Peculiarities
Looking at the couple twirling to the rhythms of kizomba, you will definitely consider them lovers. And you may be right. The likelihood of a lack of love between partners in this dance, filled with tenderness, care, and gentleness, looks completely unnatural.
Distinctive features:
- smooth choreography;
- placing emphasis on the range of motion of the hips;
- a tight hug that allows you to feel your partner’s heartbeat;
- face-to-face pose;
- inactive upper part of the body;
- synchronicity of dancers in pairs;
- ease of movement.
Kizomba, like bachata, is one of the easiest social dances to learn. Therefore they are suitable for beginners. To decide which of these areas is more interesting to you, take a one-time lesson and compare the sensations.
Tarrascinha
Tarrashinya is part of kizomba, namely the ability to dance with almost no movements. It may sound absurd, but that's what makes Kizomba so sexy. Tarraxinha is achieved through the man’s control of his companion’s body: waves, small bends and swaying of the pelvis run across her body.
Step technique
Each step is taken on soft legs with bounce (“spring”), while keeping the head “without jumping” at the same level.
Leading/following is also unusual here. For those accustomed to salsa, “leading” a partner in kizomba may be difficult due to the difference in technique: you need to do it from the chest, which does not meet salsa standards.
Kizomba dance video
You have always wanted to learn how to dance tango or merengue, but you understood that to do this you need to enroll in a dance school, spend a lot of money, time and effort, and all this just can’t happen. We have a solution to this problem and it is called kizomba video. Kizomba is a club light version of Argentine tango, semba, but flavored with Creole romance and African sensitivity. And this dance is now at the peak of popularity. Born in Angola thirty years ago, he has already conquered continents, become widely known in Europe, acquired numerous fans there and reached our country. Kizomba schools are opening, theme parties are being held, and when learning kizomba, you and your partner will be the center of attention. a kizomba dance video on the Internet , move the table and chair aside, turn on the video, and you won’t notice how this dance will captivate you and lead you, telling a wonderful story of love and life, youth and beauty. This is a real social dance, it is a couple dance, based on absolute trust in each other. This dance will teach you to love even deeper and brighter.
Kizomba video lessons
If you don’t immediately start to succeed in kizomba lessons at a dance school, don’t despair and don’t quit. Maybe it’s not you, but your partner who is confused about the steps and rhythm and wants to give up what he finds to be difficult learning.
For these cases, the experienced trainers of our dance school have developed special lessons. There you will be taught to listen to music and pay attention to the rhythm. The partner will be taught to lead the partner, and she will be taught to trust the partner and follow him in the dance. If you can understand how to do this, then, for sure, your personal life will also become much more harmonious, because mutual trust is the basis of love. In fact, kizomba is a fairly simple dance, and you will quickly catch up. Kizomba video lessons will also help you if you are busy and missed several classes at school.
You can study on your own all this time. Video lessons will give you the opportunity to truly love this dance, reveal yourself completely in it, be happy in love and in dance. Engage and have fun.
What to wear to class
A girl can wear elastic, tight-fitting clothes or a flared skirt. This will allow the teacher to monitor the correct execution of the exercises. You should avoid skirts that are too long: the gentleman may get tangled in it, because the dance involves close contact.
Men should avoid too loose trousers and jackets for the same reason - the teacher must see whether the student is moving correctly or just swaying to the beat.
Shoes can be anything, the main requirement is comfort. Although women most often dance Latin American dances in thin heels, this is not required during training. However, relearning may be more difficult than imagined.
Cultural influence
The influence of Angolan kizomba is felt not only in most Portuguese-speaking African countries, but also in Portugal itself (especially in Lisbon and suburbs such as Amadora or Almade). Currently, kizomba is also quite popular among white people; it is danced in specialized discos. Since 2005–2010, kizomba has been gaining popularity at salsa festivals and becoming one of the dances studied at them. Currently (2014), the main centers of distribution of kizomba dance are France and Portugal.
