I’ve written many posts about, among other topics, issues in the Kizomba scene, but I’ve only touched briefly on social media on our vision for a sustainable, quality, diverse scene. As most of what we teach, do and say, and the many events we organize are guided by this vision, we felt it would be prudent to lay out our vision to make it convenient for others to read and understand, particularly as we are now embarking on our first festival, the purpose of which is to support our vision. This manifesto is a result.

Before I lay out our vision, it is helpful to first speak on the current state of the scene as we’ve experienced it to give some context and perspective.   Currently, as far as we can see, most folks in the Kizomba scene worldwide are divided into “camps”. On one side, we have what I will call “Traditionalists”. On the other side, we have what I will call “Revolutionaries”. What do these terms mean? I’m glad you asked! As a disclaimer, there are always exceptions to any “label” or “category” as humans are ever-changing free-thinking beings capable of doing the unexpected, but to help provide context, it’s prudent to define these terms.

For purposes of this document, a “Traditionalist” is someone who strongly favors a dance style and music that some would call “traditional” (though the term is misleading which I will touch on later). On the music side, a Traditionalist generally favors Kizomba (aka “traditional” Kizomba aka Kizomba) Semba, and Zouk (not B-Zouk the dance, but the music Zouk from the French Caribbean) over Ghetto Zouk, etc. The most hardcore Traditionalists strongly dislike Ghetto Zouk, Tarraxinha, Remixes, electronic Instrumentals, and anything of that nature, though there are some more moderate Traditionalists who also like some Ghetto Zouk/Tarraxinha but not Remixes or Instrumentals. Most Traditionalists will prefer to hear mostly Kizomba, Semba, Zouk, or Afrohouse at a Kizomba party. On the dance side, Traditionalists favor dancing in what some call a “Traditional” manner, which generally means dancing with a strong Semba influence (which herein I will refer to as Kizomba, as opposed to a “new style”/”evolution”/etc. of Kizomba). The most hardcore Traditionalists strongly dislike “new styles” of dancing Kizomba to Ghetto Zouk, Instrumentals, Remixes, etc. that are developing in places such as France (more on “new styles” later).

For purposes of this document, a “Revolutionary” is someone who strongly favors “new style” dancing, and therefore the music that fits with “new style” dancing. So on the music side, a Revolutionary will prefer Ghetto Zouk, Remixes, Instrumentals, and music of that nature. The most hardcore Revolutionaries may even prefer dancing to contemporary music that isn’t related to Kizomba at all, and dislike any music that sounds too “traditional”, though there are more moderate Revolutionaries who like some Kizomba/Semba/Zouk in small doses. On the dance side, Revolutionaries favor dancing in one or more of the many “new styles” that are currently developing and go by many different names with different fusions and influences and varying Kizomba/Semba foundation (more on that later).

In our experience, many in these two camps fight and argue quite a bit, and they are so divided that at many festivals in Europe there are separate music rooms for Traditionalists and Revolutionaries and there are many who will never leave one room to go to the other. There are even completely separate festivals that cater only to one camp or the other and very few in one camp will attend festivals catering to the other. So we have arguably thousands of people who dance Kizomba that either can’t or won’t dance with each other.   To literally add insult to injury, there is a great deal of fighting occurring, most notably on social media, which has at times taken a very ugly turn with folks hurling nasty insults and even personal attacks at each other. To us, this is a problem.

But why are they fighting so much? I’m glad you asked!

The main complaint we’ve seen and heard from Traditionalists and sympathizers is that many of the Revolutionaries are misappropriating and misrepresenting Angolan/PALOP culture, and the main response we’ve seen from Revolutionaries is that folks should be free to be creative, and dance and express their art as they see fit. To be fair, both groups have some valid concerns and points.

I’ve written about this at length in previous posts so I won’t rewrite them here, but there are many Revolutionaries who have not taken the time to actually learn Kizomba and Semba (both the music and dance), instead attempting to fill in the gaps in their knowledge and ability using whatever dance background they already have and or by simply making things up (I call it “Tangoxinhazoukchata” or a “mutation”) and calling it “Kizomba” or a permutation thereof to capitalize on the marketing power of the word. Often a YouTube search for “Kizomba” will result in a long list of videos of dancing that looks nothing like Kizomba to those for whom this dance is a part of their culture. Often the movement in these videos is either flat out wrong, or overly sexualized. In addition, marketing for Kizomba often portrays the dance as “sexy” or “sensual”, which not only turns off many who would otherwise want to learn Kizomba, but also is highly offensive to Angolans and other PALOPS who know Kizomba (and Semba) as family-friendly dances.

And to top it off, the most hardcore Revolutionaries go so far as to say they are not simply “evolving” the dance, but “revolutionizing” or “taking over” Kizomba, even though their actual knowledge of Kizomba is minimal at best . Others have gone so far as to attempt to rename whole genres of music that they did not create to suit their marketing interests. Many of these Revolutionaries claim they have a “new style” or “evolution” of Kizomba (though in my opinion many are simply “mutations” of Kizomba) in order to sidestep responsibility to actually learn Kizomba (and Semba), but insist on taking advantage of not only the marketing power of the word Kizomba, but also the relative lack of knowledge of students who often pay to learn something they later realize isn’t remotely related to Kizomba. So we definitely understand how and why many Traditionalists are so frustrated, and we empathize with their concerns. However, some have ventured far away from reasonable constructive criticism and resorted to name-calling and outright personal attacks, which we think are generally counterproductive, and tend to obscure valid concerns with unconstructive vitriol which turns off many people from wanting to learn Kizomba/Semba and discourages others from supporting Kizomba/Semba events because of all the negative energy.

On the other hand, there are artists who, after taking the time to learn Kizomba and Semba and developing a solid foundation, started experimenting and adapting them to music such as Ghetto Zouk and Instrumentals that started to be created more and more by musicians and DJs. This experimentation resulted in what some have called “evolutions” of the dance. The most popular styles born of this experimentation are generally collectively referred to as “French Style” (though as I’ve written before, this is not necessarily the best term as not everyone in France dances the same way). The most established of these styles are currently known by various names such as Urban Kiz and Kizomba 2.0, though we usually just call it “new style” (we don’t use the term “new style” for “mutations”). We have trained with the creators of these two styles, and we can attest that the creators of these styles in particular have a very solid foundation and dance Kizomba and Semba very well.

