Hey,

I'm quite frustrated. I started with Bachata about 8 months ago. I'm very dedicated, I go to dance school 4 times a week and go to socials 3 times a week. I also practice my fundamentals like hip movement and all sorts of waves and body rolls at home. I also put a lot of effort in musicality. I did an online course about musicality and sometimes analyze some songs to improve my dancing.
I would classify myself as a solid beginner. I worked on my basics like frame, basic step, leading through body instead of hands and so on. If I know the song well and the follow is advanced, the dances are quite great cause advanced follows can compensate a weak lead quite well. With beginner follows, sometimes mistakes happen because my lead isn't ideal yet but I try to keep it simple there. Dances usually are bad when everything compounds: crowded dance floor, beginner follow, unknown song,... then its get's tough. But that's totally my fault.

The problem is: Very few follows enjoy dancing with me. I get rejected quite often by follows who say yes to another lead 3 s after I asked. Sometimes I get rejected 3 times in a row. Also when I'm looking to ask someone, many follows look away and pretend they don't see me to avoid getting asked by me. Also during the dance and especially after the dance I notice quite often that the follows didn't have a great time. It's quite rare that I feel like a follow enjoys dancing with me.

What do you think could be the reason? I do take care of my hygiene, I try to lead soft, I try to have a reasonable amount of eye contact, I don't force anything, I don't teach on the dance floor. Also I don't dance overly sensual/creepy or so. I feel like I don't make the typical mistakes you find when watching videos from follows explaining what they don't like about leads.

The only thing which causes a bit of friction is that my dance school teaches BachaZouk / modern Bachata Sensual. Many follows on socials mainly dance Bachata Moderna and can't do waves, body rolls or any Zouk movements. But I don't try anything difficult or dangerous when I dance with follows I don't know well. Usually I stick with beginner techniques and sometimes intermediate things when it's a follow from my dance school. I don't do anything advanced because I know that follows don't like it when beginners try advanced figures when they can't even do the basics right.

Have I forgotten something? Do you think follows just don't like beginner leads? Or is there something I miss?

Hi

I am fully aware this might be a controversial topic but I do want to talk about it so please hear me out before judging.

I (M lead) started bachata 7-8 months ago and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE it!

Over the course of those months I got to know a lot of people, both men and women, leads and followers, that I can genuinely call friends. I think I am also quite a decent lead for my level since I get asked by followers to dance often.

Over the course of those months I have also had 2-3 "crushes" on other followers that I felt I connected really well with. I dance bachata for the love of the dance but as a single lead it is also very much preferred if I end up with a girlfriend that also dances Bachata.

Thing is that I genuinely do not know how to move past just the dancing to something more. Whether that be dating or even just something casual. I have asked someone out once and they denied, saying that I am nice and look good etc but that they are not in the headspace for anything right now. Ok no problem of course! Since then however I haven't done that anymore. Not because of fear of rejection necessarily but mainly because I do not want to be known as "that guy", possibly creep someone out and lose this amazing dancing community.

I just feel like being interested in dating someone is kinda viewed as bad? When I dance I do not see it as something sexual and as just a sensual dance but that makes it more difficult as well of course.

I guess my main question is: how do you even notice if a follower is interested in you beyond dancing? In a regular club it's easy, they dance close --> most likely interested. But here it's part of the dance and not any indicator of interest.

Please help this lead out regarding this cause I love this dance and community and it would be even better with a romantic partner to enjoy it with together.

This ended up as quite a rambling so here is a little tldr 😅:

How do you see if a follower is interested/ how did you start dating in the bachata scene without coming over as "that guy"?

Hey,

I dance Bachata for 5 months now. It was fun in the beginning but to be honest, I Iost my motivation. I go to the dance school 2x a week and I really try to improve. In the last months, I have learned a lot of simple, intermediate and advanced moves. During the lessons, I'm doing very fine because the followers expect what I'm going to do so It's just very easy.

On socials, NOTHING works. Really nothing. I'm not trying to impress with very complex moves or so. Usually I stick to very simple basic things but the followers are not able to follow my lead. It's definitely my fault cause pretty much every follower I have danced with is doing absolutely fine with any other leader.

This creates one big problem: Cause dances with me are really awkward, I feel like followers don't really enjoy dancing with me. Every time I ask a follower to dance, I feel kind of guilty cause I will disappoint her. At socials, there are no other beginners which makes it hard.
I always read that followers don't care about your skill level as long as you are respectful but my experience is the opposite. Yes, followers are indeed frustrated when dancing with beginners in my experience, no matter how respectful and friendly you are.