Video
Lessons in St. Petersburg
The dance school-studio “Salsa Social” is pleased to open its doors to you to let you into the world of kizomba, salsa, and bachata.
Why us
Salsa Social has a lot of competitive advantages:
- well-equipped halls, changing rooms, showers;
- convenient location in the central part of St. Petersburg (2 studios, 7 halls);
- price conditions will please even the stingy;
- 11 destinations, among which there is definitely at least one for you;
- foreign teachers who love their work;
- the opportunity to perform in public after six months of training.
Varieties of kizomba
Today, kizomba is divided into the following several styles:
- Passada is a primary type of dance, reminiscent to many of a mixture of semba and zouk.
- Tarrachinha is a type of dance, the peculiarity of which is to perform movements without practically moving around the area. In this style, the man completely controls the body of his partner, forcing her to make various waves, bends, and smoothly sway her hips. This style is considered the sexiest.
- Cuadrinha - a dance fight is waged between a man and a woman, during which only one of them will become the winner.
- Ventoinha.
Features of kizomba performance: dance and basic steps
This dance style includes the following basic steps:
- Single step . It is one of the easiest. The man accompanies each count with a step, first with the left leg and then with the right (reminiscent of a “march”), a simple transfer of weight is carried out. The partner performs similar movements, but the dance begins with the right foot. The step can be used both in place and while moving.
- Side-To-Side Step . The man makes a walking movement to the side with his left leg, after which the second leg is placed, but there is no weight transfer to it. Then the same actions are performed with the right leg, now the left one is attached. The partner performs the same movements, but in a “mirror” form.
- Step on . The partner moves to the side with his left leg, after which he places the other leg and transfers weight to it, after which the movement is performed with the left leg again, but the weight is not transferred to it. The partner performs similar movements, but starts walking with the other leg.
I've been thinking a lot lately about this: what is so special about KIZOMBA that we are SO passionate about it and dedicate SO much time to it? Why do many ladies, and probably men, feel a little intimidated the first time they dance it? And in general, how can we become good partners? Is being a good partner an art? We can only find out on the dance floor of social dances, right? It seems to me that learning to dance KIZOMBA for ladies is a kind of abstract experience. I’m not talking here about becoming an excellent partner who perfectly performs all the technical elements in the dance, I’m talking about getting involved in this wonderful world of KIZOMBA, being in it, or even better, becoming a part of it. I dare to ask a question, what makes us come to dance night after night, dance these dances until late, to get a rich dose of KIZOMBA, regardless of the fact that we work in the morning, travel around our country, and travel overseas?
I have also recently noticed that beginner dancers, and especially partners, get very nervous and afraid when dancing KIZOMBA. I understand this very well because I experienced exactly the same thing when dancing KIZOMBA for the first time. I just thought that I couldn't dance like that with men I didn't know. Dot. And then...thanks to my wonderful teachers from Bogota, Colombia, I found myself in a favorable environment in which I was able to get rid of all these thoughts, and immerse myself in the real feeling of KIZOMBA, which in my understanding has nothing to do with being sexual, and moreover, with sex, but on the contrary, KIZOMBA dance gives you the opportunity to feel your partner, gives you creative abilities and the feeling that this is exactly what you need at this moment in time.
KIZOMBA has its own body language. Incredibly special, and with many different elements and dialects, each of which is unique in its own way. When dancing KIZOMBA, our body is very “eloquent”, and in this “eloquence” we can guess every single dialect or element of this dance. As her continuing dancer, this is the best way for me to showcase my still ongoing journey through the world of KIZOMBA.
The first level is resistance! For me, after so many years of practicing Solo dance styles, it was simply impossible to allow a man to lead me and push me to do WHAT I should do with my body to the music! Well, it probably would have been easier only if the man had been deaf and couldn’t hear the rhythm of the music. I also believe that the first level includes such concepts as “criticism of oneself” and “criticism of a partner.” For example, I wasn’t quite able to do these seemingly simple basic steps, and my partner always circled me around the entire dance floor.