So… what is Kizomba Harmony’s stance? Well, we’re both Traditionalist and Revolutionary, and we’re neither. We are firmly in the middle, as though we believe everyone who purports to teach Kizomba should be CONTINUALLY working to develop a solid foundation in Kizomba and Semba (as well as the music and culture) and imparting that knowledge to students, we also appreciate certain “new styles” based on that solid foundation. We feel it’s entirely possible to do both Kizomba and “new style” (as we do both), but that all should have that strong foundation of Kizomba/Semba no matter what “style” they prefer.

Why is the foundation important?

It’s important to understand a few things about Kizomba/Semba. The key to dancing Kizomba (or any African dance) well isn’t moves or tricks, but learning how to MOVE, and that means learning to move in an African manner. This is what gives people that “feel” that makes dancing awesome and is the true hallmark of an advanced dancer. Also, Kizomba, both the music and dance, come from Semba, so learning Semba is a big help in learning to dance Kizomba well. In addition, what’s sometimes referred to as “traditional” Kizomba “style” isn’t really a “style” of Kizomba, it IS KIZOMBA, and is the foundation of any legitimate “new style”.  And although dancing “new style” well does require a new skill set in addition to the Kizomba/Semba foundation, to dance at the highest level that foundation is essential to “feel” right, as I’ve gone over at length in previous blogs.  For this reason, among others, we make it a point to not only emphasize the importance of this Kizomba/Semba foundation in our classes and events, but also to promote African dance and culture as well.  It’s important to note however, that when I speak on Semba foundation I’m referring to “social” Semba as opposed to Semba “show”, which is primarily meant for shows and emphasizes lots of tricks and showing off that isn’t entirely appropriate for a crowded dance floor.

So why learn “new style” at all, instead of only learning Kizomba/Semba?

Well, why not?  Why limit yourself?  Besides, it’s SUPER FUN!  As music evolves and changes, so does dance to adapt to and interpret the music. So, though the strong Kizomba/Semba foundation is necessary to dance “new style” at an elite level, the technique and musicality for “new style” isn’t entirely the same. Dancing “new style” requires not only an expanded sense of musicality, but also a new skill set to implement said musicality.  But why learn the additional skill set?  Because unlocking these new levels of musicality enables us to fully interpret and express ourselves when dancing to many popular new songs being made today and played in parties around the world. “New style” dancing, as well as the music this style is danced to (Ghetto Zouk, Instrumentals, etc.), is extremely popular worldwide, and for good reason! Learning to dance “new style” in addition to Kizomba/Semba not only makes one a more well-rounded and versatile dancer and levels up one’s lead/follow ability considerably, but also ensures that one can go anywhere in the world to dance and fit in immediately and enjoy great dances. Some critics say that dancing “new style” is all about tricks and showing off (though that sounds a lot like Semba “show” as well doesn’t it?), but the truth is, dancing “new style” doesn’t have to be about tricks at all, and I’ve had many very excellent and connected “new style” dances without doing many moves at all!

What we have found in our experience is that folks can learn both Kizomba/Semba and “new style” at the same time with proper training and practice, as we can readily attest to as we train in both, and teach both to our students.  Contrary to what some have tried to assert, the two are NOT completely separate dances and are NOT mutually exclusive!  In fact, our teaching methodology aims to give our students the tools to allow our students to dance to ANY music played at Kizomba parties, from Semba to Remixes, and to dance in whatever style they prefer based on the music while eventually finding their own personal style.

So we do not see an issue with teachers who have a strong foundation being creative and expressing themselves as the music speaks to them and teaching students to do the same as long as they also teach Kizomba/Semba foundation as well and teach their students the difference between the two.  But we do however see an issue with folks who do not have a solid enough foundation trying to pass off their lack of knowledge as a “new style” and teaching it to others using the name “Kizomba” or any permutation thereof such as “Kiz”, etc., because this often results in “mutations” and many of the shenanigans I referred to above that have escalated tensions in the scene.

So… the million dollar question… what is Kizomba Harmony’s vision for the scene?

Our vision for the scene is one where all teachers focus not only on marketing and commercial interests, but make learning Kizomba/Semba, the dance, the music, and the culture associated with African dance a PRIORITY, and teach that to their students as well, no matter what style they personally prefer. Where people, even those with a more Revolutionary lean, appreciate and learn Kizomba/Semba foundation and African dance and culture in general. Where people, even those with a more Traditionalist lean, can learn, or at least appreciate “new styles” based on that strong foundation. Where instead of a divide, everyone who dances Kizomba can dance with each other because all have a common foundation. Where at parties and festivals DJs play a mixture of ALL types of music, instead of only playing music associated with their preferred style of dancing, and everyone can dance with each other in one room without any issues. Where there isn’t major division in the scene because all respect each other regardless of what styles they prefer, and everyone feels welcome to come out dancing and have a good time. Where Angolans/PALOPS do not feel that their culture has been disrespected, and dancers feel free to express themselves on the dance floor without judgment, and therefore a great cultural exchange is facilitated through dance!

We are blessed to have the support of many in the dance community (including members of the Angolan/PALOPS community) who support our vision of a unified scene, and we will continue working tirelessly to build a scene we can all enjoy and be proud of. I will finish this manifesto with something I wrote a few weeks ago during a particularly negative time of conflict in the scene. I call it “Imagine a Scene”. It is my hope that it and this manifesto as a whole will reinvigorate those who already share our vision, and will inspire others to join us in our quest to find a friendly equilibrium, a happy balance, a Kizomba… Harmony.

IMAGINE A SCENE

Imagine a scene where most folks come to Kizomba socials and dance with everyone, whether they’re big, small, tall, short, white, black, purple, old, or young.

Imagine a scene where beginners feel welcome and not overly intimidated or snubbed by instructors and more advanced dancers.

Imagine a scene where instructors make learning their craft and professional development a priority over commercial interests, and invest their time and resources accordingly.

Imagine a scene where DJs similarly respect their craft, continually investing in learning about ALL music played at Kizomba parties, and playing, with competence and care, a mix of music that all dancers on the floor can enjoy.

Imagine a scene, where not only out of respect for the culture associated with Kizomba, but also out of the practical necessity of strong fundamentals, Kizomba instructors teach their students how to recognize, appreciate, and dance to actual Kizomba music, as well as other genres of music played at Kizomba parties.