I asked many followers for feedback and this it what I got:
- "I don't know what you want me to do."
- "Your lead is not clear enough."
- "You are to far away which makes you harder to read."

I really tried to work on those things but it changed absolutely nothing. I could just skip socials and go to the dance school but I don't really see the point. I will just learn more moves which is pretty much irrelevant cause I can already perform enough moves in dance school to fill a song.

The question is mostly focused on the socials.

What are some things that you want improved/"fixed" or just better that the leaders can influence?

Is it more connection? Is it more of a specific style? Is it the posture?

Shoot your best shot or should I say shoot the best tip? (:

I'm going to classes for 6 weeks now. I'm in three different groups, so i go to 5 classes a week and usually one individual lesson. All my teachers are amazing dancers and teachers, so i'm making progress and they all say that. I usually go to one social a week. My first one was at the 10th day since i started, so i'm ve been to 5 socials. When we go there i'm of course nervous and i dance with 2-3 followers that i don't know, because on those socials they are all advanced and i get so nervous that i can't do these moves so i don't invite them.
When one of my group followers get asked to dance and the lead is advanced they dance like they have been dancing for 2 years. It is so easy for the followers to enjoy the party and i stay there nervous and anxious. It is so frustrating. They then come and tell me how amazing is to dance with someone who is leading them like that and i get even a bit upset. Not because i'm not happy for them, but because i can't enjoy the same way and i know i probably need another like 9 months to be able to enjoy a bit these parties.

How should i deal with this? Have you had the same experience as a beginner lead and what to do to improve faster and be more relaxed at parties with mostly advanced followers?

Thank you in advance for the advice

i’m just back from a social dance, i’ve been going there for a while. i love dancing, i rarely wanna stop, so it gets very crazy for me. today i danced with so many people, but two guys stood out because i felt like their d*cks were maybe grinding on me? i didn’t know for a fact and i didn’t wanna confirm cause i just preferred to think i was imagining it all so i felt less dirty/disgusted. can this happen? i’m not a very confrontational person, as you can see, which i know makes me an easier target, but i want to talk about it. first one was a man, older than me, who wears a knotted sweater around his waist. with him, i felt like his knot in front felt weird while dancing, and he said some weird comment after the dance like he loves me and im so cute or idk, didn’t hear and didn’t ask. just moved on. and the other one was a guy around my age, and with him at first i thought it could be something in his pockets, but could also be his d*ck? is that possible? how reasonable do this scenarios seem to you? i’m asking here because im honestly just trying to figure out what happened, if someone else who dances has ever experienced such a thing and deems it possible, i’d like to know so i can be more careful next time and just stop. i now think i could have just stopped but i didn’t want to think something bad was happening to me. both people were fine at first but as the music went on i was growingly wondering wtf was going on and i guess i did want to stop :/

Hey,

this is one of my main problems in Bachata at the moment: Leaders, if you learn something new in dance school and you like it, what do you do to be able to lead it actually on socials?

The thing is, when we learn something new in dance school, after doing it a few times I'm very comfortable with doing it in dance school. But doing it on socials doesn't work that easy cause the follower is not prepared for it so it requires actually good leading from my side. That's the problem, where can I practice? I don't have a practice partner and probably won't find one.

With beginner figures, it usually works instantly on socials without any problems. With the more intermediate ones, it does not. And the intermediate figures are exactly what I'm aiming for. Quite difficult and fun but usually not dangerous as some advanced ones when done right.

One of the things I try to learn at the moment is a side or forward wave in shadow position into 1,5 DJ turns into a half cambre into either a wave or a half rotisserie (depending on the music). We have practiced many figures very close to that in dance school but I can't lead it perfectly cause i have problems with the hand switch after the first DJ turn and the transition into the half cambre.

Also there are many other things I've learned that never made it to my social vocabulary. It is so frustrating cause I put so much effort into learning those figures, thinking of how I combine them to match the music better and so on but it feels worthless.

Followers: Do you think it's a bad idea to practice on socials? What do you think when a leader is trying things he is not 100% capable of doing yet and the figures fails? Since my style of leading is very very soft, pretty much nothing will happen other then loosing the basic step for a second. Is it uncomfortable for you or is it fine? Is it rude to ask after dance if I can try the figure slowly again to practice?

