Angola and Russia seem
to be two distant countries, but not in Expo! On august 13, the respective
culinary traditions came together for an afternoon under the banner of taste
and melting pot.
Sergey Biniavsky,
sub-chef of the renowned “Café Puskin” in Moscow and Luís “Kitaba”, chef at the
Angolan Pavilion, created an exclusive dish: mousse with Kisaca (cassava
leafs), peanuts and tomatoes on a traditional dark Borodinsky bread with lemon
butter.
The endless plantations
of rye in the north of Russia and the cassava growing in the warm and bright Angolan
soil, were united for a taste very much enjoyed by the participants of the degustation.
The afternoon was
framed by traditional Angolan dances by Kina Ku Moxi, who enchanted the Expo
public.
The Angolan gastronomy,
full of influences, versatile, decided and well adaptable to travel to
different countries and peoples. What will be the next destination?
Laury
Esmeralda is originally from the Antilles and lives in Paris. In 2009, she took
her first Kizomba class and immediately fell in love with it. Today she tours
the world and teaches the two national Angolan dances Semba and Kizomba. She came
by the Angolan Pavilion, where she merged in our traditional dancing group for
two of their shows.
We seized
the opportunity to talk to her about the different kind of dance styles, the
international hype around them and how they enchanted Laury.
How did you get into Kizomba and Semba?
I actually
wanted to take a Salsa class, but at the time the school just offered a Kizomba
beginner’s class, so I took it. After that, they asked me to go on with an
advanced class, because I was good. This was in 2009. The next year the partner
of Tony Pirata got pregnant. Pirata
is a famous Cape Verdean Kizomba teacher and he asked me to assist him with his
classes around Europe. This was the beginning, after that I partnered up with
others and toured through the US. In 2013 with a French partner, I participated
in a dance competition and we landed 3rd. During my tours, I met
Bernadeth Mabungo, a professional dancer and first winner of the Africadançar chambionship in Lisbon, who invited me to visit her in Angola. I finally went and got
to know the culture Kizomba is part of.
Yesterday you danced with the Kina Ku Moxi on
our stage. It was obvious that you are a dancer. Was Kizomba your introduction
into dancing in general?
No, I took
classes of classical dancing from a very young age, with several competitions and
everything. Hence, I am schooled in controlling my movements and I am very
precise, knowing how to work on my posture and so on. Hence, I actually went
back to my affinity and love for dancing, after a stopover – so to speek – as a
bank clerk.
There has been a big demand for Kizomba classes
internationally for a few years now. One could almost say that you represent
this perfectly.
Yes, I
believe to have a different approach than many. To preserve the Angolan dances is
important to me as such. Many nowadays benefit from the hype, they do not care,
that they are transforming Kizomba. They don’t even know, because they never
took the time to learn it in depth. They add R’n’B or Hip Hop moves to make it
interesting. To me this kind of dancing seems “robotized”. They have reduced
Kizomba to a sequence of different steps, when there is more to it. For
instance the whole part of “rebolar” is essential, the way you move your
bodies, how you interact and how you improvise – and not least it is part of a
specific party culture.
The demand for Kizomba internationally started
within the Salsa scene, have there also been influences from it?
Yes, Salsa
definitely helped the dissemination of Kizomba a lot. Surely, it can be
interesting to mix things, but again I believe it is also important to know the
different dances in depth, you have to allow for them. This is what makes me
special amongst many other teachers, and why my students like me. I have been
giving classes in different dancing schools around Paris and people enjoy the
way I move and the cultural I show them, the “festa”.
With your origins in the Antilles, I assume,
you also have an affinity with Semba and Kizomba. Zouk, the musical style of
the Antilles is not just similar, but also very popular in Angola.
Yes of
course. Moreover it is important to acknowledge this closeness and to know that
they are a mix of different styles and influences. At the moment, I try to
bring some Kizomba classes to the Antilles. It is known of course, but in this other
way, I explained to you. I want my philosophy to be recognizable by the way I
dance, it is the only way to convince people.
In April
this year I took part in a Kizomba festival in Los Angeles, it’s called “Ladies
take the lead”. It was wonderful. We had all the big names of female Kizomba
teachers and only female DJs. Of course the man also benefited from this,
because women could show and teach them how and what they sense dancing
kizomba. As it is a couple dance, it was important for the men to know, how
women want to be lead.
For more information on Laury Esmeralda and her classes, follow her on facebook: Laury Esmeralda Officiel
The idea of
this blog stems from the desire to convey salient aspects of the national
culture by relating the gastronomy and the strong coinage by women that
characterize the pavilion and the Angolan society. Hence the name “Angola in
pink sauce”.
We talk
about cuisine by introducing recipes and dishes. Guided by the two chefs of the
pavilion we find out about ingredients. Chef Kitaba will reveal us the secrets
of traditional food, while Chef Elsa Viana remodels dishes for a European and
international taste.
Starting
from the kitchen, we discover Angola also through its music, art and tourism.
We explore
the different musical styles, talk about dancing, and show you the steps of the
most popular dances. We also present you the most famous artists of the
national and international scene.
Departing
from our contemporary art exhibitions in the pavilion, we dive into the artistic
scene of Angola and dabble into the design and fashion world.
The aim of
the blog is to reveal some of the marvels of the Angolan landscape, make them
known to a public outside the country and propose touristic cues for journeys.
We wish to
“narrate” Angola by the stories of those who are close to the country, giving
priority to women – in accordance to the importance they have in our Pavilion
and really also in Angolan Society.
