Kizomba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kizomba is one of the most popular styles of dance and music in the lusophone African countries. Sung in Portuguese or Portuguese creole, it is a genre of music with a romantic flow mixed with African rhythm. The kizomba dancing style is also known to be very sensual.
Kizomba is native to Angola, with influences from other lusophone countries. It is also performed in other lusophone African countries and Portugal. It is known for having a slow, insistent, somewhat harsh, yet sensuous rhythm, and is considered to be a fusion of semba (a predecessor of samba) with other musical styles. It is ideally danced accompanied by a partner, very smoothly and slowly, though not too tightly. A rather large degree of flexibility in the knees is required, owing to the frequent requirement that dancers bob up and down in a manner reminiscent of a music-hall policeman.
The influence of Angolan kizomba is felt in most Portuguese Africa, but also Portugal (mostly in Lisbon and surrounding suburbs such as Amadora or Almada), where communities of immigrants have established clubs centered on the genre in a renewed kizomba style. Kizomba is now also quite popular among white people that come to these clubs in growing numbers.
In Angola most clubs are based in Luanda. Famous Angolan kizomba musicians include Don Kikas, Calo Pascoal and Irmãos Verdade, among many others, but Bonga is probably the best known Angolan artist, having helped popularize the style both in Angola and Portugal during the 1970s and 1980s.
The Sãotomean kizomba is very similar to the Angolan, Juka is the most notable among the Sãotomeans, but it is also one of the most notable performers in the genre.
The Capeverdean version of kizomba is called pasada, kola-zouk, zouk-love or cabo-love. It is divergent from Angolan kizomba due to the language used (often Capeverdean Creole instead of Portuguese), a somewhat more romantic Capeverdean kizomba is the sub-genre named Cabo love. Although all these varieties are often just known as "kizomba" by the public. Suzanna Lubrano is one of the most successful among Cape verdean performers considered in 2003 as the best African performer, other known Cape verdeans are Gil Semedo, Philip Monteiro, Gama and Tó Semedo. Notable emigrant Capeverdean singers within this tradition live in Portugal and in the Netherlands.
The Nha África - Paixão e Ritmo (mixed Portuguese and Portuguese Creole for My Africa, Passion and Rhythm) compilation album, launched in Portugal in 2005, is a successful collection of Angolan and Cape Verdean romantic kizomba songs. Other successeful former release is Lusodance.