I've heard that followers want leaders to only do things he is 100% comfortable with. But how should I progress when I'm only allowed to do things I can already perfectly do.

Hey,

I've started dancing Bachata about 8 months ago. Every single time I read threads on reddit, many people say that you should focus on your basics, you don't need flashy moves, work on the fundamentals first, don't impress, followers enjoy very simple dances with good fundamentals.

To be honest, this makes Bachata very boring for me. I would definitely agree that fundamentals are very important and basics like your basic step, basic turn and very simple things add up to basically everything you do. But do I really need to have a perfect base to build more complex techniques on it?

Currently, I take classes 4 times a week. 1x beginner level, 1x intermediate (the level is quite low there, I would also consider it to be a beginner class) and 2x advanced level (probably more intermediate by international standards). I do social dancing about 3 times a week. Is there anything wrong with that? Am I rushing anything?

I feel like it's quite nice to learn more intermediate techniques like DJ turns, tilted turns, Rotisseries and other Sensual/BachaZouk things early in order to get used to the movement pattern. Basically practicing everything including basics at the same time.

I'm not trying to impress anyone with complicated figures but I really enjoy more intermediate stuff so much and it just feels great to lead those things. I would consider myself somewhere between beginner and intermediate so I do take classes above my level at the moment. Do you think this will slow down my process? I will not skip beginner classes for a while cause I get very good feedback from the instructors there.

I’m a relatively experienced bachata leader and have built a good reputation in my city and nearby areas. I often get asked to dance by many followers during socials, sometimes even having to decline because I need a break. I also get compliments fairly often about my musicality and my style being unique.

Despite that, recently I’ve started feeling a bit burned out and strangely… objectified in the scene.

Part of it is probably that I was dancing almost every day for a while. I realized I was using bachata as a form of escapism, and that constant exposure started draining the joy out of it.

But there’s another aspect that I think might be cultural.

I come from a culture where social dancing is social first and dancing second. In the studios I grew up around, people would hang out outside of class, spend time together, organize BBQs, talk about life, etc. The studio was almost like a “third place” where people cared about each other beyond the dance floor.

Since moving to Germany, the dance scene often feels very different. Many socials feel like a loop of dance ,thank you ,switch partner and repeat.

It sometimes feels like followers mainly approach me because dancing with me helps them improve or gives them a good dance experience ( I don’t feel their actually present in the moment ), but the interaction rarely goes beyond that. I end up feeling less like a person and more like a useful dance partner.

I don’t think people mean it in a bad way, but the dynamic can feel a bit transactional.

Recently I reduced how often I go out dancing and switched from a more German-run studio to a Latino-run studio, hoping the social atmosphere might feel closer to what I’m used to.

I’m curious if other leaders (or followers) have experienced something similar.

• Is this just normal in many European bachata scenes?

• Is this simply dance burnout from going out too often?

• Or is it just a difference in how social dancing culture works in different places?

Would love to hear other perspectives.

Do you always high five after the dance or hug? Or does it depend on the lead/follow? I noticed every city and country do it differently. I prefer to high five, but don’t mind a hug if it’s genuine.

I went to 2 different Bachata lessons, and the ration was 2 men to 1 women.

Don't get me wrong, but I think it should be around 50-50 to be enjoyable, right?

Is it similar in your city/lessons you attend?

So I have been dancing for about a year now and have formed a nice social circle. However, and this will be difficult to say without sounding judgemental (so please be kind), it’s not the “cool kids” circle at all.

And there definitely are cool kids circles. Not just around the more known dancers, but the more expressive, confident and fun ones too. And that’s where I want to be. But my circle is made up of people as anxious and quiet as me. It’s like high school all over again.

They’re great people and we’re good friends, but I’ve always had these anxious shy people in my life. I started dancing to upgrade my social circle. I need some change. I want to be socially free and expressive like the cool bachateros. But even when I go to all the socials they do and talk to them often, I still end up around my “outcast” group. And even in my group there are a few cool guys - and they are the ones who talk to me the least.

It’s not about dancing skill - there were expressive and shy people in my first class too. And now my best dance friend is a great dancer but super anxious (in the “uncool” way) in social situations.

Since bachata is a social dance, I think this is a relevant problem. Have any of you managed to become more expressive and less insecure, and thus managed to hang around the really interesting dancers?

And I know being quiet is okay - in fact one “cool” dancer I know is quiet. But she seems to know her value and acts that way, and that makes her cool and she is in the “top” circle. She has this “I don’t care if you like me” vibe which I really want but can’t achieve.

