“Maravilha” means “wonder” in Portuguese and one can certainly make the case that this band is arguably the 8th wonder of the semba world. During the first part of the Angolan civil war (1975-1992), music production in-country was virtually defunct. The main record labels simply had no means to survive due to the lack of government subsidies. At that time, only a handful of musicians … Continue reading BANDA MARAVILHA (aka The Semba Ambassadors)
One cannot expect somebody who’s never been to Angola – or knows nothing about its troubled past – to fully grasp how the simple act of dancing, singing and socializing has always served as collective catharsis for its people. As Achille Mbembe, highly respected Cameroonian philosopher and political theorist puts it: “Music has the capacity to marry soul and matter. Indeed, in Africa, music has … Continue reading 10 WAYS TO HONOUR THE KIZOMBA CULTURE
In light of several heated discussions held on Facebook recently regarding what’s kizomba and what’s urban, we decided to post 2 videos that hopefully illustrate that these are 2 different dances; each has its own distinct elements in terms of upper body posture, lower body movement, footwork, musicality, ginga (or lack thereof), pongue, precision and rigidity of execution, connection to the partner (or lack thereof), … Continue reading KIZOMBA vs URBAN
1) Often I hear people using the term “Traditional Kizomba” or even just “traditional”. So to correct this confusion, there is no prefix for this word, and i believe your desire like mine is to have proper correct information about something you learn and love. It’s simply, and beautifully, “Kizomba” which means “party” in Kimbundu, which is one of many Bantu languages you can hear … Continue reading 6 Misconceptions About Kizomba
1) Dear gentleman, when inviting a lady for a dance, please observe first does she looks interested at all to dance in that moment. One of many examples is when the lady might be in the middle of a conversation with someone else, which might not be the best moment to interrupt that, especially if you don’t know that person well. Simply wait for some … Continue reading 8 Social Dance Rules
If you have been dancing kizomba for a while, you may have heard/read somewhere that kizomba music is loosely described as a variation, an extension, or a mere interpretation of zouk, the music genre that many Africans fell in love with in the 1980s, thanks in part to the popularity of Kassav, the legendary Caribbean band that took the continent by storm. What is often … Continue reading BREAKING DOWN KIZOMBA MUSIC
INTRO: ORAL TRADITIONS African people have a rich oral tradition that insures the passage of cultural practices from one generation to the next. Scholars such as Malmusi, 1990; Rycroft, 1962, Stone,1982 argue that oral literature and music are intimately connected in most parts of Africa and are often impossible to separate (Shelemany in Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicans, 2001). Listening has been an important … Continue reading What is Kizomba?
On the dance scene we often hear the phrase “it’s just a different style” when describing dance movement that doesn’t adhere to the foundation of a particular dance. We can’t deny there is a proper use of the word “style” when it comes to dance, study any of the arts and personal style has been highly regarded throughout the ages. Every named dance has its … Continue reading IT IS THE SAME DANCE, JUST A DIFFERENT STYLE – EDDY VENTS
Social media, especially Facebook, has enabled many kizomba instructors and dancers to be widely known around the globe. Oftentimes, we get so consumed by the information overload fed by the astutely designed algorithms of social media software that we get the false impression that we’ve seen everything and that we know everyone. As a consequence, it’s not surprising that folks tend to take the word … Continue reading THE UNDERDOG WHO STOLE THE SHOW
!!! WORK WILL SET YOU APART !!! Earlier this week, on May 1st, we celebrated International Workers’ Day. The genesis of this day has ties to socialism and communism, hence it has been a public holiday here since the Cold War era because Angola, then a single-party state, was ideologically aligned with the so-called Soviet Block straight after its independence in November 1975. Even … Continue reading Rui Interviews Ary – 2018 Angolan National Kizomba/Semba WINNER!!
