A follower's saida that continues into a counter-clockwise 180 shuffle step and finishes with a quarter-turn L-step.
A follower's saida that continues into counter-clockwise 180 shuffle step but starts a new follower's saida on count number 6.
A follower's saida (5 steps) plus a basic three (3) after the marka step on the 5th step. The basic 3 can also be a quarter turn to help practice orientation changes.
This term refers to lanes of stepping in front of or side by side your partner, typically when walking forwards and backwards. For example, the 3rd step of the follower's saida should result in a occupying 4 of the 6 lanes.
Ambipedidexterity is a play on the word ambidexterity but applying the concept to our legs and feet. In kizomba, the leader's left foot and the follower's right foot get more attention that can lead to weaknesses on the opposing foot. Having great ambipedidexterity increases our ability for musical expression on the dance floor since the musical 8 count does not dictate the direction of our steps.
Probably the most popular PALOP country referred to in the kizomba world. The capital of Angola is Luanda.
A basic step of kizomba/semba. This step is characterized by walking in a counter-clockwise circle if the leader is walking forwards, or clockwise circle if the leader is walking backwards. In both instances the leaders left shoulder and followers right shoulder are facing inside the circle.
Coupé-décalé is a type of popular dance music originating in Côte d'Ivoire/ Ivory Coast that Ivorians started using after the rise of ndombolo. Drawing heavily from zouglou and ndombolo with African influences, coupé-décalé is a very percussive style, featuring African samples, deep bass, and repetitive minimalist arrangements.
Douceur is a french word meaning "sweetness". It is used to describe the softer, slower, melodic, and sensual songs in the urban kiz musical category. This type of music typically gets expressed by staying in a closer hold for the entirety of the song, but this is a not a hard rule at all.
This is used to describe the different types of elevations were encounter in kiz. Level 1 elevations are releves and leg lifts, level 2 elevations are when the one leg is lifted and the base leg's heel is lifted from the floor, which can be used for an axis turn.
Another very common basic step of kizomba/semba. This basic step is characterized by turning right, clockwise. This basic step can be used in combination with balance aka rock steps. As with retrocesso, this step can be done with varying degrees of circular intention.
This is used to describe a step that is taken when both feet are in a marka (together) position.
Used describe the inner tension our body creates as we rotate either the upper body or lower body out of alignment. This inner elasticity goes away once our toes, knees, hips, torso, and head are all facing the same direction.
A dance and music style that comes from Haiti.
Kuduro (or kuduru) is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola in the late 1980s.
Luanda is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Luanda and its metropolitan area is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital city in the world and the most populous Lusophone city outside Brazil, with over 8.3 million inhabitants in 2020 (a third of Angola's population).
Lusophones (Portuguese: Lusófonos) are peoples and nations that comprise an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign states and territories that recognize Portuguese as an official language.
Used to describe the collection one foot together with other foot without transferring weight. The marka step can be found on either end of basic 2 or at the top and bottom of basic 3.
Ndombolo is a music genre and dance style from the Congo that is also popular in other African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar. It is derived from kwassa kwassa and soukous.
This is a common acronym that stands for Paises Africanos de Lingua Oficial Portugues, which translates to African Counties that have Portuguese as their official language.
Another very common kizomba/semba basic step. The translation is backtracking. The move is characterized by a backwards step by the leader into a counter-clockwise turn that can include a shuffle step or a marka step depending on the degree of rotation. This is another basic step used with varying degrees of circular intention to match the circular characteristic of kizomba and semba.
The literal translation from Portuguese is exit. In the kizomba world, this is a move characterized by either the leader or follower walking on the outside of the partnership.
A traditional and partner dance and music style from Angola. Semba comes from the singular Massemba, meaning "a touch of the bellies".
A term used to describe when the leader is positioned behind the follower "as their shadow". In this position, the leader and follower would be facing the same direction, where as in a standard position the leader and follower are facing opposite directions, facing one another.
Step pockets are the space that you create in front or or behind yourself when you take a step walking forwards or backwards. The homo sapien walking backwards CREATES the step pocket and the homo sapien walking forward FILLS the step pocket.
Stud Muffin Radar is a term used to describe the intention of awareness of the follower to the leader especially during various saida variations. This intention can also be described as keeping the shoulders parallel while in a 4 lane system for saidas.
This is a very common position where the leader is perpendicular 90 degrees facing the follower's left side most commonly. There are a variety of entries and exits from this position.
The literal Portuguese translation means little screw and it represents a music and dance style,. This music is characterized by a very strong electronic sound and a heavy electronic bass. The music is produced entirely synthetically: drum machine, keyboards and vocals. The resulting music has a very heavy and pumping feel to it and is typically danced with more emphasis on isolated hip movements, undulation and steps that do not travel a lot. For some folks, this heavy base does drive movement but it is more punctuated and less melodic.
Tarraxinha music ranges from 80 - 100 BPMs (beats per minute). This is also a dance where the ladies express the music more through their hip movements. Oftentimes mistaken for grinding, the body movements are initiated with the lead's leg, hip or arm (on the ladies lower back/hips) movements. Less is more and this dance is very much about the connection between the dancers: the energy is very much focused internally. From the outside, it might sometimes look like two people standing very still while the music is playing.
A newer music and dance style that emerged as an evolution of tarraxinha. Tarraxo has also been explained as an abbreviated combination of the term Tarraxa Osteo. Osteo was used to describe this dance because the moves mimicked an osteopathic adjustment with the torso and hip isolations. Tarraxo can be danced with heavier electronic beats or also with lots of micro isolations.
A touch step is a step that is frequently found in urbankiz where the leg travels into a direction but the axis stays in place therefore only about 10% of the weight is transferred. The ball of the foot makes contact with the floor, the heels does not, and the leg is in a relaxed state to allow to maximum nimbleness.
A super common basic step of kizomba/semba. The literal translation means comma, as in the punctuation, and it describe the shape of the footwork of this basic step. There are variations of the virgula that finish with a marka or with a shuffle step but the circular "comma-like" shape of the step is present in both.
This term describes the step that can be taken from a 1-step stance either forwards or backwards, this is a typical homo sapien step bringing one foot from behind or in front, passing the other foot and continuing a half step in the original direction.
