Search in the website:

Mervil & Amandine

Mervil & Amandine

FRANCE / NANTES

Mervil & Amandine Kizomba elegance

Biography

Mervil & Amandine
Kizomba teachers from Western France, Mervil and Amandine are credited for their precise and elegant dancing style, which they pass on with an articulate teaching method. At the Kizomba Elegance Academy, the school they opened in Nantes, they impart their students a comprehensive knowledge of body mechanics applied to dancing, the art of acquiring a gracious bearing on the dancefloor or even kizomba etiquette. Mervil and Amandine are in demand for many festivals across France and Europe, where their workshops and boot camps surely make an impression. In January 2019, the 1st Edition of their Kizomba Elegance Festival will be held in Nantes, in the hub of the city’s nightlife: ‘le quai des Antilles’.

Mervil: perfectionist, courteous and stylish.
Mervil first set foot in the world of dancing with Hip-hop, which he practiced for 5 years in the Paris Region. In 2008 he discovered couple dances such as Tango, Paso Doble and Salsa. The beauty and the bliss of tango seduced him but when in 2009 he was introduced to Kizomba, it became obvious to him that he was going to be a Kizombeiro. It is the modern touch of ‘African Tango*’ and its room for creativity that drew Mervil to this dance, with, ever since his first steps as a beginner, the desire to teach it one day. Upon falling for Kizomba, he attended many workshops of famous dancers such as Kwenda Lima, Ricardo & Paula (Afro latine connection) Isabelle & Félicien, Georges Bitaud, Morenasso & Anais or even An’so & Jazzy Cubango. In the city of Brest, with fellow dance friends and his ex Kizomba partner Laetycia, he created the Breizh Kizomba society in 2010 and gave his first class in September 2011. Six years later, Mervil began a new partnership with Amandine.
Willing to share a quality Kizomba experience, Mervil has developed his own approach to teaching this dance. His goal is to train dancers capable of making the most of their bodies’ mechanics as couples in order to have a sophisticated yet coordinated flow in following the music. He has been collecting techniques from Tango methods, from Personal Development materials and from articles about Kinesiology (the scientific study of body movement). Thanks to this Kizomba teaching cocktail, Mervil rapidly stood out in the world of Kizomba. Since his debut as a teacher, he has flown to countries like Spain, Greece, Romania, Andorra or even Hungary to teach the dance ‘with Angolan roots’. In 2017, 3 of his students reached the France Kizomba Tour final. In September that same year, Mervil and Amandine settled in Nantes and opened their dancing school: the Kizomba Elegance Academy.

Amandine: gentle, graceful and generous.
Amandine was a ballet dancer for 4 years before she became a Zumba enthusiast. She then worked as a Zumba instructor for 3 years. It is in 2013, on a dance trip to Barcelona that she discovered couple dancing and began being passionate about Kizomba. Back in France, she met Mervil and learned the Kizomba essentials with him. Soon after, she went on to refine her knowledge of the dance by attending many workshops throughout France. She started teaching Kizomba with Mervil in Summer 2015: private lessons, regular courses and workshops during festivals.
Amandine is esteemed for being a graceful dancer. She has a strong command of elegant walking, posing and body balancing. Since she became a couple dancer, Amandine has been focusing on the expression of womanliness in the duo ‘leader-follower’. She developed an expertise in lady-styling, based on the harmony with the partner. Her advice is welcome by many women dancers. In addition to the classes with Mervil at the Kizomba Elegance Academy, she offers lady-styling sessions with techniques to improve self-confidence, posture, frame, connexion, floor contacts and Ginga so as to help women become accomplished Kizombeiras.