Urban Kiz

Last updated

Urban Kiz (or UrbanKiz) is a partner dance that developed in Paris during the 2010s. The dance evolved from Kizomba and incorporates various music styles such as Ghetto-Zouk, Tarraxinha, Afrobeat and remixes with R&B, Rap and Hip Hop.

Contents

History

The origin is the result of exportation of Kizomba abroad, as well the Angolan community in diaspora introduction of the Kizomba into different countries mainly Portugal, France, UK, the Netherlands and Spain during the 2000s. It was first popularized in social media sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. Dancer Moun started dancing since 2008, but was not known yet as reference as Urban Kiz. Curtis Seldon started in 2011 and Dancer Enah Lebon started in 2012. However, Urban Kiz was created in Paris somewhere during 2013. by Curtis Seldon and Cherazad (also spelled Sherazad) Benyoucef who were the first to change the way to dance. The dance still went under various names, such as Kizomba 2.0, French Style Kizomba, New Style Kizomba, because no consensus was reached on a final name. The dance style evolved influenced by music styles such as Ghetto-Zouk Tarraxa and remixes with R&B, Rap, Dance and Hip Hop. The newly created dance was still sold as Kizomba although it changed from Kizomba completely and incorporated some elements from other dances such as Tango (Steps such as Picots). After fights in 2015 the new name Urban Kiz was created and publicly announced. Though there is some controversy around the origins of the style, it's widely accepted that the brand Urban Kiz was pioneered in Paris by famous dancers Curtis Seldon, Enah Lebon and Moun. [1]

Features

Urban kiz dancers synchronize their body movement to the music by using elements that are also present in Hip Hop, such as stops, taps, and isolations. Furthermore, while in Kizomba, the dance is more grounded, in Urban Kiz, the legs are straight and the body has more tension and movement energy. The figures often require movement along straight lines or changing direction only at perpendicular angles or reversing direction. The ability to do different Urban Kiz figures also depends on the capacity of the leader and follower to apply the so-called "&-principle". [2] The &-principle means that a step forward or backward does not directly lead to a shift of body weight, but it first starts with a tap of the moving foot (10-20% of body weight on that foot) and is followed by a gradual bodyweight transfer to that foot. Pivots and pirouettes of the lady are also more common in Urban Kiz. The Urban Kiz music has many dynamic changes of pace, with transitions to a slower tempo (bridge in music), accelerations and breaks. Contratempos are also often performed and preferably in synchronization with the music. [3]

Name confusion

The name Urban Kiz was adopted in 2015 to differentiate the new dance style from Kizomba. Urban stands for the Ghetto-Zouk, Hip Hop- and RnB-inspired music it was danced to while the Kiz is there to show the influence of Kizomba, as such Urban Kiz is not the short form for Urban Kizomba. Though the name is still disputed due to the misuse of the Kiz in Urban Kiz to still sell it as Kizomba which causes misunderstanding and confusion.

International Reception

As of 2020 Urban Kiz is danced in many countries, and still spreading fast all over the world. Though the dance and culture are still most prevalent in Europe, Urban Kiz is featured annually in dozens of dance and music festivals across all six developed continents. [4]

Related Research Articles

French hip hop or French rap, is the hip hop music style developed in French-speaking countries. France is the second largest hip-hop market in the world after the United States.

The music of Haiti combines a wide range of influences drawn from the diverse population that has settled on this Caribbean island. It often has hints of French, African rhythms, Spanish elements and others who have inhabited the island of Hispaniola and minor native Taino influences. Styles of music unique to the nation of Haiti include music derived from rara parading music, twoubadou ballads, mini-jazz rock bands, rasin movement, hip hop Creòle, the wildly popular compas, and méringue as its basic rhythm. Haitian music is influenced mostly by European colonial ties and African migration. In the case of European colonization, musical influence has derived primarily from the French.

The music of Martinique has a heritage which is intertwined with that of its sister island, Guadeloupe. Despite their small size, the islands have created a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Martinique and Guadeloupe. Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Martinique and Guadeloupe, especially Martinican chouval bwa, and Guadeloupan gwo ka. There's also notable influence of the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition and Haitian kompa.

The music of Guadeloupe encompasses a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Guadeloupe and Martinique. Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Guadeloupe and Martinique, especially Guadeloupan gwo ka and Martinican chouval bwa, and the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition.

