Bachata
Dip Prep / Lean-In
Earn the dip before you take it. The controlled lean that teaches both partners how weight, frame, and trust work — so when you do dip, nobody falls.
Also known as: the lean-in, dip entry, the commit
This move builds: Comfort …on the always-on four — Connection, Frame, Comfort, Posture.
- Entry
- closed embrace
- Exit
- closed embrace
- Tempo
- slow
- Musical use
- break
- Connector
- No
- Level
- Intermediate
- Cluster
- dips-drops
- Style
- Sensual
What This Move Is
The controlled prep that comes before any dip: the follow commits a little weight into the lead's frame, the lead takes it through a solid base, and both feel exactly how much support is there. It's not a dip — it's the trust exercise that makes dips safe. Learn this and the dips-drops cluster opens up; skip it and dips are a gamble.
Key Points
- Lead: Set a real base — feet planted, frame firm, knees ready. Take her weight gradually and prove you've got it before she gives you more. You are the floor she leans on.
- Follow: Give weight in increments, staying in control of your own core — never dump your whole weight at once. You should be able to recover yourself at any point in the prep.
- Timing: Commit slowly across a held 2-3-4; this lives in slow, breaking passages.
- Common mistake: The follow committing fully before the lead has the base, or the lead pulling her in. It's gradual, shared, and reversible — that's the whole lesson.
Style Notes
This is a gate: teach it before The Lean (B038), Cambré (B039), and the rest of the dips. It's where the partnership earns the right to dip — the safety mechanics that the pretty stuff depends on. Frame it as trust, because that's what it is.
Chains into
After this, you can flow into…