Daewoo & Waffle at the Bachata Social World Cup in Geneva feat. Dream

We met Daewoo and Waffle, who competed for Korea at the Bachata Social World Cup, and Dream, who went with them. What was different about the world's social floor?

The Bachata Social World Cup, a bachata festival for the whole world.

We met Daewoo and Waffle, who competed for Korea at an event that drew as much controversy as buzz, and Dream, who went with them.

How good were the world's social dancers, what was different from us, and what was the event itself like... we asked about all of it. A record to help widen the horizon of K-bachata.

Bachata Social World Cup 2026 FinalsOctober 10-11, 2026, Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland. Held during the Bachata Geneva Festival180 dancers from 47 countries (90 leaders, 90 followers), 31 judgesOfficial Instagram @bachatasocialworldcup / Official results

The Biggest Difference #1 - They Know Every Song

Q. You must have danced with so many social dancers. How was it?

Waffle

First of all, I should have gone sooner. When we talked about going last year, I had no plans to dance full-time. If I'd gone then, I'd have changed a lot more by now.

The way these people listen to music is different from the way we do, right from the start. We start mostly with patterns. They seem to learn how to listen to the song first, and they know the lyrics.

Bars in Korea mostly play the latest tracks, so unless you go looking, you don't know the great older songs. They know all of them. If a song is 3 minutes 30 seconds, they seem to know all 3 minutes 30 seconds of it.

We listen mostly to the melody, and that's how I learned too. They pick out every instrument in the track in detail, so the gap in musicality is huge. Watching it on video and feeling it in person were completely different.

Daewoo

This was my second time after last year, and the level went up again. Like when Tonio, Claudio and La Negra came to teach here, the push to understand the music started a long time ago. If you want to play with the music when you dance, hearing and understanding it is a real asset for every dancer.

Some songs you just have to memorize, but 70-80% of them are predictable enough without memorizing. In the end you have to train your ears, and we've only been going by the melody.

Korea has a great social scene, but I think it needs more incubation, centered on music. Luckily, a few DJs lately have started playing artists they didn't use to play.

Dream

And some of them rework tracks where you could only hear the melody, so the percussion comes through more.

Daewoo

It's still not easy. Even though we were knocked out fairly early, of the songs that came up, I fully knew only about 30-40%.

Waffle

For me, I sort of knew 20% and didn't know 20% at all. So I actually felt sorry for my partners. They'd hit every kick, and I couldn't.

A Final Result: Disappointing but Meaningful

Q. How did you place?

Daewoo

I finished 57th. There was a last-chance qualifier on Friday with about 200 people, and the main competition had 90 couples.

Waffle

I was somewhere in the 70s, I don't remember exactly.

Daewoo - En Sueño / @daewoo_dancing_life / CHOApedia profileWaffle - @waffle.yim / CHOApedia profileDream - En Sueño / CHOApedia profileBy the official count, Korea had 2 competitors: Daewoo and Waffle

Your Own Dance vs Connection, Which Isn't What It Looks Like

Q. What changed on the expression side?

Waffle

With a lot of hip-hop coming in, the trend is that you have to express your own dance well. It used to be enough to have good partnerwork. Now you show off your own thing, but you can't lose the connection. It's gotten harder.

The Colombian men didn't make the final. You can't tell on video, but in person the connection broke more often than you'd think. Their musicality was amazing. I was watching thinking "that's risky, they won't make it," and they really didn't.

Daewoo

You could feel how carefully the final rounds were designed. The competitors judged each other too. That means by the final, connection and the feel of the dance matter a lot.

That doesn't mean they give up their own dance to keep the connection. They can do that too. So the lead needs a much more delicate touch.

The judging panel had the traditional bachata sensual lineup, plus people strong in bachazouk, influence, hip-hop and solo. I think the all-rounders who can cover all of that end up with the top scores.

