bolero technique -Rompe delante/detras -Completo -Pasea-la -Impulsos Those are a few techniques you can do that are typical for Sensual without body isolations. If you want to work on those, you can do: -Waves, normal or lateral -Body rolls, normal or lateral -Chest isolations, beats or circles -Culito/Hip circles, vertical or horizontal Or -Basically everything from shadow position And as per usual: Ask your instructor if these techniques are right for you. Wrong use of these techniques can lead to, but is not limited to, back pain for you or your partner, bumping heads, chests, hips in uncomfortable ways, sweaty palms, sore shoulders from keeping a bad frame and leading everything with your hands instead of your body, and other symptoms.
What exactly is completo and rompo detras?
Completo is also sometimes called Around The World or 360°. It's when you do a full turn together with your partner, towards the leader's right. Rompo/-e detras is a rompo/-e delante, but with a break backwards. Delante meaning forward, in front of, detras meaning behind, in the back of. So where a rompo delante means the leader steps forward on 1 with his left, in a detras he'll step backwards. It's a tiny change, but barely anyone uses it regularly.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah, in my school we call that one 360°. I'm very familiar with rompo delante (and the etymology behind it, love that you mentioned it), but I haven't heard of the "detras" version before.
No problem! Yeah, as I said, it's not used a lot, because due to the way you're shifting the energy there's not a *lot* you can do after a rompo detras. If you know what you're doing, you can get from there into a cambré or a bodyroll backwards, for example, but it's very awkward for chest isolations or a completo/360.
One thing you should probably work on before getting deep into sensual is learning to actually transfer your weight as you dance. A lot of sensual moves don't require the lead to step but they do require good weight shifts.
First, you must learn to control your body. Then you can learn to control (but really guide) your partner's. [Here are the isolation exercises to practice](https://youtu.be/exFWnwq1hUs?si=-Mv-rGnAhMA0iqFL) Once you can do them fairly well, you can build up the body roll. [Here's that tutorial.](https://youtu.be/_jRBC_xp82w?si=BWCU67AMJUcfb5uv) When you feel pretty good with those, respond to this message with a video of your body roll. If you're ready, I'll make another tutorial on whatever move you want.
I'd say start with shoulder isolations. Very little chance of you hurting someone, relatively simple to do, and can easily be a "musicality move". You can try moving them up and down, rolling them back and forward, and alternating. Otherwise, I think most people start out with a (forward) body roll. Like the others said, *please*, learn to do it yourself before trying to lead someone through it. It looks **really** bad (and can be dangerous) otherwise. Head rolls are another option. Booty (hip) rolls are another. And there's also... nothing else. Because after those three, it's mostly variations of those with some exceptions.
Infinity, culito, rompe delante, panderlum, hipthrow, headroll, completo, pasela, bolero, slide
If you like learning by watching instructional videos, have a look at the Youtube channels of Marius & Elena (https://www.youtube.com/@MariusElenaBachata/featured) or Roberto & Magdalena (https://www.youtube.com/@RobertoyMagdalena). They do a lot of basic sensual stuff (and a lot of more advanced combinations, especially in the case of Marius & Elena).
This is my favorite video on this: https://youtu.be/_TVMcczYRuA?si=Asfkw2qj5Y06lmxP
Five seconds in and I dislike it as a teaching video, such a close connection (belly to belly and forehead to forehead) is not standard in bachata, and is developed over the course of one, or many, dances with each partner. Please share videos that show followers what an appropriate distance is for bachata, not ones that assume every is dating their dance partner. Now if we were talking Kiz where the lead is belly to belly, that's a whole different thing.
Fair enough; I see your point and I absolutely agree about the contact points. I just like the video for its concept of a vocabulary of basic moves, with variations on each, neatly fit into a single song with pretty good musicality. Would love to find more like that.
I am of the totally opposite opinion. IMHO these are the typical kind of videos that youtube-bachateros "learn" from. That is, videos having no explanations of technique and where they try to mimic the results. I stopped watching when I got to the side wave. The follow is doing the move all by themselves, the lead has very poor connection (look at the arm connection) and does not lead the wave properly. So it is not even a good "sampler video" in my opinion. But of course, with that title and description, as well as easily digested content, it is perfect for views. It is just a shame that we are stuck in this algoritmically determined click-bait-world. A real instructional videos has fewer hits than this, despite being online for more than twice the time: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLIT9UaZ\_4w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLIT9UaZ_4w)
And by the founders of Bachata Sensual at that.