Bachatango is a style of dance that fuses the four-step Dominican bachata

Bachata (dance)

Bachata is a style of dance that originated in the Dominican Republic. It is danced widely all over the world but not identically.The basics to the dance are three-step with a Cuban hip motion, followed by a hip tap on the 4th beat just like in other Latin dances . The knees should be slightly bent...

 with Argentine tango

Argentine tango

Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...

 moves, including elaborated kicks, dips, turns and long pauses. The dance is characterized by sensual hip and body movements. Partners hold each other in a closed position

Closed position

In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other....

 where the female’s inside right thigh is in contact with the inside of the male's right thigh, while using the hand placements of typical Latin style dances.

Origin

With the popularization of bachata music, dancers worldwide tapped into the romantic side of bachata finding new ways of expressing their passion. In 2002, as bachata began to be played on radio worldwide, dancers learned the basic four-steps to the dance and began to elaborate as they felt would express their passion. Although, the dance style utilizes bachata music it is rarely danced amongst bachata dancers or in the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

. With the quick progression of this style, it is now being danced to both bachata and tango and it is seen in bachata competitions worldwide.

Dancing bachatango

The basic steps are the same 8 count as bachata only that it produces a side to side motion, while occasionally moving back and forth. Counts 1 - 3 and 5 - 7, when taken, generate a natural hip sway. Counts 4 and 8 will be used to add tango styling. Depending on a person’s style and expression, is executed by a leg lift, kick, hook, long pause, dip or other personal styling preference that will add to the sensuality of the dance.

Basic dance steps

Start with the male making a chassé

Chasse

Chasse or chassé rarely chassée is a dance step used in many dances in many variants, all of them being triple-step patterns of gliding character, steps going basically step-together-step. The word came from ballet terminology...

to the left and the female toward the right. Then follow the counts (provided from the male’s perspective/ the female would be opposite to what is shown);

1. – Step (toward the right)
2. – Step (together)
3. – Step (toward the right)
4. – POP (lifting left leg)
5. – Step (toward the left)
6. – Step (together)
7. – Step (toward the left)
8. – POP (lifting right leg) and repeat.

Note: In a closed position, steps can be made very small, without the feet lifting but retaining the “pop” movement of the hips.