Kizomba festivals

    UK Kizomba Festivals

    Discover kizomba festivals across the UK, from dedicated weekenders to urban kiz and tarraxa rooms inside larger congresses. Compare locations, dates and dance styles, and find your next weekend away.

    Upcoming kizomba festivals

    Kizomba festivals taking place over the next three months.

    All festivals

    Why attend a kizomba festival?

    1. Meet the wider kizomba community

      Kizomba scenes across the UK are small and tight on a city level, so festivals provide an amazing opportunity for the community to come together. One weekender will connect you with dancers from all over the country.

    2. Learn from kizomba specialists

      Festivals bring in the teachers who shaped and continue to push the dance. Over the course of a weekend you will learn from the finest teachers, with a true passion for the dance.

    3. Enhance style and connection

      The opportunity to take back-to-back workshops, as well as dance with lots of new people, over a weekend will enhance that all-important style and connection.

    4. Make a weekend of it

      Most UK kizomba weekenders run Friday to Sunday with a hotel attached, so the dancing comes with a well deserved break away.

    5. Late, deep social floors

      Kizomba rooms, like their salsa and bachata siblings, tend to run late at festivals. This is great news for getting lots of dancing in. Maybe a bit less good news for sleeping...

    UK Latin dance festivals

    Choosing the right kizomba festival

    UK kizomba festivals can vary in style, pace and price. Here we list a few things to think about when booking:

    01

    Beginner friendliness

    Some festivals run a multitude of beginner-focused workshops and classes whilst also being strong advocates for total dancefloor inclusivity. If it's your first weekend, check out the programme, attached to all bailemo listings, or look for a clearly bailemo labelled beginner level and a big social floor.

    02

    Traditional kizomba vs urban kiz

    Many festivals run kizomba, urban kiz, terraxa, douceur and other variations in either a single room or separate room throughout the weekend.

    03

    Kizomba-only vs multi-style

    There are plenty of kizomba only festivals to choose from if that's the style that you are after. However, if you dance more than one style, or indeed want to try another, then many UK festivals are 'SBK' meaning salsa, bachata and kizomba. Often, there will be separate rooms for each meaning you can sample all of the different energies.

    04

    Budget considerations

    Full weekend passes typically cost £70 – £160, plus accommodation, travel, food and drinks. Early-bird passes and party-only tickets can save you money, and lots of festivals offer room-share options to keep costs down.

    05

    Size and atmosphere

    Large congresses give you huge line-ups and hundreds of dancers to meet. Smaller kizomba weekenders feel more like a community gathering where you get to know most of the room.

    More about kizomba

    What to expect

    Workshops

    Timetabled classes across levels and styles, from kizomba basics and semba footwork to urban kiz technique, musicality and body movement.

    Social dancing

    The heart of any festival - rooms running from the evening through to the early hours, usually with separate kizomba, urban kiz, bachata and salsa floors.

    Shows

    Professional and student performances showcasing choreography from teams and instructors across the UK and beyond.

    Competitions

    Amateur and pro divisions, jack & jills and team battles. Great to watch even if you're not competing.

    Bootcamps

    Longer, deeper intensives with a single instructor, usually booked separately from the main workshop pass.

    Tarraxa rooms

    Many kizomba festivals run a dedicated late-night tarraxa or douceur room with its own DJ, which is a completely different energy to the main floor.

    Beginner kizomba classes

    UK kizomba festivals: FAQs

    Are kizomba festivals suitable for beginners?

    Yes. Most UK kizomba festivals run a beginner track and many include a taster before the socials. Because kizomba scenes are small, festivals are used to welcoming people in their first year, and our Edinburgh kizomba guide is a good place to start locally.

    What's the difference between kizomba, semba and urban kiz?

    Kizomba is a smooth, grounded close-embrace dance from Angola. Semba is its faster, bouncier ancestor with more playful footwork. Urban kiz is a newer, more linear and stylised offshoot danced to remixed music. Most festivals programme all three.

    Where do tarraxa and douceur fit in?

    Tarraxa and douceur are slower, more internal sub-styles danced almost on the spot, built around isolation and weight shifts rather than travelling. We treat them as part of the kizomba family, so they appear on our kizomba listings alongside kizomba and urban kiz.

    Do I need a partner?

    No. Workshops rotate partners throughout and socials are all about asking and being asked. The overwhelming majority of people attend solo or with friends rather than with a fixed partner.

    How much do UK kizomba festivals cost?

    Full weekend passes typically run from around £70 to £160 depending on the size of the festival and how early you book. Party-only passes are usually cheaper, and accommodation is normally billed separately unless it's a hotel package. Pricing is broadly in line with UK Latin dance festivals.

    What level should I be before my first kizomba festival?

    In our view a few months of regular classes is enough — you should be comfortable in a close embrace, able to walk on time and follow or lead basic direction changes. If you're unsure where you sit, our dance level definitions explain what beginner, improver and intermediate mean in practice.

    What about salsa and bachata festivals?

    We also list UK salsa festivals and UK bachata festivals with the same date and detail filters.