It is no secret that a student’s life is filled with studying, exams, and stress. Several studies have shown that creativity can reduce stress levels and make us happier. Dancing can start at any age and for any person and I found that dancing was a great option for me to express creativity. After a whole day of sitting and inactivity, it’s nice to dance for an hour, enjoy the music and escape from the daily routine.
When I started looking for dance schools in Tartu, I noticed ESN held a free bachata class, and I decided to join. Until recently, I didn’t think about pair dance and attended classes in a solo direction. This paired lesson was something completely different, and I really enjoyed it. The partners changed every minute or two, so we all had time to dance with each other. Since this was an Erasmus event, there were a lot of people from different countries, such as Belgium, France, Spain, and Germany. The room had a wonderful atmosphere; we danced, chatted, and laughed. At that moment, I fell in love with bachata and wanted to continue this hobby. We also made friends with some of the guys and went to dinner together at a restaurant after class. We keep in touch with some of them to this day.
Bachata is a popular dance that originated in the Dominican Republic. Bachata has simple choreography, so this style is excellent for beginners.
Bachata classes were held in the Latin Passion (https://latinpassion.ee/pages/index) dance studio in the city center twice a week. In addition to me, guys and girls signed up from the first master class, but there were already people from Estonian in the group. This is an excellent opportunity to meet people of different nationalities and ages. Usually, our lessons started with dancing in pairs, then we learned new moves one by one and trained in pairs. There were also free parties on Thursdays where we could dance for over an hour and practice the activities. We have studied the movements as basic steps, turns, exchange position, and shadow position. We had an excellent teacher, Lillian, who explained everything in clear and straightforward language. By the way, she has perfect English, and more often, she speaks it in it.
Since this is a pair dance, bachata taught me how to feel a partner. We girls are in the role of followers in the dance, and we need to relax and understand what the leader will do next. Bachata also helps us to open up to the people around us, show our sincerity and become more confident. Of course, grace and the ability to move smoothly and elegantly develop.
After the first month of training, you can notice changes in the figure – the body will become more toned, and the muscles will get bigger and stronger.
I am also considering continuing with bachata next semester and improving my dance skills. It is possible to try other directions of Latin dances. Also, their studio has salsa, kizomba, and other Latin dances.
For me, the dancing experience was enjoyable. I also recommend that you take up dancing. If you are a new student in Tartu, this is an excellent opportunity to make new acquaintances and friends.