In France, music reflects a diverse array of styles. In the field of classical music, France has produced several prominent romantic composers, while folk and popular music have seen the rise of the chanson and cabaret style. The oldest playable musical recordings were made in France using the earlist known sound recording device in the world, the phonautograph, which was patented by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1857. France is also the 5th largest market by value in the world, and its music industry has produced many internationally renowned artists, especially in the nouvelle chanson and electronic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Cape Verde</span>

Cape Verde is known internationally for morna, a form of folk music usually sung in the Cape Verdean Creole, accompanied by clarinet, violin, guitar and cavaquinho. Funaná, Coladeira, Batuque and Cabo love are other musical forms.

Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, between the late 1980s and 1990s. It is a variant of house music that features the use of African sounds and samples. Kwaito songs occur at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music and often contain catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, deep bass lines and vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kizomba</span> Music and dance genre from Angola

Kizomba is a social dance and music genre that originated in Angola during late 1970s to early 1980s. Kizomba is a national heritage of Angola and means "party" in Kimbundu. Traditionally, kizomba was danced with family, friends, and acquaintances in social settings such as parties and weddings, but is nowadays also enjoyed in clubs as well as other settings such as Kizomba Na Rua that are popular in Luanda.

New Zealand hip hop derives from the wider hip hop cultural movement originating amongst African Americans in the United States. Like the parent movement, New Zealand hip hop consists of four parts: rapping, DJing, graffiti art and breakdancing. The first element of hip hop to reach New Zealand was breakdancing, which gained notoriety after the release of the 1979 movie The Warriors. The first hip hop hit single, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, became a hit in New Zealand when it was released there in 1980, a year after it was released in the United States. By the middle of the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti art were established in urban areas like Wellington and Christchurch. By the early 1990s, hip hop became a part of mainstream New Zealand culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hip hop dance</span> Street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music

Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States. The television show Soul Train and the 1980s films Breakin', Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop dance mainstream exposure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuduro</span> Music genre from Angola

Kuduro is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola, in the late 1980s. Producers sampled traditional carnival music like soca and zouk béton from the Caribbean to Angola, techno and accordion playing from Europe and laid this around a fast four-to-the-floor beat.

The coladeira is a music genre from the Cape Verde islands in the central Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K.I.Z</span> German hip hop group

K.I.Z is a German hip hop group from Berlin consisting of the rappers Tarek, Nico and Maxim. Until 2018, DJ Craft was also part of the group. Their lyrics often contain a lot of dark humor and irony as well as sociocritical content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admiral T</span> French singer of reggae-dancehall music (born 1981)

Christy Campbell, known by the stage name Admiral T, is a French singer, rapper, songwriter, DJ, and actor. He is one of the most popular and successful Guadeloupean singers. He is also a designer and the creator of the clothing trademark WOK LINE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bachata (dance)</span> Social dance from the Dominican Republic

Bachata is a style of social dance from the Dominican Republic which is now danced all over the world. It is connected with bachata music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizio</span> Musical artist

Elizio, aka Mister ODC is a singer-songwriter born in Angola in 1979, of Cape Verdean origin. Revealed with the title 10 fois, 100 fois featuring Perle Lama in 2003, Elizio quickly meets his first big solo success with Melodia which leads him to the top of the zouk scene. The artist then connects the tubes and expands his musical universe with more than 70 titles, ranging from general dancefloor with sounds like Bad Man on Kizomba with Angel or Make love on tempo in particular, through the kuduro as Sabi Di Mas.

Brazilian Zouk is a partner dance which began in Brazil during the early 1990s. Brazilian Zouk evolved from the partner dance known as the Lambada. Over time, Zouk dancers have experimented and incorporated other styles of music into such as R'n'B, pop, hip hop and contemporary.

Tarraxinha is a dance and music genre that originated in Angola in the province of Benguela.

References

  1. ↑ Enah Lebon (2015-07-26), KIZOMBA introduce URBAN KIZ , retrieved 2018-10-31
  2. ↑ Kramp, K.H. (2021-09-08). URBAN KIZ: A new vision on partner dance - Ch. Technique. Kelvin Kramp. ISBN   9789090344300 . Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  3. ↑ B.M MUSICTV (2015-05-21), URBAN KIZ ?? Interview with Eddy Vents & Moun , retrieved 2018-10-31
  4. ↑ "Kizomba World Official Kizomba Festivals Calendar". Kizomba World - Kizomba Festivals Calendar - Artists Dancers Dj's. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.