Kizomba & Urban Kiz Classes
Our classes for you
Get an overview of our wide range of classes and book your dance lesson easily via our registration system. Registration is necessary for participation in the courses.
Kizomba Basic
Kizomba Improver
Kizomba Intermediate
Urban Kiz Improver
Urban Kiz Intermediate
Urban Kiz Advanced
Kizomba Choreo
Tarraxinha
Lady Styling
Kizomba Basic
Welcome to the amazing world of Kizomba. Kizomba is a genre of dance and a Portuguese language musical genre originating in Angola in 1984. From day one our students learn how to connect with the partner, lead and follow and of course experience the warmth of the so called “African Tango”.
Goal of the course:
- Get a strong and correct basis for developing your dance skills for the next levels.
- Discover the kizomba way.
- We say: “A good dancer, is to be recognized by the way she/he dances the basics”.
- Adquire a good basis to prepare you for the improver levels of Kizomba and Urban Kiz course.
- IMPORTANT: All Urban Kiz dancers need to learn and have a strong Kizomba basis.
Content:
- Kizomba music and dance
- Posture, Frame and connection to the partner
- The 3 basics
- Balance and Corridinho, Virgula and Retrocesso, Estrella and Clockwise, Saidas, Passadas, Cruzamento
- Posture, Grounding and Balance
- Body isolation
- Leading and following
- Musicality
- Contratempo
- Tarashh: What is Tarraxinha & Tarraxa/o?
- Dance vocabulary
So what are you waiting for?
DWG Levels:
Basic → Improver → Intermediate → Advanced
After the basic course, you can continue with the Kizomba improver level.
Kizomba
Kizomba is an amazing social dance originated in African countries such Angola, Cape Verde, among other countries, influenced by Semba dance, Compa and Zouk music becoming the new social dance sensation all over the world. It is generally attributed to Angola as the word Kizomba comes from Kimbundu (is the second-most-widely spoken Bantu language in Angola) meaning festival, party, to party.
Kizomba is also a music genre traced to late 1970 finding the core in the Angolan culture and music. It is a slow, gentle, romantic rhythm with strong African colors, Zouk and Haitian Compas. Most of the Kizomba music is sung in Portuguese, as Portugal had a big influence on the history and culture of the Angolans, and therefore also in the Kizomba evolution.
Urban Kiz
Urban Kiz dance, is a subtype of Kizomba which was born from the new Kizomba styles of music (Zouk Bass, Ghetto Zouk, etc) that the Producers brought to the market and DJs played at the parties and at festivals.
Urban Kiz is characterized by brusc changes in the rhythm and flow of the dance, lots of syncopation(contra tempo), the leading and following process is lineal and the dancers can mix between a straight/elegant posture to a relaxed one, the figures selection require a lot of technique, control of balance and body isolation(especially for tarraxinha and tarraxa/o), and the focus is usually put on total musicality and interpretation of the songs, distance between dancers, turns and spins, and flow contrasts.
Tarraxinha
Tarraxinha/Tarraxa/o (Portuguese):
Kizomba Tarraxinha is danced mostly on the spot with very smooth movements and slow leading and following. The Urban Kiz Tarraxinha is different, smooth but also brusc, slow but also fast, using sometimes motions which can only be compared with popping and locking (funk styles, also very related to hip hop). Urban Kiz Tarraxinha is not danced on the spot but the dancers move a lot, combining body leading with hands leading, and having a certain distance between the partners is common, allowing the women to improvise, move freely in the frame, and do styling.
The music is based on hard percussion and strong beats and accents, so the dance technique has evolved in this direction.
The leading and following is very elaborate, complex and particular, where the leader has many options of guiding and the follower has many body segments that activate a different movement. We (Packndance.com Methodology) always say it is like playing an instrument, as the leader is using these body segments to interpret the music with precise leading and following. But this is very hard to teach and to learn, and for this reason, we developed a system based on body isolation and precise leading and following.
Ladystyling
Kizomba or Urban Kiz Lady Styling, oh, or Love for Ladies. You’re probably wondering what it means …
Styling is a technique by which you learn: body postures and isolations, hands, typical female movements, Ginga, footwork and basic movements that a woman performs in with or without a partner.
This idea started from the desire to give the young ladies a special moment dedicated to them, a unique course. This is the basis on which we must gradually add a step, a new dance style. Styling is one of the most important defining elements in the dance floor, because it represents more than knowing the dance itself.
Kizomba or Urban Kiz Lady Styling is an open, dynamic course with a warm and fun atmosphere where our teachers will enchant you, and for an hour you will be floating in the Kizomba world.
Because the little pleasures of life are when you can do any activity in two, by yourself, we have created this special course for you. You do not believe? Let’s convince you.
Choreo Course
Kizomba or Urban Kiz- 2 months duration
For the dancers that want to perform in shows at festivals more than two months of practice is required.
It’s your time to shine!
Our choreography course offers you the possibility to do shows, perform at international festivals, be part of our DanceWithGeorge show group or just learn cool choreographies together with other dancers from our school.
Every 6 months our teachers will start a new choreography.