Imagine a scene where instructors take the time to truly learn Kizomba (and Semba) before creating “new styles”, thereby ensuring that all new styles are based on a strong foundation.

Imagine a scene where every Kizomba dancer can dance with one another without a problem, regardless of who they learned from, or what style they prefer, because they all have a similarly strong foundation.

Imagine a scene where promoters value not only the quality artists and DJs who share their art at their events, but also the best interests of the consumers who support their events, and make decisions accordingly.

Imagine a scene where, no matter what style or music folks prefer, everyone treats each other with respect.

Happy Monday my people!  I was scrolling through my pics and doing alot of thinking and self-reflection, and in doing so I realized that I’ve been dancing for more than three years now!

If you’d asked me a few years ago, I’d have never thought I’d be into dancing like I am, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Dancing has truly changed my life for the better.  How?  It’s provided a creative outlet, which unlike my other outlets (music, photography, etc.) has a heavier social component.  It’s provided an awesome way to relieve stress and stay afloat during hard times.  It’s helped me get through heartbreak and relationship troubles, job issues, and general day to day stress.  It’s given me the opportunity to travel to any city and know that I can go to a dance social and have fun, whether I’m alone or with a group of friends.  It’s taught me to connect with people on a whole new level. It’s put me in a position to meet people who have become lifelong friends.

For example, this pic was taken three years ago at one of the first Kizomba/Bachata/Salsa socials in Houston.  There’s Jenni on the right, one of the very first people I ever met through dancing.  She is a large part of the reason I enjoyed the dance scene when I first joined and decided to stick around.  I had just started taking classes, I was a salsa/bachata newbie with only weeks of dance experience who knew nobody in the scene, but she was always so sweet to me, and welcoming, and never made me feel bad when I knew only 2.3 salsa moves and couldn’t do anything fancy.  And a couple months later, she was also in the very first Kizomba Harmony​ class with me!  Three years later, we’re still great friends, and she may not know it, but she’s one of those amazing dancers that I’m secretly trying to recruit back to the dark side (aka Kizomba lol).

Keven aka Master Panda (on the left) is someone well known in the scene, and I still see him all the time doing his thing at socials and congresses all over the place.  He has also been a big supporter of the growing Kizomba community as well, much appreciated my man!

And lastly but certainly not least, is Monica Kay, who is now my partner in every sense of the word, with whom I am building something truly special on and off the dance floor.

Dance brought these folks into my life.  Dancing may not be comparable in some ways to saving a life in the ER, or closing a $500 million dollar transaction, but it truly brings joy to people’s lives in a unique way.  And as an instructor, I think that it is important for me to sometimes step back, and realize that although quality training and technique is important and making sure students learn properly is part of the job, that I don’t forget what drew me to dance in the first place.  It’s not just about being the best dancer one can be, but about CONNECTING with people and having FUN!  And I will make it a point to keep this at the forefront of my mind, so as to better offer to our students the same experience that made me fall in love with dance more than three years ago.  Enjoy your day my people.

Greetings my people! It’s time for a little tough love and uncomfortable truth. I’ve written about numerous problems hindering the growth of our scene, and this post will address another. Often students will take a few months’ worth of classes, and then quickly grow bored and want to focus on learning “moves”, or quit learning altogether. Why is this? Well, part of it might be YouTube and the way dance is marketed, but a large part of this is students thinking that they are more advanced than they are. This at best results in a less than stellar social dance experience for their partners, and at worst can result in injury, as Monica Kay shared in a recent post.

What contributes to this inflated sense of dance ability? Well, part of it is on instructors. Instructors want to be positive and encouraging to our students, and don’t want to be overly harsh in our criticism of beginners, which can sometimes be misconstrued as “yes I’m awesome!” Many instructors will bow to the pressure to teach moves and patterns super early to beginner level dancers who want to dance like their favorite YouTube star. When these students are able to do the patterns in class, they then think they’re high level, not realizing that the only reason it worked is that the follows backlead the whole time, and then when they can’t replicate it on the social dance floor with folks who don’t know the patterns, they will blame it on the lack of ability of their dance partners, rather than their own lack of lead/follow ability. This is a problem.

Another reason relates specifically to follows. I wrote a blog post a while back on the lack of respect for follows in the scene, from leads, instructors, and promoters, but ironically, also from follows themselves! I won’t rewrite that post, but from what I’ve seen this is due in part to the prevalence of bringing solo male instructors (who don’t follow at an elite level) to dance events (which we are working to change), which created a lead-focused experience, and also put far more pressure on leads to get better than follows. Follows were often told to “just follow”. In addition, having all these elite leads around, and seeing the reaction of the follows who would line up and clamor for dances made the guys even more fired up to learn and level up so as to get the same reaction. The follows on the other hand, would sometimes get bored in “just follow” classes, and either not want to stay, or would lead instead. And in social dancing, they would dance with the top leads and think that because they had a decent dance that they are top follows (which is a very flawed assumption). And leads, either because they don’t want to be seen as a jerk and not get dances, or for example because they are an instructor at a festival and don’t want to insult festivalgoers, won’t offer anything that could be construed as a criticism, even if the follow is causing the lead pain!

So this has created a situation where many students think they’re far more advanced than they are, and resist any assertions to the contrary. Where instead of being able to set expectations for students based on their experience and expertise, instructors often feel pressure to teach “moves” and patterns to students whose technique is not advanced enough to perform the moves safely and competently on the social dance floor (of course this excludes instructors who do this due to their prioritization of marketing/commercial interests or lack of foundation and technique themselves). Where follows think they are advanced after a few lessons and don’t think they need to continue training, instead focusing on socials and festivals and dancing with elite leads. This is a problem.

So what’s the answer?

Instructors, do your best to set realistic expectations for your students, and resist the impulse to teach students techniques they are not ready for. There may be students who leave your classes to go to “move” oriented classes, but it will be better for your reputation and the safety of your students in the long run. Also, continue to invest in your own training, so that you might continue to offer ever-increasing value to your students.

Students, invest in quality training from reputable instructors, and seek frequent and honest feedback, and LISTEN TO IT! Focus on developing your basics before worrying about “moves”.

Leads, when you do feel ready to attempt moves, be sure to keep the safety of your follow paramount. The sign of an elite lead is NOT how many moves he or she can vomit into a dance, but how comfortable, safe, and secure his or her partner feels when dancing with him or her.

