About

Lou Steiger

Dance, Nature and Psychology

"Rhythm is something that comes from nature - it's not something humans invented. Frequencies and patterns, music and even dance can be observed and measured in nature. Movement is energy and dance combines musical interpretation with physical activity. Dancing therefore is an activity which brings us back to the most basic behavior which can ground us and even has the power to heal us by focussing on the present moment and letting go of everything else our mind tends to hold on to. The mentioned aspects are associated with protective health effects. Not only dementia, Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative processes can be slowed down or prevented through regular dance exercise. But also mental and physical well being like fitness and a feeling of happiness can be increased by dancing.

More scientific research needs to be done. Nevertheless current results are linked to amazing benefits for those who regularly dance. "

- Lou (Dancer, Bachata Instructor, Event Organizer and Psychology Student M.Sc.)

Early years

Lou started dancing when she was 4 years old. The first dance she learned was Ballett. Later on she started taking Hip Hop classes, too. In her teenage years she was most likely found in the clubs dancing all night. The joy she felt by moving to the music and expressing herself freely was incomparable to any other physical activity she knew. While she had always danced at home in front of the mirror, trying to copy the dance moves she saw in the music videos of Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Sean Paul, Shakira, etc., she never thought she would be a dance instructor one day...

Spanish language and Latin-America

The fierceness and sensuality of the Spanish and Latin@s have their unique magic which got Lou enchanted, up until this day. Her curiosity and interest in the Spanish-speaking cultures made her want to be able to speak the language.

Lou packed her bags and went off to Argentina in 2012. In 2014 she went to Madrid, Spain to study there.

Lou is fluent in Spanish and enjoys connecting with the music and culture not only throughout the dance, but also through the language.

Lou's first encounter with Bachata - Dominican Republic

After having lived several months in Argentina and later on in Spain, Bachata found its way into Lou's life in 2015, when she was 21 years old. It was another travel which would change her life in a way she would have never guessed:

She flew by herself to Dominican Republic with only a backpack and stayed with the locals. They introduced her to Bachata and Merengue and showed her how Dominican culture was like. This experience was so special to her, Lou immediately fell in love with the feeling she got when people got together to dance casually while drinking rum and having a good time - the Dominican way of life.

Back in Germany the first thing Lou did was sign up to a Bachata class in Aachen, NRW, at Dance Fusion Aachen. After having met her former partner Jorge she started training every day. What was a hobby became quickly a serious goal. Eventually they decided to do teacher's training in order to become more professional.

The Bachata Sensual era of "Jorge & Lou"

After having moved to Tübingen for her studies, Lou and her former partner finally started to establish proper Bachata classes in Tanzschule Salsamara in 2017 in Tübingen. They started with 1 course containing 6 couples and built a community over the years with 8 weekly courses and about 130 students.

Lou and her former partner Jorge became one of the most known and booked Bachata Sensual style teacher couples in Germany before the pandemic, teaching in parties and festivals in Germany, France, Switzerland and even in Ecuador and Mexico. In 2021 Jorge & Lou ended their common dance projects.

Lou's solo projects - Role Rotation

Lou continued to teach as a solo female artist in Tübingen, while also starting her new courses in Stuttgart, establishing role-rotation as a fundamental concept of her partnerwork classes from there on. Being the first woman in Bachata in Germany - and one of the first ones in Europe - to teach everybody how to lead and how to follow as a main concept of her weekly courses, Lou struggled at first to find confidence in her own leading, since she had always been a follower up until this point. Nowadays it's one of her biggest achievements to normalize dancing both roles in Bachata and she has become a role model for many. In her event line "Role Rotation" she first brought Felipe & Tiago, the official creators of "Role-Rotation", to Germany (2022, 2023), who were her mentors for this new concept.

Different Bachata styles

Throughout the years she had lost sight of the traditional Dominican style of dancing Bachata, which was the one she originally fell in love with. She started to reconnect more intensively with Dominican Bachata style in 2019 through the encounter with Bhavin & Soonruta (India - now Cologne). After the pandemic she included and pushed Dominican style more actively in her own classes and events.

Bachata Sensual, the "Spanish" Bachata style, which combines different dance styles to make them suitable for modern Bachata music, is the style Lou got 2 certificates in (2017, 2018) by absolving a program and test guided by Korke & Judith from Cádiz (Spain), the so called "creators of Bachata Sensual". While loving the sensual and fluid look of Bachata Sensual style, Lou experienced that Bachata Sensual can be quite challenging, especially as a female follower. Questioning the existing trends of Bachata Sensual lead her to focus more and more on Dominican style. Coming back to the roots made her create the event line "The Roots of Bachata". Her events which promote the Bachata Sensual style are called "The Sensual Experience".

Bachata Stuttgart by Lou

Nowadays Lou is known for teaching different Bachata styles and Role Rotation. Even though she continues to teach lessons and workshops in and outside Germany, such as in Spain, Switzerland, France, Mexico and even Barbados, Lou has organized more than 9 big events with some of the top international artists like Ozkar Hernandez (Mexico), Felipe & Tiago (Spain), Argenis & Carolina (Spain), Christian & Gabriella (Spain), Samy el Mágico (France), Bhavin & Soonruta (Cologne), or Issam & Charlott (Germany) in Stuttgart, Southern Germany, where she lives.

Her personal Bachata style can be described as a mix of modern and traditional elements. While Lou enhances the importance of the hip movements in the steps, which have their origin in the Dominican style, she loves to play with the body waves and other elements of the modern and Sensual Bachata style, too. All this combined with the fact that all of her students learn how to lead and how to follow make "Bachata Stuttgart by Lou" a very unusual Bachata Dance School.

Lou offers high quality dance lessons and hosts high quality Bachata events. The participants appreciate the interesting workshop topics, the unique ambience and the quality of teachers, DJs, and music in Lou's events, parties and courses.