The second level begins after you have spent a little time at level one, this is the point at which you exclaim “Uh Huhhhhh”, this is the point when you stop showing your leadership qualities and just give up. This may be your first experience of submitting to a stranger over such a short distance, and fortunately, at this level, a lot of the criticism that took place at the first level disappears. You realize: “Wow!!! This man, whom I have never met before in my life, is giving me his consent to be in his intimate space, so I want to try and hear what he has to say to me.” At this level, you become a “difficult” follower because you are constantly trying desperately to translate WHAT your partner is saying.
Level 3 is: “I can understand all levels.” You think that in reality you “speak three languages”, because now you can be led by 1) just a fashionable guy, 2) a guy dancing KIZOMBA and 3) a super beginner with no “jambs” in dance at all... In fact, there is a technical difficulty in being a good follower. We learn to be aware of exactly HOW to transfer our own weight, adapt to different styles of leading, learn to do basic steps flawlessly, in general - a lot of basic work, including finding the exact balance between self-control and HOW you look in the dance. Of course, you are doing well, but the journey through the world of KIZOMBA continues, and there are still many insightful conversations on this topic ahead.
The next 4th level is when KIZOMBA lights up THIS VERY MOMENT! It's that time when you're dancing and, in an incredible fashion cliché, the whole world seems to disappear and you think you're floating. This is the purest feeling of a partner. You have an incredibly special dialogue with him, and it can be absolutely anyone, and it can last either just one song or several songs in a row. At this moment there is a wonderful feeling of unity, and there simply can be no place for any criticism. A deep sense of community binds you together because there are few things more special than just a real loving hug in any form.
Of course, there are millions of intermediate levels, and there is a lot that can be discovered about “how to lead a partner” and “how to feel a partner.” For myself, I prioritized levels 3 and 4, and I realized that I really needed to work on my own body language. If it so happens that I am a kind of “translator” when dancing KIZOMBA, and every man I dance with has his own body language, and I have MINE, we start talking, and when we reach the point of good interaction, we create our third body language, which is the culmination of our mutual dances. As a follower, I try to be quiet enough to hear my partner, and active enough to respond to him, and, as a last resort, let him know that I am trying to hear what he wants to tell me. However, there is more to all this. I realized that if I spend more and more time dancing in my own body language, my personality, my dance taste will not be lost in submission, it will simply become a dialogue, and another layer will be added to it.
Therefore, ladies, my advice to you is to dance yourself! Study your own movements, play with style, develop the subtlety of your own body language. After this, when you dance good KIZOMBA with someone, you will feel a sense of trust and you will understand WHAT they want to tell you. Remember, you have countless ways to respond to your partners! I feel a deep sense of gratitude to this dance, and to all the people I have met in the KIZOMBA communities. The peaceful embrace of KIZOMBA dance has empowered me and hundreds of other people to get to know ourselves and our bodies better, connect with people on a deeper level, and simply bring more happiness, love, and hugs to a world that desperately needs it. This journey, in which I am a partner, is endlessly exciting. Chat, explore, dance.
Genevieve Rogan, 2020 Source: dancingchange.wordpress.com/2016/11/24/the-secret-language-of-kizomba/ Translation: Alena Brel, student of the Credo studio
Modern kizomba
At discos you can see an updated interpretation of the dance - it is somewhat different from the rhythms and movements adopted in Angola (the ancestor of the dance) at the end of the last century. Kizomba is now similar to Argentine tango, it has rather simple rules and dance rhythms, and outward sexuality is more clearly expressed. This African dance is fascinating, but at the same time, the external limits of decency are respected, sexuality does not go beyond the boundaries of established morality.
Music: Nilton Ramalho feat. Chelsea Shantel - Rainha
