We are living in a world where social dance is currently a bit restricted, very restricted or outright forbidden. But before we ended up where we are now, kizomba and the related dances kizomba fusion and urban kiz managed to conquer the world, in just a few years. 

Recently I realised that I actually took my very first kizomba steps in 2004, with a friend from Cape Verde. She showed me the steps in a normal club. So, in PALOP communities kizomba has been present around the world for quite a long time, but I didn't start dancing kizomba until 2011 and then there were maybe just 3-5 festivals per YEAR in Europe. In 2015 I had already been travelling to teach in several different continents. So, from 2011 to 2015 we went from having 3-5 kizomba festivals per year in Europe, to having 3-5 festivals every weekend and festivals in many other places all over the world. And in 2019, it was much more. 

There are many reasons for this. I probably...

How we move is another key to create a great connection. This starts from the position and posture we have, and then it is a matter of what types of moves we make, as well as how we make them. 

Posture
Our posture is essential. The more closely we match our postures, the better the connection. If the follow dances like a proud soldier with a good posture and the lead looks like a sack of potatoes, it will definitely affect the connection. Matching postures are better for connection, and better connection makes us more popular on the dance floor.

This is an excerpt from one of my books - "The Secrets of Social Dance - How to Become a Popular Dancer" which you can find on Amazon.

Alignment
Another consideration is how we align our body and our head to our partner. Facing our partner more with our upper body and head will create a better connection. This doesn't mean we should stare our partner in the eyes all the time. That would feel creepy. But we...

Sometimes it happens that a dancer starts going to festivals abroad and when they come home again, they are not happy with the selection of dancers, the music, the venue and other things in their local scene. I have seen it after many kizomba festivals. And I have felt it myself. Nothing is good enough anymore. It is easy to start complaining and stop going out.

I can understand it in a way. It is different. Imagine a festival with thousands of dancers and top international DJs in a fantastic venue, and then compare it with the local bar, 20 dancers and a playlist. Of course, it is not the same.

This is an excerpt from one of my books - "The Secrets of Social Dance - How to Become a Popular Dancer" which you can find on Amazon.

Go Out and Dance

But I can tell you one thing. The one thing you can do to make sure the scene doesn't get better is stopping going out. The more people who stop going out in the local scene, the worse it will get. And the more...

It might seem frightening at first, the social dance scene. There is so much to learn. So many things we need to know. There are so many great dancers. How can we ever get that good?

And if we are not that good, there seems to be a high potential for rejection. At least we might think so in the beginning. What if no one will invite me? What if I get a “no” when I invite?

There are some things that are important to remember though:

Firstly, it is a lot to learn, yes. But it is not that hard to become popular. Because it is not always the best dancer who is the most popular on the dance floor. There is hope, even for a beginner or mediocre dancers. The best dancers can be very popular, but it is not all that matters. 

Rule number one to become more popular on the dance floor is to make your partner happy (I guess this applies to life just as much as dance). What your partner remembers are not specific steps or moves, it is how you make them feel. If you...

Yesterday I met a friend, an old student of mine. She told me she had been to some tryout classes in kizomba, helping the teacher out with the class. And she had been sad to hear the teacher saying about musicality: 

"Either you have it, or you don't". 

It just made me sad to hear.  

This is an excerpt from my book about musicality - "The Secrets of Musicality for Dancers - Learning Nine Essential Skills for Musicality in Dance" Just click the link. 

 Nature vs Nurture
Yes, some people would say that it is not possible to teach musicality. It is something you are born with. They would say just that - either you have it, or you don’t.

I don’t agree. If it was that simple, we would have the people who have it, and they would all be great. And we would have the ones who don’t have it, and they would all suck. I don’t think this is what we see. I think some people have it more and some have it less.

Some people might be...

What makes someone into a good or great teacher, or a dance course into a good course? Of course, there are many different aspects of this, and some of them depend on why you want to take the course. If you just want to have fun, a stand-up comedian with some basic dance skills might make you a great teacher. But if we assume you really want to learn how to dance well, here are some criteria to help you pick:

This is an excerpt from one of my books - "The Secrets of Social Dance - How to Become a Popular Dancer" which you can find on Amazon.

Do they know the topic?
First of all, does the teacher know the subject? What does it tell you if a teacher offers a dance course but have never really taken a dance course themselves? What about a teacher who learned from youtube? Would you spend your money on someone who hasn’t spent their own money to learn? I am not saying it is impossible to learn on youtube, because there are classes, and there are also some...

What is the history? How did kizomba conquer the world? What are the similarities and the differences between these dances?

What is Kizomba

• It is a circular couple dance characterized by a close connection within the couple and soft and grounded movements. It has origins in Angola, but it has developed simultaneously also in other PALOP countries (former Portuguese colonies in Africa).
• Nowadays it is a dance that is danced all over the world, on all continents, and with some spin-off dances.
• It is a type of music, with influences mainly from Semba and Caribbean Zouk.
• It is a way to socialize in Angola and many PALOP countries, going to kizombadas in the backyards or bigger parties.
• The word itself means "party" in Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola.

There is some confusion as to what really is Kizomba music. This is because the word has also become a kind of umbrella term that incorporates several different genres, including the real Kizomba, coladeira, cabo-love, ghetto...