Kizomba-tanssia
järjestetään Mellunmäen ME-talolla (Jänkäpolku 1G, 00970 Helsinki) sunnuntaisin
kello 18-21.
Kizomba on Angolassa 80-luvulla syntynyt musiikkityyli ja
samalla tanssilaji. Kizomban askelkuvio yhdistää perinteistä afrikkalaista
tanssia tangon askeliin. Kizomba-musiikki on hidastempoista, yleensä
elektronisilla instrumenteilla soitettavaa tanssimusaa. Kizomba-tanssissa
tanssijoilla on läheinen kontakti toisiinsa ja hitaan tempon tahtiin on helppo
tanssia.
Olin itse seuraamassa tuntia sunnuntaina 15. tammikuuta
2017. Ammattitaitoinen vapaaehtoinen tanssinopettaja kävi askel askeleelta
lävitse kizomban perusaskeleet oppilaiden kanssa. Vaikka tanssi itsessään on
hyvin yksinkertainen, vaikutti se itselleni hyvin erilaiselta kuin Euroopassa
kehittyneet tanssit kuten valssi. Pidin siitä, että tärkeitä liikkeitä käytiin
aluksi yksittäin lävitse, jonka jälkeen tanssia harjoiteltiin pareittain
ympyrässä. Opettaja vaikutti minusta erittäin motivoituneelta siihen, mitä hän
teki. Hän kertoi ystävällisesti mutta varmasti osallistujille, mitkä liikkeet
tehtiin oikein ja mitkä väärin. Koin, että tällainen opettaja tällaisessa
ympäristössä saisi varmasti saa opetettua vaikka ja mitä.
Eräs toinen jo töissä käyvä maahanmuuttajamies kertoi, että
täällä on myös mahdollisuutta tutustua työelämäkontakteihin. Hän itse tiesi
tapauksia, joissa maahanmuuttajia oli löytänyt tulevan esimiehensä
kizomba-tunneilta. ”Tämä on paljon muutakin kuin tanssia. Tämä on mahdollisuus
monille ujoille maahanmuuttajille tutustua sekä muihin kaltaisiinsa, että myös
kantaväestöön.” Hän myös innolla hehkutti allekirjoittaneelle silloin tällöin
järjestettäviä kizomba-tapahtumia, joissa vietetään tunneilta tuttujen ihmisten
kanssa aikaa ME-talolla hyvässä seurassa ja hyvän ruuan parissa.
Kizomba-dance classes
are held in Mellunmäki’s ME-talo (Jänkäpolku 1G, 00970 Helsinki) every Sunday
from 18-21 o’clock.
HMNKY organizes kizomba-classes in Mellunmäki’s ME-talo every Sunday for
immigrants and native Finnish people. Activity does not require any kind of
commitment and is free of charge. On the first hour and half of the class, the basics of
kizomba dance are taught and the other hour and half is meant for those who already know the basics of
kizomba. This way,you
can join the activity during the whole season and don’t have to worry about
getting left behind. Previous experience on dancing is also irrelevant: you can
participate even though you previously wouldn’t have studied any kind of
dancing.
Kizomba is a dance style developed in Angola in the 80’s. Kizomba’s steps pattern combine traditional
African dance with tango steps. Kizomba,in musical terms ,is a slow tempo dance music, usually played with
electronic instruments. In terms of dance, participants of kizomba have a close
contact with each other. It is easy to dance to the slow tempo of kizomba
music.
I,
myself observed a class on the 15th of January 2017. The skilled volunteer
dance teacher went through the basics of kizomba with the students step by
step. Even though the dance itself is very simple, to me it felt very different from
European dances like waltz etc. I liked that the important moves were taught
first to the students
one by one, after which the dancing moves were practiced by pairs in a circle. The teacher seemed to me to be very motivated
to what he was doing. He told kindly but firmly to the participants what moves
they made right and what moves they did wrong. I felt that this kind of teacher
in the enviroment such as this,
would be able to teach basically anything he wanted.
There was a sense of ease in the kizomba classes and I
didn’t feel the peer pressure to dance. I was actually asked to dance, but as a reporter of the activity
I kindly refused the offer.
The participants were very friendly and they chatted with each other, which to myself is a big
plus in terms of joining the activity and staying in it. I felt like anyone could join the classes despite of one’s
economical situation, age or other side issues. I had no problems changing
thoughts with people who were previously unknown to me. I started to think
during the class how great it is, that this kind of activity also brings a new
kinds of culture to the main population and ways to express it.
More important than dance, the participants felt for the social side of the activity. ”In here I had my first contact with other immigrants of my area. I had previously practiced couple dancing but after my dance partner had to stop attending, I stopped going to the dance classes. When I attended these kizomba-classes, it gave me confidence to dance without a regular partner,” pondered one thirty-ish immigrant man.
Another already employed immigrant male told me, that
in here, there was also
a chance to meet working life contacts. He himself knew cases, where an
immigrant had found his or hers future manager in kizomba classes. ”This is
much more than just dance. This is a chance for many shy immigrants to meet
another immigrants and also native Finnish people.” He also talked enthusiastically to me about occasional kizomba
events, where people from kizomba classes spend time together in ME-talo with
good food and good company.
A native Finnish Woman, practicing European dance in addition to kizomba, thought that the best benefit Finns can have
from the activity is having more experience on physical contact, which has
always been difficult for Finns. ”Here in Finland we are accustomed to dancing
waltz and other sorts of dances meters away from our partner[…]It is a good
thing that one can learn more close contact with another person through dance.
It has a lot of social and mental benefits during free time also.”
One activity leader was very moved by
how kizomba has been received. ”I would never have believed, that kizomba
in particular would have that much of popularity. There
are a lot of participants and
they come from sometimes
faraway:Porvoo,Turku.
It shows that this kind of activity has demand. It is difficult to say why
kizomba exactly caused this, but I believe that this activity will expand from
here. It is great to see how people from many different personal situations and
countries have been introduced to each other.” I discussed with him about dance and also about
things he himself likes about Finland. ”I lived in New York for a long time,
millions of people and nobody knows each other! Here in Finland I see so many
familiar people: I saw this guy at a dance class, that is my working partner
etc.”
When I left the activity, I was moved by what I had experienced during
the class. I liked very much the feeling of community that glowed out of the
participants. Everyone was at the same wave length, even though the basis for
joining the activity were different. This kind of activity will definitely
bring meaning to life for those who need it.
Joonas Lehtola
Joonas Lehtola