For my follows, PLEASE continue to invest in your follow ability. Many of you are out here literally hurting leads’ arms with your poor follow technique, but they are too nice to say anything to you. Invest in training from instructors who follow well. If you’ve only learned to follow from a solo lead who isn’t a great follow, then it’s time to supplement your training with instruction from those who are. If your instructor only leads and doesn’t follow well, you may find yourself investing a great deal in instruction that is little more than teaching you how to backlead, which will be very tough on your leads on the social dance floor. Understand that just because you’re able to dance with an elite lead, that doesn’t make you a top follow. In fact, an elite lead can have a decent dance with a first day beginner! That’s more a testament to his (or her) ability than yours. Seek feedback from instructors and dancers you trust and respect, and LISTEN to their feedback. There may be lots of issues in the dance scene in France, but one thing I love is that the follows there are all very motivated to be as “light” and responsive as possible, and the excellent social dancing available there is a testament to that. I would like to take that particular aspect of the scene and bring it home.

Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to all the students out there who are investing in quality training. I know that learning African dance can be tough and very humbling (I know it is for my partner and I), and that dancing should be fun, but we firmly believe that dancing is much more fun when you know what you’re doing. Connection requires trust, relaxation, and confidence, and that is impossible without quality technique, and that requires quality training and HARD WORK. I’m aware this may ruffle some feathers, but as always, what we do and say is for the betterment of the scene. Thank you for reading, and I will see you all on the dance floor!

[CONTINUED FROM PART 1]

In Part 2 of this blog I will go into more things to look for in a great Kizomba instructor. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you can read it here: https://kizombaharmony.com/separatingthewheatfromthechaffpart1/.

As I mentioned in Part 1, dance ability is important, but dance ability does not always equate to teaching ability. In fact, there are many excellent dancers/performers whose teaching ability doesn’t compare at all. So the next thing to look for in an instructor is… wait for it… teaching ability!

TEACHING ABILITY

Now how can you tell who is a great teacher?  I’m glad you asked!  One of the most straightforward ways to start research is to ask around about who is a great teacher. Doing this may get you some decent information. However, much of this information will be second-hand, and can often be colored by personal feelings, preferences, or opinions. Not everyone learns the same way, as we are all unique individuals; it pays to do your own research when it comes to finding a good teacher.

One of the easiest ways to check out someone’s teaching ability is to… you probably guessed it… take one of their classes or workshops (I’m knocking out the more obvious ways first)! This is the simplest way to get first-hand knowledge of someone’s teaching ability. Some teachers offer a free first class or something similar to potential new students, so that potentially minimizes upfront investment. While taking the class, here are some things to look at. Do you like the way he/she explains or demonstrates things? Is he or she able to effectively control the flow of the class? Does he or she allow for questions? Do you like his or her personality and/or way of speaking to students? Does he/she teach technique or just patterns? Does the class address both leads and follows? If a partnership is teaching, do both partners speak and add to the class, or does only one person get to talk? If the instructor is solo, can he/she teach both leading and following? Does he/she try to cater to different learning styles (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.), or is the teaching one-dimensional? And last but not least, DID YOU LEARN SOMETHING FROM THE CLASS? I often like to say that you can learn something from most teachers, even if it’s what NOT to do, but if what NOT to do is what is all that you’re learning from a teacher, it probably isn’t a good idea to keep investing your resources in that particular instructor. Now, time and resources don’t always allow us to invest in teachers before we have an idea of their teaching ability, so I will point out some things you can look at without having to take a class.

In my opinion, the best way to get an idea of an instructor’s teaching ability without taking a class is to take a look at their students. I often say that a dance instructor’s product is his or her students. If an instructor has been teaching a dedicated student for say, 6 months or so, that student should have been taught enough to at the very least have some solid basics. So dancing with or watching an instructor’s student’s dance is a very educational experience. You can use some of the same criteria that I mentioned in Part 1: lead/follow ability, ability to dance well to actual Kizomba music (not just Ghetto Zouk, Tarraxinha etc.), so on and so forth. Sometimes you will see instructors who are excellent dancers, and yet none of their students are even close to being decent dancers! This is a huge red flag. Of course you generally wouldn’t expect a student to be on the same level as an instructor, but if a student has been taking lessons from an instructor for more than 6 months or so with a relatively low increase in said student’s skill level… this is definitely not a good sign, and certainly worth looking into further. There are instructors who believe that as they only need to be “a little bit better than their students”, rapidly increasing the level of their students isn’t in their best interest, as it would put added pressure on the instructor to actually invest in their own development as a dancer… which leads me to my next topic.

In my opinion, arguably the most important characteristic for a great instructor to have over the long term is COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE LEARNING THE DANCE HE OR SHE ACTUALLY TEACHES.

COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE LEARNING KIZOMBA/SEMBA

So for Kizomba, it is a Kizomba instructor’s duty to his or her students to continually invest in their own development as a KIZOMBA/SEMBA dancer so as to provide value to their students, as generally people can’t teach what they don’t know. So many instructors these days talk about “always remaining a student first” or posting social media posts with #neverstoplearning, #alwaysastudent or the like, but how many of them practice what they preach? Not as many as any of us would prefer.

Now, before I go deeper into this topic, I think it’s important to point out that this isn’t as applicable to those who have been dancing Kizomba/Semba their whole lives or something to that effect. Of course, nobody knows everything about Kizomba/Semba, and there’s always something new to learn, but this topic is mainly geared to those who, like me, did not grow up dancing Kizomba/Semba.

A great instructor should be very invested in training with and learning from those who are more advanced IN THE DANCE THE INSTRUCTOR TEACHES in order to develop themselves as dancers and instructors. For the sake of clarity, I will describe what will not count as “training” for purposes of this topic.

For purposes of this topic, watching YouTube videos does NOT count as “training”. Although I understand the advantages of trying to use YouTube to learn, since it’s free and relatively accessible, it is not a substitute for training in person. You can learn steps from YouTube, but Kizomba isn’t really about steps or moves, it’s about HOW YOU MOVE, and you simply cannot learn that from YouTube. And as instructors, our understanding of how to MOVE and utilize proper technique needs to be rock-solid, and this cannot be developed without investing ample time training with more advanced instructors. Unfortunately, YouTube seems to be the basis for many instructors’ training, and this is a pretty sad state of affairs, as this is truly a disservice to students who pay instructors to learn. If all a student gets from an instructor is badly regurgitated from YouTube, the student might as well just save their money and watch the YouTube videos themselves! I am not saying, however, that an instructor must be perfect before teaching, as very few of us in places like the US were perfect when we started teaching (or are perfect now lol), but there should be a significant effort to continue training while teaching. I only have an issue with instructors who stop learning once they start teaching, but more on that later.

