A medical opinion on why is good for you to dance Urban Kiz more and better. 

Dancing has always been a source of happiness and satisfaction for me but ever since I discovered Kizomba and especially Urban Kiz, my life changed completely.

When I first started Kizomba classes I didn’t enjoy it much because I found it very difficult and atypical compared to all the dances that I knew before. The rhythm was more complicated for me to decipher than in the case of other dances such as Salsa and Bachata and there was no basic move that you could repeat when you were out of ideas like in other dances. As time went by and I discovered Urban Kiz and started to have more contact with the electronic music with strong beats that it was danced on, I got to enjoy it more and more.

For me, it was like falling in love but not with a person. Every time I went out dancing or practicing I was having the same adrenaline rush like when you do whenever you see your crush. I can even say it became like an addiction and I couldn’t perceive myself as fulfilled without dancing it. I was thinking about it all the time and was spending considerable hours on the dance floor. This is a feeling that lasts for years and for some even a lifetime, because you don’t have to stop dancing only because you become older.

Dancing is known for its beneficial effects: it is a healthy type of movement, it helps you oxygenate better, it empties your mind from daily stress, it is a way of having fun, enjoying the music and forgetting about the outer world. There are even therapies that use dance as a tool to move past trauma, depression, anxiety and other debilitating mental health issues. 

Urban Kiz is a special type of dance because it is a couple dance, it requires a man and a woman and a frame, which is basically a “hug” between the two. Everyone knows that after two minutes of hugging someone there is a release of endorphins, which are the hormones of happiness and they fill your whole body with a pleasant feeling of calm and joy. Imagine that when you dance you have to always embrace your partner, and even if this embrace changes during the dance, you always try to regain it. Sometimes, at a practice party, you might feel so comfortable with your partner that you will dance several songs with him, so all this time you are in this continuous state of serenity.

This is why when you learn Urban Kiz and start practicing it often you feel just like being in love; you are constantly searching for that being high that dancing provides you with. It is not only about the embrace, but also about synchronizing with the music, being able to connect with your partner and enjoying the vibe in the dance hall if it is the case of a party. Every dance is literally like a whole little universe that is created between you and your dance partner, a story that only you and him live for a few minutes or sometimes even hours. Every connection, every song, every partner is special and you sometimes find yourself lingering for that one moment that evaporated so quick so all you want to do is recreate it again and again. Dancing becomes your drug but fortunately it has no side effects.

It is clear that all Urban Kiz dancers have an adrenaline rush and a discharge of dopamine and serotonin that never lets them stop dancing. A lot of dancers have moments in their lives when they want to give up or make a pause but most of them “have a relapse” so to say…they come back for their “drug”.

After all, dancing only gives you an immunity boost and is incredibly healthy for your mind, body and soul. For me, Urban Kiz is like a spiritual journey, because it makes you incredibly present in time and space: you have to be aware of every part of your body, you have to listen carefully to the music and make your body consciously move to that specific beat, you have to pay attention to the leader’s signals and you can even add your own style to it. In those moments, I feel in a state of “flow”, in which every second runs naturally, without me making an effort to control anything. It is one of the few moments in  life when I allow myself to just be, I empty my mind from the ruminating voices that so often intoxicate us, I deeply get in touch with myself and with my partner.

One of the most satisfying things of dancing as a follower is being able to follow almost perfectly what your partner intends to lead you and as a leader it is incredibly rewarding to have a good follower that understands you. Thus the communication level between the two is a very profound and sophisticated one. Therefore, dancing becomes like a meditation in two.