(Bachata) What does "Influence" actually mean? We asked the creator, Melvin Gatica, himself! #bachata #bachatainfluence #Influence

“What already existed in bachata couldn't hold everything we wanted to express.”

CONTEXTThe opening where she reveals the fundamental motivation for creating Influence

“We wanted to follow the music exactly as we felt it, and we felt like the tools we already had in bachata just weren't enough.”

CONTEXTExplaining the part of the motivation behind Influence that came from hitting the limits of musical expression

“We're just borrowing new techniques from other dances — the really hard part is adapting them so they fit bachata.”

Explaining the background of creating Bachata Influence — says adapting techniques to bachata's style is harder than importing them from other dances

“You can't just take the tools you borrowed and drop them in as they are. You have to really adapt them to bachata.”

Explaining that techniques from other genres shouldn't be transplanted blindly, but reinterpreted to fit bachata's own context

“We take techniques from other dances that we can actually use in bachata. That's exactly what Bachata Influence is.”

Summing up the definition of Influence after explaining how techniques from kizomba, hip hop, salsa, tango and ballet get brought into bachata

“You have to be bold about expressing your emotions and your feelings to the person you're dancing with. That's how we get that magic bubble.”

CONTEXTDescribing the special moment that emotional exchange with a partner creates in the Influence style, using the metaphor of a 'magic bubble'