To conclude this mini-series I want to mention that I have nothing against Kizomba or any of the dance types that have entered the salsa market. On the contrary, I respect all dances immensely and I am sure that anyone who is passionate about Kizomba the way I am about salsa can get the same happiness and satisfaction I feel when dancing to my favourite songs. I will happily try out any form of dancing and might even become passionate about Kizomba dancing one day. However, the only way this will happen, at least for me personally, is if I no longer get asked to pay for salsa but then get sold Kizomba. Only if Kizomba events are separated from the salsa scene or at the very least mixed parties are advertised as what they are, while there are still plenty of genuine salsa events that allow me to dance salsa, will I be able to respect Kizomba and consider taking up dance lessons such as I would for any other form of dance. In its current state, however, I cannot help but see it as the dance that ruins a lot of my salsa nights when it is played excessively at an event that was advertised as “salsa” or “Latin event”.
It is certainly a genius stroke of marketing to get Kizomba into its current state of popularity via salsa and given the record of dance types being pushed onto the salsa market I am sure it will not be the last. While there are certainly some arguments for catering to various dancers at the same night, what I will never understand is the overall acceptance of advertising one thing and selling something else. In any other business that kind of behaviour would not be tolerated while in the salsa community it seems to somehow be ok to get away with that. I have nothing against people advertising Kizomba/Salsa nights and then playing Kizomba and salsa but bundling completely unrelated dance types under the salsa umbrella and then charging customers for “salsa” is simply fraud as far as I am concerned.
I will organise salsa events that are actually about salsa…
