Masa y Polina

“If you use your arms a lot, you can never be 'creative.'”

Closing the class with the point that creative movement comes from leading with the body

“The biggest difference between bachata and bachata sensual is that in sensual there's always a two-beat prep.”

Teaching pinza and cabeza, laying out the structural difference between traditional and sensual bachata

“The whole point of the frame is that you don't use your arms like this. Do you know why this bag is moving right now? Because I moved my body. Not because I used my arms.”

Demonstrating frame leading with a bag to show that you lead with the body, not the arms

“Counterbalance is a concept where opposing energies stand out. If I go up, she goes down.”

Defining counterbalance as energy running in opposite directions between leader and follower

“You don't need to memorize a set routine. I'm just connecting a few basic moves, that's all.”

Explaining his own approach after showing a combination linking pinza–cabeza–lanzamiento

“Whenever the direction of a movement changes, there's always a moment of "bounce."”

Breaking the onda lateral down to its smallest units to explain the bounce that happens at every change of direction

“Pinza and cabeza both create the same chest-in on the prep, so I take the chest-in I've already made in the middle of the pinza and carry it straight over as the prep for the cabeza.”

Explaining how to switch from pinza into cabeza using the chest-in the two moves share as prep

“It doesn't matter if the direction I'm walking changes, or if the direction she's walking changes. The hip is right here, so the head roll gets offset — and that's why the head always stays in the same place.”

Explaining why the partner's head position holds even when the leader's walking direction changes in a head roll move

“My main lead is my chest. For the secondary lead I use my wrist, not my hand.”

The part explaining which body parts the leader uses to lead a head roll.

“People call the head roll a passive movement, where the chest moves the head, but this is a move the leader drives actively. So the head is moving passively.”

The part explaining the difference between an active head movement and a passive head roll.

“The frame — you move it with your chest.”

Demoing body contact against frame leading side by side to explain the core principle of the frame.

“Once her weight has already shifted from right to left, it's too late. While her weight is still on her right leg, you open the chest and go straight into the cabeza.”

Stressing how precise the lead's timing has to be going from pinza into cabeza

“In the pinza I shift my weight to the opposite side from hers for counterbalance, and I use that force to open her chest and finish the cabeza.”

Explaining the leader's counterbalance weight shift when linking pinza into cabeza

“When you do the lanzamiento de la cadera, keep your weight on both legs and let only the hips draw the circle. Chest stays up the whole time — don't drop it, don't push the hips back.”

Breaking down how to execute lanzamiento de la cadera properly, upper body included

“Take the hip-in motion that happens in the middle of the cabeza and use it as the prep for the lanzamiento de la cadera — that's how you fuse the two techniques into one.”

Explaining how to cut the cabeza halfway instead of finishing it, and link straight into the lanzamiento

“Losing balance means we both lose our balance together, because of that energy.”

Explaining how leader and follower lose balance at the same time in a counterbalance

“There are three ways to lead the frame.”

Opening line as he sorts leading into three kinds — body contact, frame, and vision

“You can't lead with this much force. The follower has to be super light — like a feather.”

Explaining the Barcelona-style 'feather' lead, stressing that you have to take the force out

“When she lets go of her arm, if it drops like this, your frame is way too heavy. If it floats up like this, it's too light. When it's just right — that feels great.”

Walking through the drill for checking the right weight in your frame by watching the follower's arm

“If you lead with both arms, the dance gets boring.”

Explaining how leading with a one-arm frame frees up the other arm for styling

“This way of leading is underrated, but for me it's really important.”

Right before introducing the third leading method — vision (eye contact) leading

“A guy's leading is never complete unless he uses this — vision leading.”

Stressing how crucial vision (eye contact) leading is, and nicknaming it 'wifi'

“Any move at all can be led with these three things — body contact, frame, and vision.”

Leading two followers at once in a bachatrio while tying all three leading concepts together

“There are only 16 basic techniques in bachata sensual.”

From Masajose, a Japanese bachata dancer based in Barcelona, who mapped out the basic skeleton of bachata sensual — this is the premise of the whole video.