Rodchata, LLC and Alberto Papi Archilla will be hosting the very 1st Hawaii Bachata Vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii: promoting Latin dance. Performers and teachers from all over the world will unite and join forces to celebrate bachata on the weekend of Halloween October 28th until November 1st, 2010.

Following the success of Reno Bachata Festival and San Francisco Bachata Festival, Rodchata, in partnership with Alberto Papi Archilla and in collaboration with Hawaii Bachata Meetup Group and local promoters, Hawaii is going to have its first Hawaii Bachata Festival on a Halloween weekend in Waikiki.

Bachata is a musical style and dance developed in the mountains of the Dominican Republic. Some common themes in its songs are those of lost love, lost hope and betrayal — all delivered through sexual innuendos which originally gave bachata a bad reputation that kept it hidden in the lower class barrios of its own nation for decades. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that bachata became a socially acceptable music on radio stations and in the clubs in the Dominican Republic.

As Rodchata was the first to host such dance festival in Reno, USA, he went further by hosting the biggest and longest bachata festival in the world, San Francisco Bachata Festival. “Everyone was inspired and fired up after the festival. They started forming their own bachata dance teams, enrolled in a dance studio, and some of them even took the risk of organizing a bachata festival in their own city,” said Rodney Aquino, owner of multiple festivals around the world.

“The dance community in Hawaii is small, but dance studios, websites and venues such as HawaiiSalsa.com, Hawaii Bachata Meetup Group, SalsaNoKaOi.com, Alma Latina Productions, Son ‘d Hawaii, Hawaii Salsa Fest, just to name a few, are the very core of what makes the Latin dance community unique, strong and growing. In fact, in a successful collaboration, they recently hosted bachata artist, Domenic Marte in Honolulu. Such collaboration is a good sign of a growing and healthy dance community,” said Rodney Aquino, world renown bachata promoter.

The Hawaii Bachata Vacation will be featuring top DJs such as DJ El Guapo from San Francisco, DJ Smooth from San Jose plus other top DJs locally and nationally (we will keep adding the line-up). Bachata Singer, FREDDIE MUNOZ and Bachata Dance greats such as Jorjet Alcocer from Houston, Ataca y La Alemana from Tampa, Omar Tirador from Puerto Rico, Zeke El Fabulosa from Chicago, Camille Yanantuono from San Diego, Ben and Julianne from New Mexico Nino Acosta from the Dominican Republic, Jorge and Leslie from Los Angeles, Christian Sola from Orlando, plus other excellent teachers and performers locally and all over the world are coming to participate in this exciting event.

The event will be held in the fabulous Prince Kuhio Hilton Resort just a few steps away to Waikiki beach. Dancers of all levels are invited to participate in this exciting event. There will be dance workshops all day (salsa, bachata, merengue, chachacha, bolero, tango) as well as performances and social dancing at night!

“This is going to be the best bachata vacation, ever, ” boasts Aquino

Tickets are now sale at http:// www.bachatahawaii.com.

Join our growing FB Group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=320047731787

For more information, please visit www. BachataHawaii.com, or email JOJO, Festival Manager - jonna.ocampo@yahoo.com

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Event Presented and Produced by Rodchata, LLC and BB of Salsa Reno

What’s so fun about dancing a dance in a side to side manner with twings and twangs of the guitar?

This is what non-bachateros ask us. I am sure you heard such question before, right? You could still remember their smirk and mocking facial expressions.

But you see, bachata dancing is beyond side to side steps… It’s being ONE with the music.

I didn’t realize it then, but in my 12 years of dancing bachata, it had become an eye-opening journey. Based on my extensive research, my article, “Bachata Dance, an innovative approach” (search google), I wrote how innovation as an intensive process, a journey, a life changing experience.

Today, as I travel the world over, teaching bachata, I have seen and experienced it all; Dominican bachata, bachatango, European style, Modern, Moderna, tracidional, bachata rueda, the lists goes on and on…bachata has grown and is growing fast!

Bachata is also now being recognized by DJs, clubs, Latin promoters, Grammys, and mind you, even the current president of the United States (Obama honors Aventura, search google).

How is bachata suppose to be danced anyways?

From what I’ve seen so far, bachata is danced with different interpretations. Most students interpret the dance and music on their own, and some just follow their teacher’s instructions.

But I have been noticing something (that doesn’t fit) that I am compelled to note here… There is no feeling, no passion and flavor is missing. It is becoming mechanical. What gives?

Let me offer a few solutions (concepts I teach in my workshops)…

- Listen to the music. A vital ingredient that must be included during a dance. For example, some salsa dancers fail to listen to the beat. When there’s a pause or break, they fail to recognize it and still doing innumerable patterns and spins. It’s also becoming of bachata dancers.

- No connection with the partner This is why I always emphasize the ABC’s of connection in the beginning of all my classes. Just like in a love relationship, connection is a must otherwise, there’s no emotion and relationship becomes boring. Dancing bachata is a 3 to 4 minutes relationship. It’s a short journey that can go long for more without being aware that the music has ceased.

- Recognize the Trinity, 3 in 1 The music, you and your partner…you are three yet one while dancing. 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 and not 1 + 1 +1 = 3.

-Have you tried closing your eyes when your heads touch together? You’d be surprised at the dramatic effects and transformations while dancing.

- Get to know every bachata songs played. Put ‘em on iPod and listen to them everyday. Especially for non-Spanish speaking, google the songs and translate the lyrics. Your Dominican style footwork will improve tremendously and you will be able to feel the music more.

- Listen to the instruments of the music; congas, bass, guitar, etc

- Complicated patterns are designed to IMPRESS. You dance bachata not to impress but to FEEL.

- Relax, no pressure! If you can’t move your hips, don’t move your hips! You don’t need to move your hips, but if you are able, do it! Dancing bachata is meant to be fun and in a relax manner.

- If you are not performing, do not do performance tricks, jumps or acrobats on the dancefloor It’s is about feeling the music and it’s being one with your partner, closed position or open position, it makes no difference. Bachata dancing is fun, energetic at times, or emotional and sexy as well.

Dance like no one is watching. Most importantly, bachata is not a set form and it’s not just one form.

To quote Bruce Lee who was once a Chachacha champion, “Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” -

http://www.rodneyaquino.com - http://www.rodchata.com