VICTORVILLE — A fusion of Spanish guitar, Taino and African musical elements describes one of the most popular styles of Latin music — Bachata. The High Desert Bachata Salsa is offering free dance lessons, on Mondays at Sweet Memories, throughout the month of August.

“The Bachata is originally a Dominican dance and it stems from Bolero which is a really old style of dancing,” said High Desert Bachata Salsa Dancer Lei Lani Haghighi. “But it’s faster, a little more energetic and you do have to connect with another person — one is leading and one is following.”

Haghighi says the dance craze is booming all over the country and she wanted to bring it to the High Desert.

“My hobby is exactly what we can do — all ages, all ethnicities, all backgrounds. You don’t have to know how to dance already,” said Haghighi. “I thought this is perfect for up here. For everyone to have an opportunity to learn something new and to socialize in a different way.”

The dance is similar to salsa except rather than having a forward and backward movement Bachata is side to side or a box step.

Haghighi says you don’t have to have a partner to come to her classes.

“You can just show up.  Anyone can be a lead,” said Haghighi. “It’s very open. You have to be open-minded and you can’t take yourself seriously.”

I want people to not be afraid to try it because usually if they try it they want to stick to it.

Lei Lani Haghighi

The High Desert Bachata Salsa classes are held every Monday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Sweet Memories located at 15191 7th Street Suites 5 and 6, Victorville, CA 92395.  For more information contact Lei Lani Haghighi at [email protected].

 

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