Since 2021, Jessica Taylor has been energizing Allegheny RiverTrail Park (ARP) with her bachata classes and socials.
Taylor is the founder of For the Love of Bachata (FTLOB), a Pittsburgh-based dance company dedicated to sharing the joy of bachata. ARP partners with Taylor to promote dance as a fun, accessible way for people to step outside their comfort zones.
This summer, Taylor and her team will lead an eight-week bachata course in the park’s pavilion every Tuesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m., running from July 8 to August 26. In addition to the weekly classes, two pop-up bachata socials will be held on July 13 and August 17 from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Taylor began working with ARP in 2021, shortly after the pandemic.
“I was looking to start teaching dance lessons, but I wanted an outdoor space for health and safety concerns, and it just actually turned out to be a really beautiful space and a really wonderful place to work, so I continue to use the park,” Taylor said. “Someone invited me to meet up there one day and while I was there, I was looking around like ‘Wow this is actually a really great place,’” Taylor added.
A Passion Project
A Spanish teacher by day and dance instructor by night, Taylor’s journey to FTLOB started with a love for both language and movement. After twelve years of teaching Spanish, she decided to pursue her long-time passion for dance by launching her own business while continuing to teach.
“It’s a passion project,” Taylor defined FTLOB. “This is something I really love. I get to pour my whole heart into it. I get to work with adults. They learn to believe in themselves again because sometimes adult learners kind of think ‘Oh, I can’t do it when I’m older,’ right? So they have a fixed mindset and then they also learn to love their life again, which is really awesome to see.”
What Is Bachata?
Bachata is unlike most dances. It comes from the Dominican Republic and has not been seen in the media or on the radio as often as other Latin styles. Taylor hopes to change that.
“No one was really pushing it or playing it at socials in Pittsburgh,” she said. “I was an organizer and then I became a DJ. Eventually, I finally felt ready to start teaching so that I would share it more with the community,”
Taylor’s business was born out of a desire to fill that local gap.
“My business was actually started out of frustration that nobody else would really champion Bachata locally,” Taylor stated. “I actually didn’t start it with any intentions for it to be what it is now. I started it as an intention to share music, to inspire people by learning more about the music.”
Her efforts have paid off, sparking a local interest in bachata and encouraging others to teach and learn the style.
“Once you become successful at something, others start paying attention,” she noted. “Now you’ll find more bachata styles popping up in the area.”
Taylor points to the 2022 hit Sin Fin by Justin Timberlake as an example of bachata breaking into mainstream music. “The music got popular on the radio, but the dancing hasn’t spread as fast. So in the U.S., we’ve created our own version of it,” she said.
With the gain in listeners and learners, Taylor wanted to make sure that everyone knew that they were able to participate in the dance.
“They too can learn to dance, even if they have no experience with the language, the culture, or with dancing itself,” Taylor commented.
How can you get involved?
Visit https://www.fortheloveofbachata.com/ for the latest classes and pop-up socials!