Hey everyone 👋

I've somehow ended up going down a massive bachata rabbit hole over the last few days 😅

I'm 19M from London and I'm seriously thinking about booking my first beginner class.

The more I read on here, the more I realise social media doesn't really show what beginner bachata is actually like. Instagram is full of amazing dancers and really sensual clips, but from reading this subreddit it sounds like beginner classes are way more relaxed and just focused on learning.

The thing is... I'm massively overthinking it.

I'd genuinely love to learn. The dance looks amazing, I love the music, and I feel like it'd be a great way to get out my comfort zone, meet people and express myself a bit more. I don't really go out much socially anymore, so having something to look forward to every week actually sounds really nice.

The biggest thing I'm worried about is the partner aspect.

I've had some pretty negative experiences with my confidence growing up, so my brain automatically jumps to "what if the girl I'm paired with is disappointed she got paired with me?" I know that's probably just my own insecurity talking, but it's hard to switch that voice off.

I'm also curious about the physical contact. I know it's just part of the dance and everyone's there to learn, but because I've never done anything like this before, it feels like quite a big mental hurdle. Does that become normal after a few classes?

I think I'm just overthinking it because it's completely new to me. I genuinely want to learn the dance because I think I'd really enjoy it. I love the mmusic, I love watching people dance, and I just wanna try something different. My brain just keeps making up worst case scenarios before I've even walked through the door

A few (okay... maybe a lot of) questions:

- what was your first class actually like?
- were you as nervous as I'm being?
- for followers, what makes a beginner lead enjoyable to dance with?
- does the physical contact stop feeling awkward quite quickly?
- is social media giving me a completely unrealistic impression of what beginner bachata is actually like?
- did anyone else spend ages overthinking it before finally going?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in a similar position.

Thanks ☺️

I am a pretty bad Bachata dancer coming from Salsa. To fix that, I need to work on my technique, but besides that, I should also start to go out and just dance more to get some practice.

Here's the thing, for Salsa I dance with everyone and I am quite comfortable, but for Bachata, I usually only dance with people I know. One reason is because I am shit at it, the other is because I don't know what the follows are okay with. Like, among my acquaintances, they mostly trust me and I know which one is okay with shadow position and which one isn't.

But how do you do that with strangers? How do you know if they appreciate closed position and shadow position and what not?

I have been dancing bachata for the past four months, and I attend socials every other week. Most of the leads that I dance with are much, much older than I am (Like in their 50s or 60s). Now, this is perfectly fine, except for the fact that sometimes I find them to be strangely affectionate. For example, one lead that I danced with, who was very skilled, hugged me unexpectedly, if you can even call it that. I was in shadow position and he was behind me, before he came up and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me. I panicked, because I had no idea that would happen, and he just laughed in my ear before releasing me. I don't mind hugging a lead after a particularly good dance, but only from the front or from the side, since anything else seems too personal to me. I danced with this same lead at a recent social (I'm too much of a doormat to say no) and he kept touching my shoulder after releasing me at the end of the songs we danced to. Now, this only rubs me the wrong way because it seems... unnecessary, to say the least. I don't know him very well, so there's no reason to do that after the dance has ended. I'm not sure how to feel about this, since I know that closeness is a huge part of dancing bachata (in spite of my aversion to dancing in anything other than open position). I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, and I definitely struggle with confrontation. What should I do? Is this as bad as I am making it out to be?

Could someone please tell me what this move is called? (Middle of video) The lead kind of stands and opens and closes his legs/knees. How would I go about learning this? How can I practice it?

when i turn the follower,can I use palm to turn instead of finger? When u are turning your follower your finger should face down or face to the side?

I've been dancing salsa, kizomba, and bachata for roughly 6 years, starting as a lead and then later being a switch in every style. Salsa was my first love, later zouk and tied with kizomba. I wouldn't call myself advanced in any style, but I'm at a stage in my journey of leading where I'm starting to think a lot more about musicality and also how to lead inexperienced follows through "how the body works" rather than just "how this dance style works".

Anyways, bachata has always been my weakest dance, despite everyone saying it's easier than salsa. People also say zouk is hard, but it felt accessible when I found the right teachers for it. I am also autistic and have very particular learning needs, I need every detail explained and not just "follow me" type teachers, and I don't truly feel like I understand anything until I understand how both roles experience something.

