Pablo y Raquel

“Working with contraction and quick release, over and over, builds amazing control and intention in your movement.”

Explaining what the contraction–release training of Graham technique does for you

“The technique I use is the Graham technique — it comes from modern dance. The contraction comes from your organs, from deep inside.”

Explaining the principle behind the 'contraction' movement in the choreography

“The power comes from pressing into the floor with your legs — Raquel has said this about a hundred times.”

Explaining the mechanics of the swing basic and where the power for the press/push actually comes from.

“You have to understand that the movement comes from the lead. It's a completely different thing.”

Stressing that head movement originates in the torso/lead, and explaining how it differs from moves that aren't bachata

“You're not isolating with the upper body alone. The upper body just helps a little, to widen the range of the move.”

Separating the roles of upper and lower body in the swing, correcting the habit of throwing only the upper body around.

“Listen to the music, feel the intention and the character of the song, and then try to make that with your own body.”

Talking about reading the music and musicality before a performance begins

“If you build the movement together with the music, it'll feel more organic and more natural — there's more of a flow to it.”

Explaining how to move your body with the music, with the emphasis on a natural flow

“Bachata actually has a lot of contracted movements that mark a change of direction — we've just never thought about them that way. So we put a lot of contraction in there.”

Explaining why she brought Graham-technique contraction into the basic bachata step

“You tilt first, and then you open. That's the most important part.”

Breaking down the order of the head movement in the batte cabello (hair styling) technique

“It's not just the footwork — the upper body matters too. There's a technical reason for using your feet and giving your upper body freedom at the same time.”

Explaining why the feet and the upper body work together in the intro section

“See how my torso is leaning to the right? That's what you need for the slide. When the torso's over here, the weight's over here too — so the torso is helping you slide.”

Demonstrating the slide step at a bachata workshop, explaining how the upper-body lean relates to weight transfer

“You can't just watch what the bloggers are doing, take that movement as is, and drop it into bachata. That's not a bachata movement.”

Explaining hair-whip styling and calling out the bad imitations you see all over social media

“Bachata is bachata, and you can't lose that identity. Evolving is beautiful, but you can't forget the roots.”

Introducing their smooth bachata style and talking about the balance between evolution and tradition

“The bachata feeling is always this. Bittersweet — that's the bachata feeling.”

Turning the lyric's 'binding and releasing' into movement, and defining what makes bachata feel the way it does

“I always feel like a student. The moment you stop being a student, you stop growing.”

Said while explaining why he's been learning urban styles these past few years

“Every step you take with your feet lives inside a sound in the music. So it has to be extremely precise.”

Introducing the first part of the choreography as the musicality section, and explaining how footwork relates to the music

“When the majao kicks in, you have to bring the energy level up. That's when we use more intense, explosive movements or sharp isolations — something with a bit more energy in it.”

Explaining how movement is expressed during the majao section of a bachata song's structure

“You can do this with just the hips, but bringing in the ribcage makes it bigger — it's a 'visual effect.'”

Explaining why a move using the shoulders and ribcage reads bigger than hips alone

“It's a contraction that expresses being bound, and it's one of the signatures of the smooth bachata methodology.”

Expressing the lyric's 'condena' (bondage) as a contraction, and naming the smooth bachata style methodology

“These last two, three years especially, I've been focused on urban styles. It's all a process of widening what my body can do.”

Continuing the student mindset, explaining where his own training has been headed lately

“The beauty of bachata isn't just the body movement — it's the steps, the way you use your hips, the sense of rhythm, all of it. We don't focus on flashy tricks.”

Stressing the importance of fundamentals and laying out the essential elements of bachata

“It's not about just copying the movement. What matters way more is understanding the meaning behind it and the things that make these movements look better, and cultivating the aesthetic side through your body. Not just copying the music either.”

Explaining why understanding the meaning and expression inside a movement matters more than its surface

“In the mambo part you always end up using footwork. It's the moment the solo comes in. So that's when we try to pull out every footwork resource we've got.”

Explaining how footwork gets used in the mambo section of a bachata song's structure

“The derecho part is the softer section, so we usually go with softer, more fluid movements and steps. Whether it's a combination or footwork, the energy is low, so it all comes out kind of soft.”

Explaining how movement is expressed during the derecho section of a bachata song's structure