Ladies & Leadership Interview: Lucia Nogueira

Lucia Nogueira is an international kizomba teacher with the distinction of being one of the very few women teaching on her own merits. While she has partnered most famously with Eddy Vents, she has a huge number of solo projects, including training programs specifically for female teachers.

By the time I met Lucia for the first time, we had already had several extended conversations online. From the role of women in the kizomba world to teaching strategies to business development, we had so much to talk about!

Interview avec Anaïs Millon (Version Francaise)

Read the article in English here.

Quand as-tu commencé à danser?

J’ai un parcours un peu particulier. Ma mère était professeur de danse classique et de modern-jazz quand j’étais petite.

Ladies & Leadership Interview: Anaïs Millon

Introduction

Anaïs Millon is one of the top kizomba dancers in the world today. She travels the world constantly, appearing in festivals to teach workshops and perform with Morenasso, in addition to running her own weekly classes in Paris.

Ladies & Leadership Interviews: Isa Belle

I met Isabelle (or Isa Belle as she is sometimes billed) at the Ladies Take the Lead event in Los Angeles this March. I had seen a great ladies’ styling video by her, and I remembered a couple videos with Enah, but I knew they weren’t dancing together anymore. That was about the extent of my familiarity with Isabelle – and maybe it’s the same for you.

That’s a shame, because this lady deserves recognition for her part in shaping what is now being called Urban Kiz. I’m featuring Isabelle not as a lady who leads kizomba, but as someone who was a leader in developing what has become a very popular style. I’m only one small voice, but isn’t it worth trying to see that ladies get credit once in a while?

Ladies & Leadership Interview: Frances Tee of Kizomba Seattle

Introduction

I was in Seattle a month ago, and had the great pleasure of meeting Frances Tee in person for the first time. We had been in contact on Facebook for well over a year, and I have admired Frances’ organizational skills pretty much since encountering her posts online.

Frances is one of the women I had in mind when I started this series. She is passionate about kizomba, takes her learning seriously, selflessly gives of her time and risks her own money in order to bring quality outside instruction to the Seattle area. She is a fantastic teacher herself. Frances is without a doubt one of the top people supporting kizomba’s growth in the USA, yet she receives little recognition for it, proportionally speaking.

Ladies & Leadership Interviews: Kianda T

I first met Kianda T at one of Oscar’s Friday kizomba socials outside DC. She was rocking multi-colored hair and her movement drew my eye immediately. She was a joy to lead as well. We didn’t speak much on that occasion (the music is really too loud for comfortable conversation), but I got a better chance at her Skyzomba event last spring. As a student of Petchu and a strong female teacher and leader, I knew Kianda would be perfect for this series. I wasn’t prepared for how inspiring that interview would prove to be!

Ladies & Leadership Interviews: Tania Mendonca

Introduction

I’m embarrassed to say I can’t remember exactly when I met Tania. Certainly it would have been in the fall of 2012, when I was living outside London and frantically trying to learn all the kizomba I possibly could. I saw her several times over the course of that year I spent in Europe, and I remember her being classy, poised, and very well-liked – in fact, impressively well spoken of by everybody. One occasion stands out to me – I had been in Dublin for a month or two and was invited to a party in a part of town I didn’t know. I got lost but finally turned up to find the social dancing in full swing. Tania was in the thick of it, never leaving the dance floor, leading and following and lighting up the room with her smile. I was thrilled when she came and invited me, leading me masterfully around the floor in a firm hold.

Ladies & Leadership Interviews: Chalianna

Introduction
I first met Chalianna at Oscar’s first Sawa Sawa Kizomba Festival in 2013, now an annual event in DC. She was the only other woman I saw out on the social floor asking ladies to dance. I was thrilled when she agreed to dance with me as well! Chalianna is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches all over the country with Yair. She’s also soon to be featured at Kizomba All Star’s Ladies Take the Lead event.

Her interview proved to be less about her individual leadership role and more about appreciating equal partnership with Yair – the kind of partnership I would love to see become the standard in our American kizomba community.

Ladies & Leadership Interview: Riquita Alta

Introduction

The first time I danced with Riquita Alta was just a few weeks ago. I was visiting friends in London, so of course I wanted to return to one of the longest-running weekly socials: Chocolate Tuesdays at Gem Bar. Looking at that week’s Facebook event, I noticed that Riquita would be teaching a semba class. I had to go. I rearranged my plans and rushed out into the rainy night.

Having spent several months in 2012 and 2013 training and teaching in and around London, I had of course heard of Riquita, and caught a glimpse of her at social dances. With the overwhelming number of venues and instructors, however, she’d never much held my attention until after I’d returned to the USA. We chatted briefly on Facebook several months ago about leading as a woman, and that pushed me at last to her class in London. I quickly realized to my regret how much I’d been missing. Riquita has an easy teaching style, confidently and clearly explaining and demonstrating for her students. Even in leading me through some simple steps later on the social floor, her mastery was clear.

Ladies & Leadership Interviews: Sonja KikiZomba

Click here for an introduction to the Ladies & Leadership series.

I ran into Sonja KikiZomba at LIKE Festival in Portugal this September. She had just finished teaching a workshop on Kizomba Advanced Leading and Following. The whole event was tightly scheduled, but I gave her my card and begged an opportunity to speak with her about being a prominent female kizomba teacher. Sonja was kind enough to work with me to find a time amidst both our traveling and changing time zones to schedule a chat. Below is my compilation of what I learned from interviewing with her; quotations are revived from my notes. Any errors are my own.