Kizomba is a beautiful and sensual partner dance that originated in Angola. In the couple position, the dance is typically done very close to your partner with the upper part of the body touching. The kizomba steps are a derivation of the more upbeat Angolan dance called semba which means “a touch of the bellies”, so this gives you an idea of how closely you dance with your partner. The upper part of the body tends to be quite still with most of the movements coming from below the waist with a focus on the “bunda” (or rear-end), which is particularly accentuated for women. Like all African dances, the movements are very grounded in that you push into the floor as you step, directing your energy towards the ground. The feet stay very close to the ground during the basic movements, almost sliding along the floor at times.
Because kizomba is danced in such close position, placement of the feet is very important to avoid any accidents. The feet are staggered such that the right foot of both the lead and the follow is placed between the feet of their partner. Leads will first step with the left foot and follows with their right. When stepping face to face, you leave enough space between your feet for your partner to step (toes are angled slightly outward in the shape of a pizza wedge to create more room). As you step, you hit the ground first with the ball of your foot followed by pushing your weight towards your heel to complete the weight transfer. The “bunda” movement comes from the bending and straightening of your knees during this weight transfer; the knee is bent on the leg where you first step onto the ball of your foot which then straightens as you push your weight down towards your heel. The “straightened” knee still has a slight bend to it as you never lock your knees completely straight while dancing (this could lead to injury).
Petchú (Pedro Vieira Dias) is thought to be the first to create the teaching methodology of the dance of kizomba so that people of other cultures could learn the dance. Kizomba is an eight count dance, and this blog will concentrate on three of the basic steps:
Basic 1: This basic is done in place and involves stepping and changing your weight from one foot to the other every two counts or beats (at half tempo). Many beginners find this step challenging since they would not typically move in this way. The initial step on the ball of your foot occurs on the beat and the transfer of weight is completed (heel onto the ground) by the second beat. The opposite foot would then step on the ball and push down the heel to the floor for the next two beats. The feet remain in the same position, and you can choose to keep the ball of your foot on the floor at all times (just moving your heel off and onto the ground) or slightly lift your foot to step on the count. Additional movements to stepping could be to add a slight body wave, concentrating on the lower half of the body, or making “figure 8” movements as you step. This step can also be done on tempo (stepping on every count so the weight transfer occurs in one count instead of two) or while turning around in place (half tempo or at tempo).
Basic 2: This basic is the easiest step to learn and is basically a step touch from one side to the other, stepping on each count. The first step is to the left for the lead and to the right for the follow. As the weight is being transferred to the leg that made the first step, the other foot comes beside the first to tap while ensuring that enough space is left between your feet (toes angled outward) for your partner’s foot in front of you. The foot that taps then steps to the other side followed by the other foot tapping. The “tap” is more of a quick heel touch to maintain that bunda movement. The bunda movement of ladies can be further accentuated by starting with a figure 8 type motion while stepping followed by a circular motion while tapping.
Basic 3: This basic involves traveling front and back while face to face with your partner (with feet staggered and toes angled outward as mentioned above). On the first step, the lead moves forward with their left foot while the follow moves back on their right. The second step continues in that direction and the third step is a tap. To complete the basic 3, the foot that taps (left for lead and right for follow) then steps in the opposite direction so that the lead steps back and the follow steps forward two steps followed by a tap. Therefore the complete basic 3 is a total of 6 steps/counts. While moving forward and backward, the feet barely leave the floor. While social dancing, the lead can choose to break up the complete basic 3 and only use the first 3 steps or the last 3 steps in combination with other movements. There are also other variations of the basic 3 that involve changes in direction.
Becoming comfortable with these basic steps is essential for dancing kizomba as they are the foundation for many movements used in the dance. You can check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/DameMásDance for a visual on all of these basic kizomba steps and some of their variations. The best way to learn kizomba is to take a dance class. We offer beginner and intermediate levels of kizomba at our studio.
