Close your eyes to eliminate visual distraction
Kizombatreat Festival: A Dialogue on Upper and Lower Body Connection in Partner Dance
Introduction: Between June 3 and 5 of this year (2022), the first Kizombatreat Festival took place at Etage Tropical in Ghent. Often, we highlight the importance of Etage Tropical within the kizomba community and how we were instrumental 15 years ago in spreading this Angolan dance in Belgium. Together with Jose Garcia Ndongola from Angola, we put kizomba on the map in Belgium.
Kizomba Love laid the foundation, and from there, this specific dance scene grew and developed, with Urban Kizomba emerging slightly later in Paris. Etage Tropical, primarily a distributor of the authentic kizomba style, soon embraced the French influence, offering dancers lessons during a structured school year, as well as various monthly workshops, social dance events, and festivals. Rabbil Ngwije from Burundi, trained by José Garcia Ndongola, mastered authentic kizomba as an expert. Today, he organizes festivals, and Etage Tropical was privileged to serve as the base for this event.
The event was a hit, attracting the best kizomba dancers from across Europe to Ghent.
During the festival, I met DJ Rockkizomba and his wife, Giedre Lapaite, who run a dance school in Frankfurt and were featured performers at the festival. In their quest for perfectly executed kizomba, Giedre explained the importance of dancing with closed eyes to foster better partner connection.
Why body connection is important for both leaders and followers:
At the festival, I noticed many leaders dancing with their eyes closed. Giedre offered an explanation: the primary goal of closing one’s eyes is to eliminate visual stimuli, thereby focusing more on touch, sensation, and emotion. Visual distractions can disrupt the connection with one’s dance partner. Closing the eyes allows dancers to fully engage with their partner and avoid external distractions.
The role of touch in dance, particularly with the upper body: Chest connection versus arm connection
1. **Chest connection:** Upper body connection without using the arms. Through this type of connection: a. Leaders communicate weight shifts to followers (e.g., from left to right). b. Emotional expression enhances the aesthetic of the dance. c. The atmosphere of the dance determines its dynamics and style.
2. **Arm connection:** Only the arms are engaged, similar to the body frame in the Viennese Waltz, where movement is guided by a rigid arm frame.
Both types of connections provide a structured framework for movement. The upper body establishes the outer frame of the shared movement, uniting both dancers into one cohesive entity.
An equally critical function of the upper body is guiding the dance direction. In salsa, for example, the upper body directs the follower towards the intended movement.
The lower body, particularly the legs, initiates movement. Lower body connection reinforces the upper body’s impulses.
Each part of the lower body plays a significant role:
1. **Hips:** For followers, hips add a feminine flair to the movement.
2. **Knees:** Knees help guide the direction of movement, as kizomba originates from the ground up. Knees influence hip movement and contribute to a fluid or firm style, depending on the dance (e.g., tango versus bachata).
3. **Feet:** Foot connection is vital in kizomba, bachata, and quickstep. The leader’s foot guides the follower’s foot through subtle movements.
There’s much more to explore about achieving perfect body contact. Closing the eyes creates intimacy—whether while embracing, kissing, or dancing. It is a natural impulse to block out the rest of the world and focus on the connection with one another. At DanceOrientation, we’ve only scratched the surface of this topic, but this is a great starting point.
Image Description
**Photo 1:** A dance couple, with a white follower and an African leader, intimately connected through arm connection. The leader’s head leans against the follower’s head. The leader’s eyes are closed. The background is lit in blue.
**Photo 2:** A dance couple, with a white follower and an African leader, connected through chest connection. The leader’s chin rests against the follower’s forehead. The leader’s eyes are closed. The follower wears a bright red dress against a blue background.
**Photo 3:** A different dance couple, again with a white follower and an African leader. This time, the follower’s closed eyes and the leader’s back are visible. They are intimately connected through arm connection.
**Photo 4:** Rabbil conducting a dance workshop with his assistant, who has her arms spread wide. He stands behind her in an embrace, in the center of Etage Tropical’s dance floor. Surrounding them are other dance couples in a large, yellow-lit hall. The Etage Tropical logo is visible in the background.
**Photo 5:** A tall African leader dancing with a petite Asian follower, noticeable for her large tattoo on her right arm. Her eyes are closed as the leader smiles warmly at her. In the background, many other dance couples are visible amidst yellow and blue lighting.
**Photo 6:** Another African leader dances with the same Asian follower. They connect through their sides, with the leader pressing his knee against hers—a classic knee connection found in tango and bachata.
**Photo 7:** A smartphone captures a dancing couple. The festival’s predominant color theme is bright pink and purple.
**Photo 8:** A logo featuring Giedre and DJ Rockkizomba. Giedre is a white woman with long blonde hair, and her bearded husband is of German descent. The logo is yellow on a pink-purple background.
**Video 1:** Giedre and DJ Rockkizomba perform a workshop demo at the center of the dance floor. They demonstrate three types of connection: head, arm, and hip. Depending on the music, the leader moves his arms across her back. They are surrounded by workshop participants.
**Video 2:** Giedre discusses connection while seated in the Etage Tropical dance studio, holding her one-year-old daughter on her lap.
**Video 3:** Giedre continues the discussion on connection from the same location.
