In this post you will learn what leaders really think are the biggest mistakes followers do when they dance kizomba, kizomba fusion and urban kiz.

So, the biggest follower mistakes - this is something I really know about. I dance a lot, I teach a lot, and I give many private classes. But, to be really, really sure I also took some help from Facebook and asked this:

Leaders, in your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes followers do in their dancing? In terms of technique, attitude, anything...

I made the exact same post, but for leaders. Anyway, guys gave a bit different answers than girls did. It was more focused on technique than the answers that girls gave.

So, let’s get to it!

First mistake:

Not keeping your own balance 
This is really bad for the leader because the follower needs to rely on him for balance and it can even pull him out of balance.

There are several different reasons. Some of the reasons can be:
- Feet are too far apart in taps
- Not walking on a line
- Too...

Here you will learn what followers really think are the biggest mistakes leaders do when dancing kizomba, kizomba fusion or urban kiz. 

Originally, this was my plan - to talk about the 5 biggest leading mistakes in kizomba. I was thinking a bit more technical tips, but some other tips too. I had it all ready, I knew what I was going to talk about, but then I asked a question on my Facebook, to get a bit more insight.

“Followers, in your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes leaders do in their dancing?”

I made the exact same post, but for followers. Anyway, the answers I got from followers were a bit different from my original plan.

The answers I got related more to other things, not the actual leading, but more things like attitude, connection, feedback, musicality etc.

So, I decided to include more of that, and instead call it the five biggest leader mistakes. 

Just to be clear, this is not scientific at all, and it is not in any specific order,...

We are living in a world where social dance is currently a bit restricted, very restricted or outright forbidden. But before we ended up where we are now, kizomba and the related dances kizomba fusion and urban kiz managed to conquer the world, in just a few years. 

Recently I realised that I actually took my very first kizomba steps in 2004, with a friend from Cape Verde. She showed me the steps in a normal club. So, in PALOP communities kizomba has been present around the world for quite a long time, but I didn't start dancing kizomba until 2011 and then there were maybe just 3-5 festivals per YEAR in Europe. In 2015 I had already been travelling to teach in several different continents. So, from 2011 to 2015 we went from having 3-5 kizomba festivals per year in Europe, to having 3-5 festivals every weekend and festivals in many other places all over the world. And in 2019, it was much more. 

There are many reasons for this. I probably...

Sometimes it happens that a dancer starts going to festivals abroad and when they come home again, they are not happy with the selection of dancers, the music, the venue and other things in their local scene. I have seen it after many kizomba festivals. And I have felt it myself. Nothing is good enough anymore. It is easy to start complaining and stop going out.

I can understand it in a way. It is different. Imagine a festival with thousands of dancers and top international DJs in a fantastic venue, and then compare it with the local bar, 20 dancers and a playlist. Of course, it is not the same.

This is an excerpt from one of my books - "The Secrets of Social Dance - How to Become a Popular Dancer" which you can find on Amazon.

Go Out and Dance

But I can tell you one thing. The one thing you can do to make sure the scene doesn't get better is stopping going out. The more people who stop going out in the local scene, the worse it will get. And the more...

What makes someone into a good or great teacher, or a dance course into a good course? Of course, there are many different aspects of this, and some of them depend on why you want to take the course. If you just want to have fun, a stand-up comedian with some basic dance skills might make you a great teacher. But if we assume you really want to learn how to dance well, here are some criteria to help you pick:

This is an excerpt from one of my books - "The Secrets of Social Dance - How to Become a Popular Dancer" which you can find on Amazon.

Do they know the topic?
First of all, does the teacher know the subject? What does it tell you if a teacher offers a dance course but have never really taken a dance course themselves? What about a teacher who learned from youtube? Would you spend your money on someone who hasn’t spent their own money to learn? I am not saying it is impossible to learn on youtube, because there are classes, and there are also some...

What is the history? How did kizomba conquer the world? What are the similarities and the differences between these dances?

What is Kizomba

• It is a circular couple dance characterized by a close connection within the couple and soft and grounded movements. It has origins in Angola, but it has developed simultaneously also in other PALOP countries (former Portuguese colonies in Africa).
• Nowadays it is a dance that is danced all over the world, on all continents, and with some spin-off dances.
• It is a type of music, with influences mainly from Semba and Caribbean Zouk.
• It is a way to socialize in Angola and many PALOP countries, going to kizombadas in the backyards or bigger parties.
• The word itself means "party" in Kimbundu, a Bantu language spoken in Angola.

There is some confusion as to what really is Kizomba music. This is because the word has also become a kind of umbrella term that incorporates several different genres, including the real Kizomba, coladeira, cabo-love, ghetto...