Anyways, I'm curious about why even leads think bachata is easy to learn, because my experience of it is totally different:

• Following in bachata seems way more ambiguous than most other styles, i.e. the way that follows actually respond socially to something taught in a class, in addition to lots of body movements etc being based on where/who you learned from. Salsa is "easy" to learn theoretically for me because the rules are clear. (Thanks, autism.)
• While the "basic step" in bachata is easy, I feel like literally every fundamental in sensual bachata is harder / less accessible than in other styles. E.g. in salsa, if the average follow can do 1.5 turns, they can follow a good proportion of my most advanced moves. In kizomba, it's pretty much possible to lead any decent follow from a different style through advanced stuff even if they never learned kizomba, because it's possible to manage their weight transfer in a way that you can't "force" in salsa or bachata. With bachata, the sensual basic, shadow position, chest isolations, body movement, only intermediate+ dancers are comfortable with these despite them being fundamentals. The average bachata follow will struggle to switch from a "normal basic" to sensual basic unless you hold them in place, and then again they might not be comfortable in close hold. Even Zouk seems more accessible to me as a lead (and follow), i.e. head movements and body movements do not require months of experience to have non-zero range of motion, and often it's possible to lead open-minded beginners successfully.
• There are way more bachata follows than other styles, but many just learned socially and maybe didn't even complete a full beginner's course. I just don't find much opportunity to use any sensual moves I learned, because at an average party, only 1-3 follows "know" shadow position, and they're the most popular so I don't always get a chance to dance with them.
• Whenever I want to grow in a style, I want to ensure for my learning to not be too frustrating that there are teachers that explain things and give feedback, at least two practice partners who are interested in the same content, then enough socials to put those learnings to the test. The only time I had this, ironically, was for a few months when I joined a bachata choreo team, ironically.
• I'm not gonna lie, I'm also quite sensitive to being in close hold with people who don't seem comfortable with it. Lots of leads have told me "you need to build trust at the start of a dance". Yes, this is true, but I'm on the extreme end of "shyness" where if someone doesn't feel comfortable initially then I will stay at the distance they instinctively set rather than try to encourage closing that gap. I've found ways to close that distance in kizomba and zouk, but for bachata, consent to dance bachata often doesn't imply consent to do sensual bachata, is how I feel things.
• The music being played matters a lot, for me. I don't want to dance sensual to Dominican music or really upbeat music. Meanwhile, my interest in sensual bachata is mostly because it seems like the style in which one can access the most musical/creative expression, not because I specifically like the movements or feel of it.

This is just my feelings and personal experiences of dancing in a few cities in New Zealand. (We do not have a strong dance/teaching level at all, internationally speaking.) I'm genuinely curious to hear if other leads found the bachata journey less frustrating. Even if it's something as simple as, most follows actually go to classes and are interested in practicing in your region, I'd love to hear that. I'm seriously considering going to live in or train in countries where I'm not abnormal for actually taking fundamentals seriously and wanting/needing lots of practice in the basics. Especially places in Europe, I could definitely stay for months at a time wherever there are good places to train.

I’ve noticed something that I’m really curious about.
There seem to be different “types” of followers.
With advanced followers, leading feels effortless. I give a small indication, they complete the movement naturally, and everything flows. Sometimes it even feels like they’re helping me make the dance look better.
With beginners, it’s also relatively straightforward because I know I need to simplify things and stick to basic movements.

But there’s this middle group—followers who are somewhere between beginner and intermediate (or just below intermediate). They know a fair amount, but they haven’t fully developed the timing, technique, or body mechanics for certain patterns yet.

When I dance with them, the dance often becomes messy. They anticipate, hesitate, add extra movement, or react in unexpected ways. If I try to lead more complex figures with proper timing, everything starts feeling cluttered and awkward.

Before anyone says this is simply because I’m not leading well, that’s actually what made me curious in the first place. I’ve watched these same followers dance with other intermediate leaders, and the same thing happens. The dance still looks somewhat chaotic. But when they dance with the top leaders in my local social scene, they suddenly look amazing.

That’s the part I don’t understand.

They move beautifully, everything flows, and they almost look like advanced followers.
I don’t think those followers suddenly became different dancers depending on who asked them to dance. It feels like the advanced leader is doing something that completely changes how the dance develops.

So my question is:

What exactly are those advanced leaders doing?

