Bachata

Bachata is a social dance from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. The basic dance sequence is performed in a full 8-count moving within a square, consisting of three steps and then a tap or various forms of step syncopations (such as the "double step").^[1][2] The tap is done on the opposite foot of the last step, while the next step is taken on the same foot as the tap. The dance direction may change after the tap or fourth step. Bachata can be danced on any beat of the musical phrase as long as the basic dance sequence (three steps and then a tap \ syncopation) is maintained (for example, one may start on the 1st beat of the musical phrase, with the tap landing on the 4th beat).

From the late 1990s and onward, dancers in the Western world started creating novel dance forms inspired by bachata music. The most well known example of this is the made up basic step commonly referred to as the "side to side step", which is sometimes accompanied by an exaggerated "pop” of the hips during the tap. These novel western dance forms were mostly created copying dance moves from other partner dances of various origins, Latin and non Latin alike. Many such dances exist today, with the first of these often referred to as “Western side basic step”