Kizomba Music and Dance

Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 2020

The couple dance popularly known as kizomba became fashionable in the 1980s in the Portuguese-speaking "African" 2 communities living in Africa and Europe sharing transnational ties. It was danced to zouk music from the West Indies (Guilbault, 1993) and derived from musical styles produced by artists from the PALOPs 3 (Cidra, 2010a) that entered into popularity in that period. Musical hits developed by artists from the French Antilles, produced in Paris and labelled as zouk became a great success from the 1980s onwards in France, parts of West Africa, America, Asia and certain cities in Europe through transnational connections. By the 1990s, the most emblematic Antillean zouk band, Kassav, was touring Portuguese-speaking Africa and fostering the already existing passion for their music in that region.

Atlantic Studies, 2020

The partner dance kizomba became fashionable in the eighties in Portuguese-speaking Africa and its European diasporas. Its commodification in Portugal in the late nineties turned it into a global craze, supported by a linear story: Angola is the source of kizomba, and Lisbon, its international capital. This essay moves beyond the methodological nationalism and the post-imperial geographical concept, lusofonia, that supports this narrative. Examining instead the circulation of people and practices through sites conceptualized as "hubs," I present kizomba as a transnational field of practices deriving from deep histories of transoceanic, inter-African connections. Presenting Lisbon as the main hub for kizomba during the eighties and nineties, I develop the idea of the transnational dance floor, webbed across cities and connected through transnational ties that challenge postimperial and linguistic geographies. Thus, despite the essay's ostensible Lisbon-centrism, I propose building collaborative geographies whereby transnational phenomena such as kizomba may best be examined. KEYWORDS Kizomba; lusofonia; transnational field; hub; postcolonial Africa; dance floor; Angolan-ness; postocolonial Lisbon; social dance; popular music [T]he risk of methodological nationalism can only be counteracted if transnational fields are investigated "bottom-up," across the different nodes or hubs that link people, spaces, institutions and organisations in the complex multi-encoded world. 1

The Sage International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture (edited by Janet Sturman) , 2019

Kizino dance originates from the SouthWestern region of Uganda among the Bakiga ethnic group. It is characterized by music, vigorous strength, stamina, and agility for both female and male members of the community. The transmission process of this dance has been conducted mostly by experienced dancers trained either from folk-dance groups or through the local ways of transmitting dance (community events of practice) such as weddings, birthdays, and other

The Sage International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture (edited by Janet Sturman), 2019

The purpose of this study on Angolan modern contemporary performance is to provide an introductory understanding of the production of music and creative practice in the development of Angolan history and its narrative in the postcolonial context. This contribution represents a groundbreaking creative investigation of Angolan performance and its understanding in ethnomusicology.

3rd International Conference on new Music Concepts , 2016

The music-dance culture of Dagbon, in Northern Ghana, functions in symbioses with social, religious and traditional political structures of each Dagomba community, and is linked to the extended family clans. In this part of Africa, music, dance, sound, movement, and sentiment are strongly connected to each other, often through rituals and annual festivals. The dynamics of music making in Northern Ghana is currently characterized by a transformation- and hybridization process between traditional and popular urban music making. This leads to new intercultural dynamics and cultural identities between Hiplife, contemporary Highlife, a reggae revival, Bollywoodish and Nollywood’s influences and in particular “The Sahelian Factor“ in music making.

This paper discusses the extent to which Kwaito dance music embodies the socio-cultural practices of urban post-apartheid South Africa. The paper attempts to address the musical and cultural influences behind the conception of the genre; including a look at the significance of technology and the DJ culture in its early developments. The paper will also provide a comparative analysis exemplifying some of the prominent features, both musical and visual, present in Kwaito that demonstrate three pertinent socio-cultural practices of the township youth. The visual analysis is concerned with exploring dance performance and meaning through music videos and further address the significance of dance within the African society. In addition, this paper will seek to understand the genre’s reception during a very significant period in South Africa’s history and a look at the differing views on its enculturation into the society.

IJRISS, 2024

This study investigates the theory and methodology of researching, understanding, and appreciating the music and dance traditions of Africa, emphasizing the need for indigenous perspectives. The discourse examined extensive scholarly works and theories related to African music and dance, focusing on contributions from both African and non-African researchers. It addresses misconceptions held by non-African researchers and highlights the contributions of African scholars in rectifying these views. The study underscores the distinction between "geo-Africa," which focuses on the distribution and material culture of African ethnicities, and "eco-Africa," which examines the relationship between human activities and the environment. African scholars argue for the importance of their voices in African cultural studies, as they are better positioned to understand and explain their traditions. The study concludes that African voices have significantly advanced the theory and method in this field, promoting a comprehensive and culturally relevant approach to researching, understanding, and appreciating African music and dance.

“Angolanidade revisited”, Kuduro, available at: http://norient.com/en/academic/kuduro/, 2011

This article explores the role of Kuduro, the popular Angolan electronic music and dance style in the process of updating the national Angolan identity called angolanidade to the conditions of the new millennium.

2000

and the Federal University in Maranhao in Brazil. He has broadened his knowledge about world music while working for the Smithsonian Institution researching and coordinating Cultural Programs for the National Festival of American Folk Life. As a scholar, he is best known for his contributions in the field of traditional African music m the continent and in diaspora. Dr. Kazadi's experience extends to the urban music in Zaire and in Brazil. He is the author of several works in this domain, including Bantu Contribution in Brazilian Popular Music, Characteristics Criteria in the Vocal Music of the Luba-Shankadi Children, and African Children's Songs for American Elementary Schools. Dr. Kazadi is fluent in several languages, including French and Portuguese. Dr. Kazadi teaches numerous courses, including Music as a World Phenomenon, African Music and Culture, Introduction to Ethnomusicology, Seminar in Music of the Americas, Seminar in Music of Africa, and Seminar in Ethnomusicology. He is also director of the African Ensemble.