Dream

The South Americans were fresh and definitely caught the eye. But in the semifinal, the connection broke way too often. By the end, everyone knew the songs by heart and everyone had solid basics, so the ones who stood out were the ones enjoying the connection together.

The Talk of the Event, Melany - "She Never Tries to Beat the Leader"

Q. Among the finalists, if you picked your own number one, one man and one woman?

Dream

For the men, last year's winner Jerem stood out. He didn't dance flashy, he didn't bounce around, he just focused on his partner and danced clean.

Jerem Dos Reis - Paris, France / 2025 World Champion, 6th in the 2026 final / @jerem.dosreis

Jerem dancing - watch the short

For the women, I thought it would be Silvia or Melany, and Melany won. Melany focuses on her partner and does everything she wants to do, but she never tries to beat the leader. She respects everything the leader does, takes every lead, and in the empty moments she expresses the musicality she knows, very softly.

That's my ideal of a follower.

Melany Mejia - Medellín, Colombia / 2026 World Champion (follower) / @melany_mejia5813 / Official profile

Silvia's expressiveness was bigger than the other dancers'.

Silvia - dances as Andy & Silvia

Silvia dancing - watch the short

Daewoo

Six dancers, six colors. The music and genres varied a lot, so each one shone on the songs that fit their style.

For the men, the winner Victor. If the others mostly went sexy or serious, Victor had a happy-virus feel the whole time.

Victor Victor - Tokyo, Japan / 2026 World Champion (leader). Dances as Victor & Monika / @victor__st1 / Official profile

Watch the short

For the women, I danced with Melany, and I was shocked. She's really petite. But she doesn't feel small at all. She never gets in the leader's way, and even while she's styling, she's watching the leader. You don't need to dance long. Two or three eight-counts and it comes through.

Watch the short

Waffle

I met Melany in the main round too. Watching all six in the final, her following never broke once, she didn't make a single mistake. She was a number one they couldn't not give the title to.

Victor has no rough edges. Some people say he uses the same patterns and the same kicks a lot, but if the partner is happy and it looks good, I think that's fine. In person he was much cleaner. I don't think anyone brings out their own color as well as he does.

Silvia's basics were really something else, and Emilia, who I just love as a dancer, was my number one at heart.

Emilia Narel - represents Lithuania, based in Madrid / 3rd in the 2026 final (follower) / @emilia_narel

Daewoo

One more thing: even with the same average of 90, Victor seemed to be the one with the smallest spread. In that sense, followers get a better experience with him.

Waffle

If you look at the score sheet, the male judges gave Victor a lot of low rankings, but the female judges all ranked him high.

Dream

There were 12 female judges and 6 male.

Waffle

Carlos from Australia (formerly of Carlos & Chloe) was a judge, and he danced even harder than anyone. He danced so well.

Q. Ros didn't stand out as much as I expected?

Waffle

Carlos was dancing flashy right next to him. Ros is less about flash and more about connection, making the woman comfortable.

Dream

But the partners' faces looked happiest when they danced with Ros. The biggest smiles were with Ros. What you see and what you feel when you dance really are different.

A Special Experience - 5 a.m. Connection Time

Waffle

It might feel a bit awkward for Koreans, but from 5 to 7 in the morning there were two hours of connection time. The songs are all very quiet. No rushing patterns. There was a separate time just for dancing with a focus on connection.

Daewoo

The idea is less about changing the music and more "throw away the camera and just focus on the dance."

Waffle

It's time to focus on your partner instead of showing others, and to share how you connect with this person. Everyone else would hold each other still through the intro and feel each other's breathing and connection, and I felt like I had to do something, like I had to move. It was awkward and new at the same time.

The Most Memorable Dancers - "What Feeling They Dance With"

Q. Did you social dance a lot?

Dream

I think this was the most I've ever danced at a European event.

Q. Who left the biggest impression?

Dream

Honestly, no single person blew me away. Dancing with Daewoo is my favorite. (laughs)

One dancer who stood out was Jesper from Sweden. He's not flashy, but he dances with intense focus on the small musicality and the connection. That's why so many women love him.

