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LEAD GUITARThe melodic voice of Bachata. Listen for the bright guitar lines and fills that answer the singer.
Learn Bachata in downtown Montreal — from your first 1-2-3-TAP to confident partnerwork, musicality and social dancing.
✓ Beginner Friendly ✓ No Partner Needed ✓ Downtown Montreal ✓ Since 1993
Bachata is not only about memorizing steps. First, learn to hear where the musical phrase begins. Use Pinto Picasso’s Niveles and see whether you can identify the first beat.
And the music you are learning with? Pinto Picasso is coming to Montreal for a live concert at the festival we produce.
Bachata was born in the Dominican Republic. Its unmistakable sound comes from several instruments working together. Once you recognize them, finding the rhythm — and dancing musically — becomes much easier.
The melodic voice of Bachata. Listen for the bright guitar lines and fills that answer the singer.
The rhythm guitar supports the harmony and helps create Bachata’s continuous forward motion.
The bass connects harmony and rhythm. You may feel its pattern before you consciously identify it.
The bongó adds rhythmic conversation and energy, especially as the arrangement becomes more active.
The metallic scraping sound helps drive the song forward and is one of the easiest textures for new dancers to recognize.
The Bachata side basic is built on the same eight counts you just heard in Niveles. The taps on 4 and 8 do not carry weight — they prepare you to change direction.
You will hear terms such as Dominican, Moderna and Sensual Bachata. At San Tropez, we build the foundation first: timing, weight transfer, lead-and-follow, musicality and comfortable partner connection. From there, students can add richer footwork, turns and body movement without skipping the fundamentals.
Playful footwork, rhythm changes and musical interpretation connect directly to Bachata’s Dominican roots.
A modern social-dance vocabulary built around clear lead-and-follow, turns and combinations you can use on the dance floor.
Body movement, waves and isolations become more useful once timing, posture and partner connection are already secure.
Our goal is not to make beginners memorize choreography. It is to give you enough rhythm, technique and connection that you can actually dance with different partners and different songs.
You do not need a partner and you do not need previous dance experience. We start by helping you hear the music, understand where your weight goes, and feel comfortable moving with another person.
Hear the musical phrase and understand where your 1 begins.
Practice the side basic, weight transfer and the tap on 4 and 8.
Develop natural hip action from correct weight transfer rather than forcing it.
Learn comfortable partner positioning and the fundamentals of lead and follow.
Put the pieces together and move through an actual Bachata song.
Choose a Bachata class that fits your week. Below are only the Bachata group classes currently listed on our main San Tropez schedule, organized by day and level.
6:00 PM — Bachata 4
8:00 PM — Bachata 2
7:00 PM — Bachata 1
6:00 PM — Bachata 1
8:00 PM — Bachata 3
8:00 PM — Bachata 1
9:00 PM — Bachata 2
6:00 PM — Bachata 4
8:00 PM — Bachata 3
9:00 PM — Bachata 2
5:00 PM — Bachata 1
2:00 PM — Bachata 1
4:00 PM — Bachata 3
5:00 PM — Bachata 2
At San Tropez, Bachata is a journey — not a collection of random combinations. Build the foundation first, then grow into stronger partnerwork, musicality, performance opportunities and the larger Bachata community.
Learn where your weight goes, hear the rhythm and become comfortable dancing a full song.
Develop cleaner technique, stronger connection and more freedom to interpret the music.
For dancers who want more, San Tropez creates opportunities to train for choreography and performance.
Experience Bachata beyond weekly classes at the Montreal Bachata Festival produced by our team.
San Tropez is also behind the Montreal Bachata Festival, where students can experience international artists, workshops, performances, social dancing, competition and live music.
The couple you just watched dancing to Niveles is invited to perform at the upcoming festival — and Pinto Picasso is coming to Montreal for a live concert.
Explore the Montreal Bachata Festival →Yes. Bachata has a clear repeating rhythm and a compact basic step, making it an excellent entry point for new dancers.
No. Students rotate partners in class, so you can register on your own.
Yes. Our beginner classes explicitly teach you how to hear the beat and connect the counts to your movement.
Dominican Bachata emphasizes rhythm, footwork and musical play. Sensual Bachata adds more body movement and connection concepts after the foundations are secure.
Wear comfortable clothing and shoes that stay securely on your feet. Beginners can start in sneakers if that feels best.
Yes. Students who want to go further can progress toward choreography, performance teams and festival experiences.
Beginner tip: wear comfortable shoes that stay securely on your feet and allow you to turn. You can start in sneakers if that is what makes you comfortable.