Dance Styles
Kizomba
Kizomba is a dance and musical genre that originated in Angola in 1984. The word kizomba means "party" in Kimbundu. Kizomba music emerged as a fusion of Semba, Angolan Merengue, Kilapanga, and Zouk. Kizomba dancers aim to synchronize perfectly with the music and express it through elegant footwork, smooth body movement, and attitude.
Konpa
Konpa (original Haitian spelling), also known as “kompa” (a common spelling mistake) or “compas” (French spelling), is a Haitian music genre and social partner dance that was popularized in 1950s. Its music is characterized by a distinctive beat that is similar to Kizomba or Zouk. As merengue or caribbean zouk – predecessors of konpa –, konpa is danced in pairs. Partners can dance in an open position or holding each other tightly and romantically, with most of the moves made at the hips.
Tarraxo & Tarraxinha
Tarraxinha could be best described as a complex of kizomba moves, which later on started developing into its own dance. Tarraxo, on the other hand, is a distinct dance style, which originated in Cape Verde and was derived of Tarraxinha. Tarraxo music is usually electronic and hard sounding. As a dance tarraxo is danced with a close body-to-body contact and requires a lot of body isolations.
Urban Kiz
Urban kiz is a couple dance style that originated in Paris from kizomba in 2010s. It is a more modern and urbanized successor of kizomba, with influences from other dance styles such as hip-hop and tango. Compared to kizomba, urban kiz has more movement energy and synchronization with the music allowing for stops, taps and accelerations. Additionally, urban kiz is danced along straight lines and usually involves different tricks, pivots and pirouettes.