In addition to YouTube learning, learning dances other than what the instructor actually teaches (specifically non-African dances) doesn’t count as “training” for purposes of this topic either. So for a Kizomba instructor, in this instance, learning from instructors who teach dances other than Kizomba, Semba (since Kizomba comes from Semba), or African dance, does not count as “training” for a Kizomba instructor. So Tango, Bachata, Zouk, poorly executed Tarraxinha (or Tangoxinhazoukchata as I like to call them collectively), etc. do NOT count. While it is true that learning elements of these other dances can and does help make one a better overall dancer (and I have had instruction in Salsa, Bachata, Tango, Cha Cha, Zouk, etc., enjoyed it all, and have found it useful), it is more important for a teacher to actually learn more about the dance that said teacher purports to teach. Tango, Bachata, Zouk, etc., although they are fun and often combined with Kizomba in “evolutions”, “fusions” and “new styles”, are NOT KIZOMBA. The best and only true way to master a dance is to procure extensive instruction IN THAT DANCE.  But as Kizomba doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and other African dances have had a major influence on Angolans, it is important to note that learning other AFRICAN DANCES such an Angolan tribal dances, as Soukous (Congo), Mutuashi (Congo), Chakacha (Kenya), and the like is an excellent way to condition your body and develop African body movement.  Learning these dances have actually helped us develop our strength and movement quality considerably.  But none of this is a substitute for extensive training in Kizomba and Semba.

It is also a good idea to differentiate between training via group/festival classes versus private lessons. Although it is possible to learn a lot from group classes (and my partner and II enjoy taking group classes when we can), for an instructor private lessons generally enable one to go deeper and gain a more complete understanding of techniques, culture, etc., or in other words, both the “how” and the “why” of Kizomba/Semba. Group classes, by their very nature, usually have more students, and therefore instructors will adjust the level and/or pace of the class to accommodate the differing levels in the room. And many group/festival classes these days focus more on patterns and steps and rarely go deeper than that. An instructor, however, needs to know more than simply how to do a bunch of choreographed steps. To be able to teach effectively, an instructor’s understanding of the dance and how it relates to the music should be much deeper and more complete than mere choreographed steps, and the best way to achieve this understanding is through private instruction.

HOW TO TELL WHICH INSTRUCTORS ARE COMMITTED TO LEARNING

So, the million dollar question… how can one tell which instructors are truly committed to their development as Kizomba/Semba dancers and instructors? Well, the easiest way is pretty straightforward… just ask them who they have trained with or currently train with and who their mentors are. Be sure to ask whether the training was in Kizomba/Semba, and whether the training was via group lessons or private instruction. Any instructor worth their salt should be more than happy to discuss who they have learned from and who their mentors are.   Not all instructors are quite as open as my partner Monica Kay and I are about whom we train with, but if an instructor refuses to answer a direct question about their training/lineage, then that’s a HUGE red flag.

Now, there might be a few reasons an instructor might be hesitant to respond to such a question. There are some instructors who never take group classes but do seek out private instruction in part because they do not want to publicize the fact that they are still learning. Why? Well, perhaps such instructors are worried that their “status” as an “expert”, “founder”, “master”, etc. might be questioned or undermined if people knew that they were still taking lessons and/or who they were learning from. Or perhaps they worry that if students knew, they might forego taking lessons from them, instead opting to take lessons with the higher level instructor. But since very few of us, particularly in younger scenes like the US, are skilled enough to be considered “experts” of Kizomba, this should not be a concern, as any instructor who isn’t an expert SHOULD be investing in developing and honing their craft. In fact, I don’t think there are any instructors in the US right now that can accurately consider themselves so expert that they don’t need to learn anymore, so we should ALL be striving to continue learning. There is no shame in seeking to better oneself as a dancer and instructor, but the same can’t be said for those who neglect to do so, which brings me to the next reason.

Another reason an instructor might not want to answer is that they realize deep down that they haven’t invested much at all in their development as a dancer. Because of the relatively low level/knowledge of Kizomba students in younger scenes like the US, quite a few instructors see an opportunity and seek to exploit it, so they go to a few festivals, take a few classes, and MAYBE a private lesson or two, and then start teaching, at which point they start neglecting their own development in favor of more commercial aspects, such as marketing, etc. Instructors who believe that they only need to be “a bit better than their students” don’t prioritize leveling up unless they absolutely have to, which of course doesn’t incentivize them to level their students up rapidly because this would force said instructors to continue investing in their own development to stay ahead of their students. This is part of the reason why you sometimes will see students who have been learning from an instructor for six months or more yet have little to show for it by way of skill level.

Sometimes instructors will seek to sidestep the admittedly tough path to really mastering the fundamentals of Kizomba/Semba by creating “fusions”, “new styles”, “evolutions”, etc. And as I stated in my blog post “Putting the Cart before the Horse”, I have no problem with personal styles, fusions or dancing differently to different music, as I have my own personal style and dance differently to different music, but if you’re going to teach “fusions” or “new styles”, you should first learn and teach the fundamentals of Kizomba as it is traditionally danced BEFORE adding things. There are some fun newer styles of dancing out there, such as what is erroneously collectively called the “French Style”, but these styles were created by people who have been dancing Kizomba/Semba for YEARS and had a STRONG grasp of the basics BEFORE adding things and creating the new style. So if in your research, you find that an instructor created or founded a “new style” before they fully got a grasp of the basics (which takes years to really have down), that’s a huge red flag.

As a fictional example, let’s say you found in your research that I’ve created and now promote “BillyKiz” as a “new style” of Kizomba although when I created it I had only been dancing for less than two years. If this was accurate (don’t worry it’s not, I won’t be inflicting “BillyKiz” on anyone just yet haha), you should definitely be very careful about looking further into my background before investing a lot of resources in my instruction. As I’ve said many times, creating “new styles” works best when you FIRST master the original, and that takes time and effort that many instructors would rather not invest.

