Dance and Travel

Kizomba professors dancing at Latin Groove School in Canada Is Kizomba the sexiest dance ever? It is...but just outside Angola. Yes, because Kizomba is dance and a musical genre originating in Angola, a former Portuguese colony and it means "party" in Kimbundu, an Angolan language. Kizomba dance comes from the Angolan  Semba  and Kizomba music from the traditional Angolan Semba music with the French Antilles  Zouk . Why it became famous as "The Sexiest Dance Ever"? Traditionally, the dance involves two people in a close embrace with their torsos touching. One dancer - usually a man - leads and the other follows in a slow walk, stepping backwards and forwards, and drawing a circle with their movements. This is enhanced by movements with the hips. This is how it looks in Angola: Concurso de Kizomba em Angola 2016 Winners Semba and kizomba were danced in family settings, at large parties called kizombadas. Mothers can dance with their sons, a fat...

One of the dances I am learning at the moment is Samba, but not the kind of samba you are thinking of with prominent dancers in tight and shining swimming suits,  what I am referring to is Samba de Gafiera, a couple dance originated in the 1940's in Rio de Janeiro's gafieira (working-class dance halls). Couple dancing Samba de Gafieira It is a partner dance that incorporates Carnival Samba, Salsa and Argentine Tango concepts. The dance derived from the  Maxixe and followed the arrival of the Choro (another samba musical style). It left most of the Maxixe’s Polka elements behind but maintained the entwined leg movements of the Argentine Tango, although adopting a more relaxed posture than the latter. But why is so charming? Well, one of the most important aspect in gafieira is the male dancer’s attitude towards the female one. Here I have to introduce you the “malandragem” concept. Literally translated as “rascality” ir “naughtiness”, in the Brazilian music and cultu...

“Quem dança é muito mais feliz” (The one who dances is much more happier) People dancing forro in the Streets of Amsterdam This is actually the biggest truth I have ever experienced in my life. However, I am not referring to any kind of dance, I am referring to a couple dance called Forró , which is intimately link to idea of happiness, good vibes and joy of sharing moments with others. What is forró? It is a Brazilian dance typical of the North-West Region of Brazil.  It is associated to various types of popular North-Western music such as baião, quadrilha, xaxado, which have Portuguese influences.  It is played traditionally by three people a "Sanfoneiro" (the person who plays the "sanfona" which is the accordion), a zabumbeiro (the person who plays “zabumba”, a type of bass drum).  The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing) and a musician who plays a metallic triangle (triangulo). The three instruments o...