Bachata Classes in Las Vegas
Bachata Open Level runs two nights a week with Gustavo for anyone who has never danced, and Bachata Level 2 with Christina picks up once the basic is automatic. This is the one page for all of it: Dominican foundation, partners rotate, first class free.
Below: the schedule with booking, which class to take first, the footwork, the partnering, where bachata came from, the songs you will hear, the instructors, and every question we get asked.
myrootslv
My Roots Dance Studio
When We Run Bachata
Pick a night. Book your spot.
Open Level twice a week, Level 2 once a week. Tap a card to book that night; your first group class is free.
Two classes, one ladder
Which Class Do I Take First?
Everyone starts in Open Level. Level 2 is where you go once the basic no longer needs thinking about.
Bachata Open Level: start here
Open Level is the class for true beginners and for anyone who wants a clean reset on the basics. In 50 minutes you learn the side basic, the box step, simple turns and the connection points that make a follow feel led instead of pulled. We explain everything in plain English, name the common mistakes before you make them, and rotate partners so you get reps with leads and follows of every level.
Because it is open level, the room holds first-timers and regulars at once: Gustavo teaches the basic to whoever is new and layers turns, body waves and combinations for whoever is back. It runs twice a week, and most students come to whichever night fits that week. The curriculum dovetails straight into Level 2.
Level 2 / Intermediate
Bachata Level 2
Level 2 is where bachata stops feeling like steps and starts feeling like dancing. Built for Open Level graduates and dancers already comfortable with the basics, it layers in multi-turn patterns, smooth body movement, cleaner partner connection and the musicality that makes a dancer stand out on a social floor. The vibe is focused but warm, and the room is full of dancers serious about getting better.
Expect intermediate turn patterns for both leads and follows, body rolls and styling that integrate into partnering instead of looking tacked on, cambré (dips) introduced safely, and footwork variations that play with the slow-slow-quick-quick instead of just walking through it. Christina rotates partners constantly so you feel each move in five or six different bodies, the fastest way to internalize what "right" actually feels like.
Am I ready for Level 2?
- You can dance a full bachata song with a partner without losing the count.
- You can execute a simple turn as lead or follow, and it does not surprise your partner.
- Your frame stays clean: tone in the arms, elbows down, no yanking.
- For most people that is two to three months of Open Level, and many keep taking both.
Solo first
The Footwork: One Basic, Then Everything Else
Bachata has one basic step and about a dozen variations of it. Own the basic and you can survive an entire song on any floor in the world.
The side basic. Feet together. Step left on 1, close right on 2, step left again on 3, tap right and pop the hip on 4. Reverse to the right for 5 through 8. That is the entire foundation of the dance, and it is what the clip at the top of this page drills: the side basic and the tap on four, danced solo.
The hip pop is the "bachata" of bachata. On 4 and 8, do not just tap: pop the hip up toward the free foot. If the right foot taps, the right hip pops. The pop is what tells the room you know what you are doing.
The box step keeps the same rhythm but travels forward on 1 (lead) or back on 1 (follow). It is what you use in tight spaces and what most partner turns are built on. Once the basic is automatic, two more layers arrive in Open Level and Level 2: Dominican footwork breaks, the quick improvised patterns of the original style, and body waves from the sensual side.
Practice tip: drill each step to a slow song for one full track before adding the next. It is the same progression we use in class. The written version, with the count and the first three turns, is in What Are the Bachata Steps?.
Then together
Partnering: From Frame to Hammerlock
The part most beginners skip is actually dancing with another human. Here it is the whole point.
Open Level
Connection and the first figures
- Frame. Lead's left hand and follow's right meet at eye level; the lead's right hand rests on the follow's shoulder blade; elbows stay down. Connection matters more than any move.
- Closed and open position, and the side-to-side basic with hip motion inside both.
- The foundational turns: inside turn, outside turn, the cross-body lead that resets the couple, the hammerlock and the classic dip.
- Tone. When to be smooth, when to be playful, and how to make every dance feel connected.
Level 2
Patterns that hold up on a real floor
- Multi-turn patterns for both roles, prepped so they never yank or surprise a partner.
- Body rolls and styling that integrate into the partnering instead of being tacked on.
- Cambré, the dip, introduced safely with the follow's balance protected.
- Reading intention. Tone in the frame, breathing with your partner and feeling a lead before it lands.
Partners rotate every few minutes in both classes, so booking alone is normal and learning connection with different partners is the curriculum.
Where it comes from
Dominican Roots, Sensual Branches
Sixty years from banned on Dominican radio to a UNESCO heritage listing. The short version.
Bachata was born in the barrios and countryside of the Dominican Republic in the 1960s, as guitar songs about lost love that the elites dismissed as "bitterness music" and kept off the radio for two decades. Juan Luis Guerra's Bachata Rosa made it respectable in 1990, Aventura fused it with R&B from the Bronx in the 2000s, and in 2019 UNESCO inscribed bachata music and dance on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Dominican (traditional)
The original: fast, playful and footwork-driven, danced in an open frame with sharp hip bounces on 4 and 8 and improvised footwork breaks. Aventura's older cuts, Antony Santos, Luis Vargas.