If the instructor does answer the question, then analyze the answer. How many different instructors has he/she trained with? Privates or group classes? Just one class or multiple? Were they Kizomba/Semba instructors or something else like hip-hop, tango, zouk, etc.? Ideally a Kizomba instructor should have trained, or should be training with instructors who can dance well to actual Kizomba music and/or Semba, the more hours invested in learning the better. So if an instructor says he/she took a few festival classes but no privates, then that’s a red flag. If he or she did take some privates, but only a few hours or less of Kizomba/Semba instruction over the course of six months to a year or so, that’s a red flag. If he/she mentions taking hip-hop, tango, zouk, bachata, etc. but mentions relatively little Kizomba/Semba instruction, that’s a red flag. If none of the instructors he/she names can dance well to actual Kizomba music (NOT Ghetto Zouk) or Semba, also a red flag. If the instructor has mostly learned from YouTube, of course that’s a huge red flag haha. Now, if the instructor has spent significant time training with top talents who have mastered the fundamentals of Kizomba as it is traditionally danced, that is a very good sign. If the instructor has current active plans to seek out and learn from such talents, also a good sign.

Now, on a sad note, it’s possible that an instructor might lie about how much training they have had (especially after reading a blog post like this haha), so you might need to do further research to confirm. You can reach out to those who the instructor has named as teachers and mentors and ask them about the instructor in question. If they confirm, that’s a good sign. If not, that’s a red flag that will necessitate further research. If you find out an instructor has lied about their training, than this is the ultimate red flag and you should not only refrain from investing in said instructor, you should also call them out to the community. Unethical irresponsible behavior like this should not be tolerated in instructors, as we are the ones who shape the scene. But for the record, I must state that when it comes to asking for personal accounts, as with all human interactions, there may be issues with competition, bad blood, disputes, etc. that could color an instructor’s response or opinion of another instructor, so it is prudent to be as objective and fact-oriented as possible.

Another way to gauge an instructor’s commitment to learning is to watch videos of them dancing over a period of time. Many instructors have YouTube channels where they post demos, freestyles, choreographies, etc. If a teacher has been teaching for 6 months or more, you should be able to see a number of videos of them dancing online. So for example, if you look at a video of an instructor dancing a year ago and compare it to a video from today, and there isn’t much improvement in the more recent video, then this is a red flag. If you see a steady improvement, then this is a very good sign, as an instructor should definitely be improving at a reasonable pace if they are investing in their development as a dancer. I know that since I started teaching I have improved at a very rapid pace, and I work hard to continue to do so.  One final note on the videos, as I went over in Part 1, try not to be distracted by cool editing tricks, fancy locales, theatrics, “sexy” body movements, etc. when you watch the videos.

You may not find old videos of some instructors, as they may have deleted their old videos, perhaps because they are embarrassed by them or don’t want the public to see them dancing at a lower level than their current level (or maybe they read this blog and quickly deleted their videos to hide their lack of progress haha, just kidding!), but my partner and I make it a point to keep our old videos because they are like a video diary of our progress as a dance couple. And with each new video we post, we look to make sure that we are improving. We believe that using videos to track progress is a good idea for any dancer, whether via YouTube, or private videos on a cell phone.

ATTITUDE

Lastly, something worth looking at in a great instructor is his or her attitude. It may not seem like a big deal, but the personality of instructors and others in positions of influence have a profound effect on the vibe of a dance scene and the attitude of its members, so it is worth looking into. Is the instructor kind and humble? And I don’t mean “Facebook kind” or “Facebook humble”, which refers folks who carefully craft their social media presence to reflect a certain persona that they wish to portray but that doesn’t match their dealings in real life. When possible, look to see how the instructor actually behaves in real life. Does the instructor treat students with respect? If not, red flag. For instructors who are part of a partnership, does the instructor treat his/her partner with respect and show appreciation and give recognition to his/her partner, or does the instructor treat the partner like a glorified assistant or never even mention him/her at all? If an instructor does not show adequate appreciation and respect for his/her partner, this is a big red flag. When social dancing, does the instructor dance with beginners or those who aren’t getting dances and make them feel welcome, or does he/she spend the whole time dancing with elite dancers and hot young thangs? This will determine the vibe of socials and parties hosted by said instructor.

Does the instructor respect that Kizomba/Semba, both the dance and the music are a cherished part of Angolan culture? Many people say the respect the culture and history of Kizomba, but how many make an effort to learn more about actual Kizomba music (not Ghetto Zouk), about Semba, and how to dance appropriately to this music? If a Kizomba instructor only really ever dances or teaches to Ghetto Zouk and Ghetto Zouk English remix type music, and encourages the same in his or her students either directly or indirectly, then in my opinion he or she does not truly respect Kizomba and its culture. To paraphrase something one of our students said, “If someone can’t dance to actual Kizomba music with an Angolan and put a smile on their face, then they shouldn’t call themselves a Kizomba dancer. Period.” I’d change “dancer” and replace it with “instructor” and it’d work well for this blog post.

When the instructor is questioned, challenged, or given constructive criticism, how does he/she respond? Does the instructor graciously listen and respond to questions and accept constructive criticism? If so, this is a good sign. However if an instructor responds in a haughty, defensive, or arrogant way, or starts mentioning “people who follow me” or other not-so-humble brag-type stuff, BIG red flag. Instructors, whether we like it or not, are public figures, and leaders, and should not get all sensitive if we are questioned or challenged, whether by students or colleagues. If we aren’t prepared to defend our product in a mature way, then we should consider doing something other than teaching. True humility is a highly desirable trait in a dance teacher, and so we should be very careful to ensure that our egos never start to outstrip our skill level.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Don’t get me wrong my people, I understand that learning Kizomba/Semba the right way takes a huge investment of time and resources, often without an immediate financial return. I realize that training is generally more resource-intensive for instructors than for students.  I also get that it is very tempting to focus on the more commercial aspects of being an instructor, especially if this is how you earn your living. But as instructors, we have a responsibility and a duty to our students to offer a quality product, and we should be held to a high standard, as this can only benefit the scene long term. I doubt folks would be so quick to start teaching without making an appropriate investment in their development if they knew that they will be called out on it immediately.