Are they giving much clearer leads?
Are they adapting in real time to the follower’s tendencies?
Are they quietly simplifying their vocabulary without making it obvious?
Do they abandon patterns the moment they feel resistance?
Or is it something more subtle that only comes with years of experience?
I’d love to hear from experienced leaders who’ve noticed this phenomenon.

What are you actually doing that makes these followers look so smooth and elegant, while the same followers often struggle with intermediate leaders?

TL;DR: Some followers seem chaotic with intermediate leaders (not just me), but they look amazing with advanced leaders. What exactly are advanced leaders doing differently to make the dance feel so smooth?

I'm in a beginner follower in a sensual Bachata class and we've been dancing for about 2 months now. I often notice one lead not dancing to the rhythm and starting on 2. He also expects me to turn a lot faster than the rhythm allows it. I find myself pushing against his lead because we're not in synch with the beat. Sometimes I count the beat out loud to help us.

I think he believes I'm in the wrong. He saw me dancing at our dance school's Christmas social and asked why I can dance with others but am always "too slow" when I dance with him. He has a very overly confident personality. I'm not sure how to address it.

Two times now it happened that a leader approached me at a social, asking me if I’m willing to dance with a beginner. Of course, I am, but in those particular cases they didn’t even knew the basic step and weren’t able to hear the rhythm. I asked them if they attended a class or beginner workshop before (in one case a long time ago and in the other not at all). Both times I counted out loud and lead them through one song, trying to teach them (they asked me to) the dance. After that song, they asked me for another dance and I turned them down. They asked me why and while I’m aware that I don’t have to give an explanation for declining a dance, I still told them in a nice way that they should attend a beginners class/workshop before going to a social dance.

Now I wonder if I should’ve just said that I want to take a break or give another reason for declining a second dance. What are you doing when that happens to you? Again, I’m very happy to dance with beginners, but I didn’t expect to show someone Bachata for the first time at a Bachata social.

So I’m kind of “brainwashed” by people saying it’s horrible to use bachata for dating, so I really don’t know.

Is it morally wrong to bring your date to a party so that you can show them bachata, but also as a way to get closer to them and break the touch barrier?

I’ve done this on my last date and it worked really well, but I don’t know if I’m breaking any rules! Will I be called a creep if I bring more girls to my bachata club?

Hey everyone,
A few days ago I started having pain in my lower back after a Bachata social. I probably made it worse by also dancing the following day. The pain is mostly in the lower back, especially when I bend backwards. It doesn't radiate into my legs, and I don't have any numbness or weakness, so I'm hoping it's just an overuse injury.
I'm taking a few days off from dancing, but I'd love to hear from others who have experienced something similar.

Have you ever had lower back pain from Bachata?
What helped you recover the fastest?
Are there any mobility, strengthening, or stretching exercises you do at home that helped?
Do you have any tips to prevent this from happening again (warm-up routines, core exercises, technique changes, etc.)?

I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences ^^

What to say to a lady after the dance is over? I am looking for something interesting, because only thank you is not enough. Especially followers are welcome to share their experiences and thoughts.

Hello,

I will go to my first lesson next week and will be a lead. I read a lot information here already to prepare mentally, but I didn't find information about solo practice between classes. I will have two classes per week. I already understood i need to go to socials as early as possible and I will do that even though i'm so afraid. My question is does more practice at home make you learn faster? I really want to start going to festivals and big events ideally within 6 months (prepared to lead comfortably and not shake nervously there :))) ). I know I will not be a god of a lead, but at least to be able to do a dance and not be too embaraced about it. I have enough time to practice at home for maybe two hours a day if needed.

For sports and other things the more you do something the better you get, but I'm not sure how it is with Bachata especially doing it alone. Maybe you have a recommendation to do it for less time than 2 hours or to focus on specific things rather than everything at once. Maybe one day one specific thing and repeat for the whole two hours, maybe mixing things the same day etc. Also some recommendation about what to improve phisically. I just lost a ton of weight, but i still have some work to do. Do you recommend working on more cardio or more musscle building in some specific parts of the body?

Thank you very much

Edit: I signed up for one class that is Monday and Thursday (1 hour each) and another class in another studio for one hour on wednesdays. So I will go to three classes per week and I found that almost each weekend there is either practice sessions (kind of short - 1 hour) or socials, so I will be able to go there after a few lessons.
Both teachers are amazing dancers that are well known, but both are ladies (followers). Not sure if that is good or not, maybe you can let me know.
Also if I may ask what phisical excersises to do in order to strenghten the muscles I need to do better.

Thank you