Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.It has its roots in Cadence music from Dominica popularise by Grammacks and Exile One Zouk means 'party' in the local creole of French with English and African influences, all three of which contribute the sound.
Zouk was invented in the early to mid-1980s when many different styles were fused, such as balakadri, the Dominica based Cadence and bal granmoun dances, mazurka and biguine, French and American pop, and kadans, gwo ka and other indigenous styles.
A special style within the zouk is called zouklove, where the music is slower, and more dramatic. Zouklove has its origins in a slow tempo form of Cadence sang by Ophelia Marie of Dominica. The music Zouklove resembles the Kizomba music from Angola. Zouklove is also a dance style, closely related to lambada. Although the movements of the foot are slightly different (zouklove-dancers step on 1 and lambada dancers step on 2), it is based around the same 3/4 beat and both dances share the same movements.
Zouklove is danced in 3 paces within four measurements: long-short-short. The dance is very sensual with many cambres and dramatic moves. Female dancers keep throwing their usual long hair into the air to add to the drama. Zouklove is especially popular in Brazil, The Netherlands and Spain.