Sensual (modern)
Created in Cádiz, Spain in the early 2000s: slower, body-led, built on waves, isolations and long dips in a close frame the whole song. Daniel Santacruz, Bachata Heightz, Grupo Extra.
We teach the Dominican foundation first, because a dancer who owns the root can dance in any bachata room, then a modern hybrid that borrows the flow of sensual. Read the full stories in Where Did Bachata Come From? and Traditional vs Sensual Bachata.
Load the playlist
Songs You Will Hear in Class
The tracks DJs at every Latin social in Las Vegas reach for first, and the ones most likely to make a beginner light up.
The all-time classics
- Obsesión by Aventura
- Propuesta Indecente by Romeo Santos
- Stand By Me by Prince Royce
- Darte un Beso by Prince Royce
Best for sensual bachata
- Bailando Bachata by Chayanne
- Me Emborracharé by Grupo Extra
- La Diabla by Romeo Santos
Best for Dominican / traditional
- Voy Pa' Allá by Antony Santos
- Bachata Rosa by Juan Luis Guerra
- Burbujas de Amor by Juan Luis Guerra
Newer hits worth learning
- La Bachata by Manuel Turizo
- Volví by Aventura & Bad Bunny
The full ranking of twenty, plus a warm-up-to-peak playlist order, is in 20 Most Popular Bachata Songs.
Prefer One-on-One?
The same instructors teach privately: sensual styling for students who want to specialize, a fast-track on the fundamentals before your first group night, or a wedding first dance built to your song.
See private lessonsWho teaches it
Your Bachata Instructors
Bachata Classes Near You
The studio sits at Fort Apache and Patrick in southwest Las Vegas, just off the 215. Students drive in from Summerlin (15 min), Henderson (25 min), North Las Vegas (30 min) and everywhere between. Free parking directly outside the door, every night.
Every day and time is on the booking cards above and the weekly schedule. Want to read before you dance? Start with the beginner's guide to starting bachata.
Bachata Questions, Answered
Where are your bachata classes located?
At 6070 S Fort Apache Rd Ste 200, at Fort Apache and Patrick in southwest Las Vegas, about 10 minutes from the 215/Tropicana interchange. If you searched for bachata classes near you from Spring Valley, Summerlin, Henderson or anywhere in the valley, we are typically a 10 to 30 minute drive with free parking at the door.
I have never danced bachata. Which class do I start with?
Bachata Open Level. It assumes zero experience: the basic step is four counts and comes together the first night, partners rotate the whole class, and it runs twice a week so you can come to whichever night fits. Your first group class is always free.
Do I need a partner?
No. Every bachata class rotates partners every few minutes, so students book alone all the time. Dancing with different partners is how you actually learn to lead and follow, and it is half of what Open Level teaches.
Am I ready for Bachata Level 2?
If you can dance a full bachata song with a partner, execute a simple turn as lead or follow, and keep a clean frame, you are ready. For most people that is two to three months of Open Level.
What style of bachata do you teach: Dominican, sensual or modern?
The Dominican foundation first, because it is the root that works in every bachata room: traditional, modern and sensual. Open Level layers optional sensual styling on top of it, Level 2 adds the patterns that translate to modern and sensual floors, and private lessons cover sensual styling for students who want to specialize.
Can I take Open Level and Level 2 in the same week?
Yes, and it is the classic fast-progress formula: Open Level consolidates the basic and the connection, Level 2 stretches you. Plenty of students do exactly that for two or three months.
What should I wear to bachata class?
Comfortable clothes you can move in. Smooth-soled shoes are best. Sticky running shoes grab the floor on turns. Practice heels are common but never required.
Where can I dance bachata socially after class?
At our Latin social nights, where bachata plays all night alongside salsa and cumbia. Students use the socials to practice what they learned that week on a real floor with a live DJ.
Read up before your first class
Everything you actually need to know about bachata: history, steps, songs and playlists, written by our Las Vegas instructors.
Beginner GuideHow to Start Dancing Bachata
A step-by-step beginner's guide to starting bachata: the count, the basic step, how to find your first class in Las Vegas, and what to expect on day one.
Style GuideTraditional (Dominican) vs Sensual Bachata
Traditional Dominican bachata is fast, footwork-heavy and playful. Sensual bachata is slow, body-led and modern. Here is exactly how the two styles differ.
HistoryWhere Did Bachata Come From?
Bachata was born in the rural Dominican Republic in the 1960s, banned by the government, revived by Juan Luis Guerra, and named UNESCO heritage in 2019. Full history.
Music20 Most Popular Bachata Songs
The most-requested bachata songs on the social dance floor in 2026: from Aventura and Romeo Santos classics to Prince Royce, Grupo Extra and today's hits.
WeddingBest Bachata Wedding Songs
Bachata songs slow enough to dance to on the day: first dance, father-daughter and reception picks, with the tempo and why each one works on the floor.
TechniqueWhat Are the Bachata Steps?
A plain-English breakdown of the bachata basic step, side basic, box step, hip motion and the first three turn patterns every beginner should know.
BachataBachata Lead: What the Lead Does and How the Follow Responds
What does the bachata lead do, and what does the follow do? Learn how leading works, why follows wait for the lead, and the beginner mistake to avoid.