JOAO ROCHA
Joao was born in Lisbon, Portugal. Since 1999 Salsa was his first love, and in 2007, Kizomba came into his life. Having inspirations such as Master Petchu, Kwenda Lima and Afrolatin Connection he has developed his own style!
In May 2010 he was invited to perform Semba at the prestigious “Africadançar”. In October 2010 he moved to London to teach and contribute to the growing Kizomba scene in the UK. In February 2012 he moved to Stockholm and created 1st Kizomba Scene there under the name of “Kizombafeber” along with his current partner Giedre. The same year he started practicing dj-ing and was called DJ “Rock”.
GIEDRE LAPAITE
Giedre was born in Lithuania, her first love was ballroom dances along with salsa, later on in 2010 she discovered Kizomba. In 2011 she met Joao Rocha, who has given her love to Semba and invited her to teach together. In 2012 Giedre deepened her knowledge of Angola’s history and culture with Master Petchu and Vanessa in Lisbon (Portugal). In 2012 she moved to Stockholm (Sweden) where she contributed in developing Kizomba community.
JOAO & GIEDRE
In 2015 Joao and Giedre decided to bring their Kizomba love into Frankfurt, where they are based at the moment. They have taught and travelled the world together since 2012. They are as well know as organisers of prestigious kizomba festival - LIKE LISBON. Their biggest dance project in Frankfurt is called LIKE FRANKFURT.
Their classes are known as very detailed and highly technical, they focus on authentic kizomba and semba, pay a lot of attention to the Angolan culture, but also introduce modern kizomba music and steps along 3 years program. They teach not only kizomba, semba, tarraxinha, but also they give classes of old school kizomba flow, leading and following techniques and musicality. They also created a modern class of kizomba with tango influence, which has become one of their most popular classes.