On the floor, famous dancers like Spain's Victor and Japan's Victor are just hanging out. So it's great no matter who you dance with, but what mattered more was what feeling that person danced with me on that song.

Victor Martos Mercado - Málaga, Spain / 3rd in the 2026 final (leader) / @victormartos_bachata

Daewoo

There's a reason I always tell people around me to come to this competition with me. Most festivals rarely get past 10 countries, but here the qualifiers alone were held in 40-some countries, and the dancers in the main competition came from 26 or 28 countries or so.

Editor's note - By the official count, the 180 finalists came from 47 countries

With different people and different music, the range of fun is huge. In overall satisfaction, nothing even comes close. In the socials too, there were so many times a young dancer whose name I didn't even know was so fun, so comfortable, with such a great expression, that I couldn't help dancing the whole song full of joy.

Dream

What changed from last year is that dancers from other continents really stood out.

Japan's Victor, even before he won, drew a huge circle every time he stepped on the floor. That's the kind of attention only top-tier dancers get. Colombian dancers have built huge fandoms through Instagram too. I really felt that Europe respects something different.

Q. Was there any racism?

Dream

Hardly any. The invited dancers are all well-known teachers in their own countries, so if anything, there was a clear vibe of welcoming and looking after you more because you're Asian.

How Polished the Event Was - "There Was No Delay at All"

Watch the short

Daewoo

At most European events, in front of the DJ booth there are maybe 30-40 people you'd call "oh, that's a dancer," 40-50 at a big event. Here there are 300 to 500 standing there. So with everyone around you dancing hard, you can't dance half-heartedly either.

I've watched from up close for a year and a half how much the organizers put into this, and seeing it in person, they really built it well. Dancers respect that passion. From a month before the event, they posted information on Instagram almost every day, and almost everything you need is right there on Instagram.

Dream

They split the event WhatsApp groups by need, too. A video-sharing group where you can ask someone for footage of workshops running at the same time, a room-share group, a transport group. There's even a complaints group for reporting problems in real time, and it usually takes less than half a day.

Daewoo

The person in charge watches it all day. There were 120 staff.

Waffle

There were almost no delays in the schedule or from the dancers.

Daewoo

None at all. Even dancers who show up late elsewhere were all on time, perfectly.

Q. Geneva is famous for its brutal prices. Wasn't it too expensive?

Daewoo

If anything was bad... (in the end, I couldn't find anything) and it wasn't expensive. Eating out is really pricey, but they set it up so you can eat inside the venue. Exaggerating a little, it's half the price of outside. It's not exactly cheap by Korean standards, but a big slice of pizza is about 7,000 won, enough for a meal.

Waffle

We didn't pay for transport, so getting around was easy. We cooked at our place too.

Daewoo

If a few people go together, the cost isn't different from other events. The only downside is that flights from Korea aren't cheap.

Dream

There was also a free Geneva city tour for people arriving Thursday or Friday.

Q. Honestly, I wondered if it might be too commercial.

Daewoo

There's a good way for things to go commercial. When standards get set, they make things convenient for people, and the commercial side is reasonable. This event kept to that really well. And they tried not to lose a culture within bachata where we respect each other, acknowledge each other and applaud each other.

On the last night, early Sunday morning, they released a new song called "Universo." The lyrics are about all of us becoming one in this universe and connecting, and they didn't just play it, they premiered it with a performance prepared in advance by some of the most iconic couples right now. They expressed where this event wants to go, all the way to the final show.

The 2027 Plan - Next Time as Team Korea

Daewoo

I already won my ticket for next year at the Copenhagen competition. So I'm at ease.

Q. Still, you should try again. Where can people compete?

Daewoo

There's the Gangnam Latin Festival in December. Tickets come in three kinds: a direct ticket to the final, a ticket to the Friday last-chance qualifier, and a ticket to the Asian competition in Japan. Direct tickets are rarely given out.

