How to choose your Kizomba teacher in Toronto

As one of the pioneers of kizomba in Toronto, I am amazed of how the kizomba dance community has evolved from the beginning. Let’s lay down some facts of this evolution and some history to better understand the current situation that we face.

First of all, let’s say in a very generic way, that kizomba originated in Angola and Cape Verde; and that it is a derivative of traditional Angolan semba and Cape Verdean coladeira. Kizomba arrived to Canada when people from the PALOP (Portuguese-speaking African countries) community migrated to this country in search of new opportunities.

From what I understand, kizomba started to be taught in Toronto in 2009 by members of the PALOP community; however, it was not until 2013 that it was popularized by the visit of Albir Rojas and Sara Lopez.

Since then, we have been blessed to have many international artists (both traditional and non-traditional) coming to Toronto to show their craft and we have grown from a community of few members and no regular socials to a community larger than 100 members and socials taking place nearly every day of the week. However, not everything is idyllic and we are not exempt from the problems that other communities face. The growth of non-qualified teachers and the decline of good leaders are problems that we share with many other cities. My advice for all new students willing to learn kizomba is that before choosing your teacher you should check his/her dance experience and ask yourself the following questions:

• How many years has your teacher been dancing kizomba?

• Is he/she a good dancer, a good teacher or both?

• Where did your teacher learn kizomba and are they constantly learning themselves?

• Does he/she know semba? Remember that kizomba comes from Semba.

• Does he/she perform and/or teach outside of Canada?

• Has he/she ever participated in congresses and/or take classes from qualified teachers that live in Europe and/or Africa?

• Has your teacher trained in Europe with the Angolan, Cape Verdean and/or Guinea-Bissauan Masters?

If the answer to any of this questions is no, I will strongly recommend you to continue looking around until you find a good teacher. At the end of the day, it is better to invest your time with a good teacher rather than waste it with a non-qualified person.