I must reiterate that I do not want to discourage new teachers who want to share Kizomba in cities with an undeveloped scene.   I am not asserting that one has to be a master of Kizomba/Semba, have historian-level knowledge of Angolan culture, be able to speak Portuguese and Kimbundu fluently, and have bathed thoroughly in the waters of Luanda Bay to even THINK of teaching Kizomba, that would be silly, especially in places with less-developed scenes like the US. I do believe that if you have access to quality instruction, you should take full advantage of it BEFORE teaching, but if you do not have ready access to quality instruction in your area, then go ahead and start teaching, but actively seek to increase your knowledge and ability while doing so. You don’t have to be a master to teach the basics of Kizomba to beginners, just as you don’t need Picasso to teach you how to clean a paintbrush. But for students looking for a long term instructor, or looking for an instructor to help them get to the next level, it is important to look for an instructor who aspires to achieve mastery of their craft.

I want to thank all who have taken the time to read yet another of my long posts. I know this one might have hurt some feelings, but I didn’t write this post just to ruffle feathers, I wrote it 1) to be a resource that will hopefully help to protect the interests of students and, to the extent possible, insulate them from the potential waste of their resources on inadequate instruction due to a lack of knowledge on their part or misleading marketing, and 2) to influence the continued development of the quality scene I described in Part 1, where teachers are held to a high standard so as to provide value to students. Feel free to comment and share this blog post if you’d like, and I look forward to seeing you all on the dance floor!

[Update: You can find Part 2 here: https://kizombaharmony.com/separatingthewheatfromthechaffpart2/]

 As some of you might gather from my many rather longish blogs and posts, I’m very passionate about Kizomba (and Semba) and building a quality dance scene here in the US and abroad. A scene full of dancers who dance very well, yet are humble and welcoming to beginners. A scene in which everyone gets to dance and have a good time, not just the elite dancers and hot young thangs, in which dancers feel free to express themselves as the different music genres dictate , but while respecting the history, roots, and culture of Kizomba (and Semba). Where instructors are held to an ethical standard by their colleagues and the community as a whole so as to ensure that students have access to high quality instruction while being as insulated as possible from misleading marketing. I believe that this is the only way to create and maintain a sustainable Kizomba/Semba scene that will attract people from all walks of life and retain their interest for many years to come.

To this end, I have written posts about issues I believe hurt the development of a quality scene, such as dance etiquette, the unjustified arrogance and lack of self-awareness/humility in dancers and dance instructors with relatively low skill level, disrespect for follows and the art of following, and people trying to market “evolutions” and “new styles” when they haven’t even taken the time to get a solid grasp of the basics of Kizomba as it is danced to actual Kizomba music. In this post, I will tackle another important topic: what to look for in a great Kizomba teacher, and some potential red flags and misleading marketing tricks to look out for.

Often, many students of Kizomba in relatively young scenes tend to be largely uninformed on the history of Kizomba (both the music and the dance), and what to look for in an instructor. This is highly understandable, as there is a lot of confusing and contradictory information on the internet, and many different marketing terms being thrown around in an effort to capitalize on the growing popularity of Kizomba and the excellent marketing power of the word “Kizomba”. This blog post is designed to be a helpful resource for those new to Kizomba, or for those looking to find a good teacher to help them reach the next level in their dancing.

Although I am now an instructor, I have never stopped being a student, and I invest a great deal of time and resources (as does my partner Monica Kay) in continuing to learn and grow as a dancer and instructor to continue to provide value to our students. We have learned from many of the world’s elite talents, and look forward to continuing to do so. So, as a teacher and student, I feel I’m in a good position to give some advice to students looking for quality instruction.

The first thing to look for in a good instructor is, as you might have guessed, dance ability! Though it’s true that being an elite level dancer doesn’t guarantee similar skill as a teacher, it’s definitely important to choose an instructor with relatively solid dance ability. Ideally, a student’s dancing will look like the teacher’s at least until the student adds his or her own style, so definitely spend some time looking for a teacher who dances well and whose style you like.

You may be thinking, “OK Captain Obvious, but HOW do I know who has solid dance ability?” Fair question! One way is to dance with them. Beginners often don’t know what a good dancer should feel like, but here are a few tips. A lead should be very clear, responsive to the music, and considerate of their partner’s comfort and safety. If you dance with a lead that hurts you, bumps you into folks constantly, or completely ignores the music, those are red flags. It may be difficult for beginners to tell when a lead is clear or not, but if you find it relatively easy to follow their lead, then this is a good sign. A follow should be responsive to their lead (“light”) and relaxed, so if you have to use a great deal of muscle to lead a follow into simple moves, this is a red flag.

If you don’t often get a chance to dance with instructors, due to location, extreme popularity on the dance floor, etc., then another good way to gauge instructors’ dance ability is to watch them social dance. It can be very difficult for beginners to know what things to look for however, so I will point out a few.

If you are watching an instructor social dance, first look and see what music they dance to. Do they clear the floor when actual Kizomba music comes on, coming back when Ghetto Zouk/Tarraxinha comes on? That’s a potential red flag. For those who don’t know, actual Kizomba music is a product of Semba and Caribbean Zouk influence and has a very melodic non-electronic sound generally, often with lots of guitar and/or horns, whereas Ghetto Zouk has a more R&B/Hip Hop influenced electronic sound and, along with English remixes, are usually what people in the US hear first and associate with Kizomba.  Semba is a dance and music, and many of the fundamentals of Kizomba (the dance) come from Semba (the dance). If you want a good example of what actual Kizomba music sounds like, Google Kyaku Kyadaff’s “Entre Sete Sete y Rosa” as it is a very popular actual Kizomba song from last year (it’s NOT retro, actual Kizomba is still being created today).

Although everyone has their right to musical preference, it’s important for any instructor who purports to teach Kizomba or uses any permutation of the word Kizomba (such as “kiz”, “nuvokiz”, “Billykiz”, etc.) in their marketing materials to be able to 1) recognize actual Kizomba music and 2) be able to dance competently and appropriately when it is played.  Often these days, many dancers add elements of what I call Tangoxinhazoukchata (elements of Tango, Tarraxinha, lambazouk, bachata, etc.) to the dance and call it “evolution” or “fusion”. And while this is fine to some extent when certain types of music are being played (Ghetto Zouk, Tarraxinha, etc.), this extra stuff generally isn’t appropriate when dancing to actual Kizomba (or Semba) music. Sadly, there are too many instructors who either cannot recognize actual Kizomba music, or cannot dance well to it because they have not taken the time to learn how to dance Kizomba as it is traditionally danced (i.e., to actual Kizomba music), either due to lack of adequate instruction themselves (understandable in areas will little Kizomba presence), or in other cases, laziness, or because they prioritize other aspects of being an instructor, such as marketing and other commercial interests. Often these instructors will add elements of Tangoxinhazoukchata or just make things up to fill the gaps in their Kizomba repertoire, but as these new elements are not appropriate for actual Kizomba music, they will often seek to avoid dancing to it, saying they “prefer” Ghetto Zouk or have a “new style”.

