Kizomba
Kizomba is one of the most popular genres of dance and music created in Angola. Derived directly from Zouk music, sung generally in Portuguese, it is a genre of music with a romantic flow mixed with African rhythm. The kizomba dancing style is also known to be very sensual.
Kizomba was developed in Angola late 1989 to early 1990s. Kizomba is a term that derives from another Angolan terminology "Kimbundo" which means "party". Kizomba as we know it today has been built from the merger between various genres of music and dance steps, being a real mixture of dance styles. It is impossible to speak about Kizomba without speaking in the traditional dances that preceded and influenced it: Semba (the predecessor of Samba), Zouk (from the islands Antilles), Coladeira (from Cape Verde), not forgetting the big contribution to the solidification of Kizomba that came from Tango and Merengue.
When hearing the traditional music as Semba and Zouk, the younger generations of Angola felt that something was missing - a modern and sensual touch. The result was the composition of a slower and very sensual pace: Kizomba as we know today. Explosive and contagious, Kizomba conquered the world as a sound that stays in the ear and as a dance that seduces your soul. Currently, Kizomba is very popular in Portugal, England, France, Holland, and spreading fast all around the world.
The influence of Angolan kizomba is felt in most Portuguese-speaking African countries, but also Portugal (mostly in Lisbon and surrounding suburbs such as Amadora or Almada), where communities of immigrants have established clubs centered on the genre in a renewed kizomba style. Kizomba is now also quite popular among white people that come to these clubs in growing numbers. In Portugal the word "kizomba" is used to call any zouk-derived type of music, even if it is not from Angola. The São Tomean kizomba is very similar to the Angolan, Juka is the most notable among the Sãotomeans, but it is also one of the most notable performers in the genre.
There are three ways to dance Kizomba: "Passada" (classic style), "tarraxinha" and "quadradinha”. Ideally danced in pairs, Kizomba is an extremely close dance. Kizomba provides great complicity between man and woman, danced very close, with slow and sensual movements, where leading and being led finds a new dimension. It requires considerable flexibility on the knees, since the dancers frequently use vertical movements, going up and down as they move along the dance floor. A warm and unique experience that you will want to repeat again and again.