It's just one, but Korea now has a competition that brought home a direct ticket. Win in December and you get the direct ticket.

Bachata Social World Cup Korea Qualifier 2026Sunday, December 13, 2026, Seoul. Held during the Gangnam Latin Festival (December 11-13)Entry fee 20 euros, first come first served: 50 leaders and 50 followers. Festival pass holders onlyWinners - direct entry to the 2027 World Cup Finals in Geneva2nd-5th in the final - qualify for the 2027 Asian Championship in Tokyo@gangnamlatinfestival

Dream

As far as I know, there will be three Asia tickets, so six people.

Daewoo

For the Asia tickets, you either go to Japan yourself, or if you place in the J&J at the K-Sensual event, they'll probably give you a ticket to the upper rounds of the Asian competition. Right now, the only places in Asia with direct tickets are Korea, Japan and Australia.

Editor's note - Per the official site, the Asian Cup final is in Tokyo in July 2027. From Korea, the routes to the Asian Cup are 2nd-5th place in the final at the Gangnam Latin Festival in December, and the K-Sensual qualifier in Seoul on March 19, 2027. The 2027 World Cup Finals are October 8-11, 2027 in Geneva

Q. Is it worth it for Korean J&J dancers to give it a try?

Daewoo

I always tell everyone you absolutely have to try. KBL, which started recently, got off to a good start last year. Competitions like that make you think, for once, "I could compete," and once you take part in an international competition from there, you find another goal.

I hope lots of people go next year. Next year there's a team competition between countries called the Nations Cup, done with choreography. If you take part, you compete as Team Korea. We plan to gather people who want to go and enter next year.

Waffle

Waving the Korean flag with just the two of us felt a bit sad. We should go as 3, 4, 6 people and wave it together.

Daewoo

And next April, En Sueño is hosting an event with Victor. Please come!

Last Advice - "Why Did They Do It That Way?"

Q. You've competed in more J&Js than anyone in Korea, and you judge too. Any advice as a senior dancer?

Daewoo

Dancing happily to the music is dancing too. If that makes you happy, keep doing it as much as you like. But if you get ambitious and want to level up, you have to learn properly.

If you look at classes these days, the content is different from before. They put a lot of weight on essential technique, what's called body awareness abroad, meaning the ability to control yourself, how to listen to music, and how to step.

Waffle

Our classes aren't about memorizing either. I think you first have to learn how to listen to the song and how to use your own body. The stage of just watching roughly and thinking "I guess it goes like that" seems to be over.

Daewoo

We still take workshops when we go to events. What matters isn't which patterns they did, but thinking hard about "what logic do they have in their dance that got them this far" while you learn. That's how you build something of your own.

I felt that watching Masha too. She's a dancer whose theme is bachazouk, but she danced Dominican so well in the final, and I heard she's even taking private lessons from Murillo, the Dominican dancer who's coming to Korea soon. If you're aiming for the very top, it seems you've reached a level where you have to work on every side.

Andrés Murillo - Dominican bachata teacher / @murillito_andres

Dream

You always have to be curious about why they did it that way. Why did they do it like that?

And above all, you have to enjoy it. That's the hardest part. Practicing connecting and enjoying doesn't seem easy for Asians. The more nervous you get, the higher you climb, the harder it is.

If you enjoy it too much it can look like showing off, and there's definitely criticism of that. But in the end, once your body is under control and the lead and follow work, there's a huge difference in the way you look at each other and enjoy each other. Everyone danced well in the final, but dancers like Victor and Owen scored higher because their focus on their partner was on a completely different level.

Owen Van Eer - Amsterdam, Netherlands / 2nd in the 2026 final (leader) / @owenvaneerIn the end, it's focus on your partner, and joy. Shouldn't we practice that kind of connection at every social?

A wonderful interview that quenched our thirst for news from the Bachata Social World Cup. Thank you to Sol Bar for hosting the interview, and go Sol Bar, Gangnam's after-party bar!