Be very careful of those claiming to have a “new style”, particularly if they have been dancing for less than a few years, as “new styles” truly only work well when based on a VERY solid foundation, and that takes YEARS of hard work BEFORE even thinking of coming up with a “new style”. But in any event, if you want to see what someone’s dancing looks like without all the extra fluff, check them out when dancing to actual Kizomba (or Semba), and consider whether you like what you see.

Another thing to look at when watching an instructor social dance is their dance partner. Is the dance partner smiling or clearly having a good time? If so, that is a good sign. If the instructor is leading, is he/she navigating the dance floor carefully so as to not run the follow into other people/the wall/ etc? That is also a good sign. Is the instructor taking it easy at first to gauge the follow’s dancing level, and then dancing to his/her dance partner’s ability, taking it easy on beginners and turning it up a notch for more advanced follows? Also a good sign. But is the instructor paying no attention to floorcraft, carelessly flinging his/her partner across the floor, or immediately trying to force the follow into a bunch of moves that they clearly are not prepared for and do not enjoy? If so, that is a red flag.

If watching instructors in person is not an option, then you can sometimes learn much by watching YouTube videos of their dancing. This however, can be very tricky, as editing tricks and other marketing techniques in such videos can distract viewers from the actual dancing. But no worries, I will help you all navigate the murky waters of YouTube!

First, similarly to what I stated above, look for a video of the instructor dancing to actual Kizomba music (or dancing “social” Semba to Semba music, “social” Semba meaning less emphasis on tricks compared to “show” Semba). If you can find one, that will be helpful, since as I explained above, Tangoxinhazoukchata stuff is less likely to be involved when actual Kizomba (or Semba) is being played. So if you find a video with actual Kizomba (or Semba) music, and you like what you see, that’s a very good sign.

To be fair though, if you can only find videos of an instructor dancing to Ghetto Zouk, etc., it’s not necessarily a red flag. However, it’s easier to distract viewers with Tangoxinhazoukchata, cool tricks, etc. when making a video with these other styles of music, so try not to be distracted with the cool tricks, provocative female hip/body movements, etc. that are all too common on YouTube these days. Remember, it’s entirely possible to be able to do cool tricks but have very weak Kizomba fundamentals, and in fact, many instructors with weak fundamentals emphasize moves, tricks, and “new styles” to try and cover up their weak fundamentals . Also, try not to be distracted by cool editing tricks, exotic locales, impressive lighting, beautiful anatomy, etc. as these can also make it difficult to decipher what you are seeing in a video. Often, instead of a straight freestyle filmed in one take, instructors will film many takes and splice them together to make a demo. Though videos made this way often look cool and are fun to watch, they give little indication of the instructor’s ability to dance socially in the moment, without choreography. Looking at a video shot in one take is more helpful in this regard.

In addition, although the feet are very important in Kizomba, many of these videos often cut out the instructor’s feet, making it that much harder to see what they are actually doing. And even when the feet aren’t cut out, the focus can be directed to other parts of the instructor’s body. For example, for many people watching videos featuring elite level follows with excellent body isolations and/or ginga, leads with athletic frames, or either wearing revealing or sexy clothing, it can be difficult to unglue one’s eyes from certain areas to focus on the actual dancing, but it’s necessary to truly be able to analyze the a video. Look to see if the dancing (feet are a good place to look) matches the music, if it appears smooth and effortless, and if it “flows”. These are all good signs. If the dancing does not match the music, if there is an emphasis on tricks that don’t make sense with the music or if anything looks clunky or forced, these are all red flags. Admittedly, watching video isn’t an end-all-be-all indicator of dancing ability, but knowing what to look for will at least help to form somewhat educated opinions.

I also want to point out a marketing term that can be potentially misleading to students, “international instructor”. Often this term is thrown around in order to generate interest and credibility, but what does this actually mean, and what does it not mean? “International instructor” simply means that someone has either taught or is teaching in a country outside of their home country. And as people tend to be attracted to things that are “new” and “different”, or often believe that something “foreign” is of higher quality than something domestic, often the term “international instructor” is used to capitalize on this phenomenon. But it is important to remember that just because someone is an “international instructor” that doesn’t mean that they are necessarily a solid teacher or dancer. Even in places with highly developed scenes, such as Portugal, England, or France, where there are many solid dancers and instructors, not everyone is solid. For example, it’s completely possible to bring a low-skilled instructor from Europe to an event in US and bill them as an “international instructor” for marketing purposes. Just because a country or city is known for having a strong scene, this does not automatically mean that any dancer or instructor from said country or city will be a strong dancer or instructor. So don’t let marketing terms distract you from doing further research!

Another misleading marketing tactic is emphasizing how “well-traveled” an instructor is or how many “followers” he or she has.  For example, although it does sound cool when an instructor can say they’ve taught in 237.5 different places, that doesn’t tell the whole story.  237 of those locations could be cities with little to no Kizomba presence and therefore full of students with an extremely low skill level and minimal lack of knowledge about Kizomba.  It’s relatively easy to impress someone who doesn’t much about Kizomba, and therefore easier to get booked in places where there is not an established scene with highly-skilled instructors.  So do not fall for the okey-doke on this one, look deeper than marketing hype!

Lastly, before I conclude Part 1 of my blog, I want to make it clear that I don’t believe that without exception all instructors must be super-advanced dancers before teaching. Particularly in areas with little to no Kizomba presence, often dancers will start teaching with less than a year of experience dancing Kizomba, because there is no one else teaching. I support this in areas without any Kizomba presence PROVIDED that the teacher continues to learn. Too many instructors take advantage of the relatively low skill level of dancers in young Kizomba scenes, believing they only need to be “a little bit better than their students”, and therefore stop learning themselves. At this point, many start making up stuff or add moves they already know from other dances, and then call it a “new style” of Kizomba. This I have an issue with. But I will save that for Part 2.

Thank you all for reading this far! In Part 2 of this blog I will point out other helpful things to look at when looking for a great instructor! Stay tuned!

[Update: You can find Part 2 here: https://kizombaharmony.com/separatingthewheatfromthechaffpart2/]