5 Viewpoints of Sexism in the Kizomba World

By Tanya Dimitrova

Have you read any of the Discworld novels? Terry Pratchet is brilliant! One of the most hilarious recurring characters is a suitcase with 100 legs, called the Luggage. It technically is a living creature but it has no face and nor does it talk. All it does is it faithfully follows its master as he gets into trouble all around the Discworld.

I suddenly felt just like the Luggage one morning in 2015 when I came across a promotional flyer on Facebook for a Neo Kizomba™ weekender where Charles and I were supposed to give a series of workshops and a couple of performances. Mind you, it was kind of a coincidence that I even saw this flyer because I was not mentioned or tagged anywhere on it. If fact, the YouTube demo the promoter had decided to post in the event was of Charles dancing with somebody else! (As if we didn’t have enough videos of us dancing as a couple.) It appears that the promoter considered my presence at the weekender just a part of the logistics – after all, a travelling instructor like Charles must have a suitcase, right?

Troubleshooting for Kizombeiras

By Tanya Dimitrova

As magical as kizomba can be, lots of things can and sometimes do go wrong on the dance floor. Based on my own and other dancers’ experience, I put together a list of undesirable situations and how I recommend troubleshooting each.

How to Be an Awesome Kizomba Follower (part 2)

Part 2: Weight Shifting

By Tanya Dimitrova

After having a good connection with your partner, shifting your weight correctly is the most important technique for kizomba followers. Although showing how to do that well is a lot easier than telling, there are a few points I can write about here.

How to Be an Awesome Kizomba Follower (part 1)

Part I: Connection Points

By Tanya Dimitrova

Ladies ask me all the time: ‘How do you move your hips like that? Can I come to your ladies styling workshop?’. I always answer that my hips’ movement is not the reason why guys enjoy dancing with me. There is so much more to being a good follower than the ‘ginga’ (the characteristic body wave movement, though it also refers to the sassy attitude of kizombeiras).

The kizomba styling for ladies should come naturally and match each individual lady’s innate body shape, movement and flexibility. Follower’s technique, on the other hand, can be taught and learned. That is the objective of this post.