How new-age jive socials are exposing more people to Kizomba

Over the years, Mumbai's dance community has boasted about finding their tribe while learning jive, salsa and bachata but the trend seems to be shifting with the growing interest for other dance forms and more particularly lively Afro-Latin forms like kizomba in the city.

It was International Dance Day in late April but it also happens to be Africa month every May. While people are busy dancing to Instagram reels, there is a simmering dance culture of people looking to explore Kizomba beyond the regular salsa and bachata. Kizomba is a dance form that originated in Angola in Africa popularly in the latter half of the 1900s. In fact, it is even the national heritage of the country and simply means "party". Over the years, it has travelled around the world and as Mumbai is no stranger to different and unique dance forms, the dance form has also found a home here in various parts of the city.

Popularity through social media
Vasai-based dancer and dance instructor Fadnis D'costa believes the dance form has existed in Mumbai's dance circles and community for some time now, especially after people discovered the beauty of bachata. He shares, "After bachata, many people have identified kizomba as another alternative and a fun dance form to socialise." Today, the region boasts of many dance socials that are organised regularly every other weekend to engage the dance community in showcasing their moves with one another. It is unlike a few years ago, when most dance enthusiasts had to travel to Mumbai because it wasn't publicised or popular as much as they are today.

More particularly, the Mumbaikar, who runs Time To Dance Academy, says the interest in the dance form has come about because of social media as more people want to explore it. Mostly popular among those who are over 18 years of age, he says there is no upper age limit, and that is certainly refreshing for anybody who wants to explore the dance form. D'costa himself chanced upon the dance form while teaching Mumbaikars and more particularly Vasaikars salsa and bachata.

Turning Latin nights into Afro-Latin
Elsewhere in Mira Road, Afsar Ali Khan came across kizomba a little over six years ago in 2018 and hasn't looked back ever since then. He explains, "It was accidental. Around 2015, kizomba had just started in Mumbai, I happened to do a few workshops, I liked it and tried finding out ways to learn more and started looking for options to connect with teachers around the world to learn the art form."

Since then, Khan says the dance community in the city has evolved. "Kizomba is growing and getting popular. It can be seen in the fact that what used to be Latin nights is now Afro-Latin nights in the city," adds the Mumbai dancer and dance teacher. Over time, this has even led to more social parties playing more kizomba music in the city. For that matter, even Khan's dance school, Social Dancing Culture in Mira Road, has introduced dedicated kizomba nights once every month over the last one and a half years, and over the years he has seen a lot more people attend them than before. In fact, he even speculates, "Mumbai probably also has the most number of Kizomba teachers in the country, hence the strength of kizomba dancers in Mumbai is decent."

The reason for kizomba becoming popular, believes Khan, is because most people instantly get hooked on kizomba music and they want to dance. "Kizomba has something for everyone - both in music and in dance styles. It is very vast," shares the Mumbaikar.

However, he warns that people today generalise everything as kizomba, but there are many dance styles. "On the social floor, you will see people dancing urban kiz, kizomba fusion, tarraxinha, tarraxo, konpa, douceur and of course kizomba and semba the authentic style. They are different, as dance and music." Interestingly, the dancer says kizomba as a big umbrella gives you a lot of variety and something for everyone across age groups. He has seen people largely between 25 years - 45 years take to the dance form. Apart from the fact that a large number of people who know salsa and bachata take up kizomba and that's encouraging.

The beauty of kizomba
Apart from the two dance forms, Saleen D'souza, another kizomba dancer and instructor in the city like D'costa says, "Social media has been a game changer in the growth of the Afro-Latin dance scene in Mumbai. People want to dance and find a community of like-minded people who want to dance at the end of their long work days. Social dancing is a great way for people to continue dancing who couldn't pursue dance as their profession."

The fact that kizomba music is enchanting makes the dance form even more interesting because it's all about connection. "People want to pursue interests where they don't have to stress and be at ease. The word kizomba itself means to party, and having a group of people who dance together and build connections," adds D'souza, who has been running the dance school, Kizomba Kulture with his sister Shanelle D'souza since January 2020.

"Shanelle had been learning and exploring Afro-Latin dance styles like salsa and bachata. When we came across Kizomba, we fell in love with the music, dance form and the joy it provided. There was no looking back after that day." The duo travelled internationally and trained intensively to make sure they were doing justice to the culture and dance form of another region before passing it down over here in India, says D'souza.

Not long after that, more dancers in Mumbai picked on the trend. Dsouza, who has been dancing for eight years, has only seen it grow over the years. "Kizomba isn't about what people perceive from the outside of the floor is on a couple dancing, but about how the person you share the moment with feels," he concludes.