INTERVIEW: Alx Veliz On 'Dancing Kizomba' & Shows How To Dance Kizomba

Alx Veliz fell in love dancing Kizomba, and we fell in love with Alx Veliz. In his new single, the Latin artist fuses together the dance genre of Kizomba, which originated in Angola, Africa, and fused it together with Latin rhythms and EDM synths to create one truly awesome sound. The song, was recorded in both English AND Spanish, climbed up the Billboard charts, after he signed with Universal music in 2015.

The Canadian Latin singer/songwriter recently stopped by iHeartRadio HQ for an exclusive interview, where he told us all about his new song "Dancing Kizomba," and even gave us a tutorial on how to dance Kizomba!

[Buy "Dancing Kizomba" on iTunes]

Kizomba combines Western ballroom dance with African elements -- which you can see in Alx's "Dancing Kizomba" music -- as that is where the dance movement originated. Alx tells iHeartRadio that the goal of his new song was to expose the world to Kizomba, but by adding his own flavor to it. Alx grew up in Toronto, Canada, and was born to Guatemalan parents, so bringing a multicultural vibe to the song came naturally. "I think, growing up in Toronto, Canada being such a multicultural place, it's the perfect time to basically deliver to the world something that's as multicultural in the music industry. And that's what I felt Kizomba was."

On his single "Dancing Kizomba"

"Kizomba comes from Angola, Africa. And, when I first heard of the genre Kizomba, I fell in love with it because I felt it was the perfect balance between the Latin rhythms and the African rhythms as well. So I thought to myself, if I were to put an R&B pop melody to it, and maybe an EDM drop to it, it could be an international sound. And that's how the song came out."

"Dancing Kizomba" was recorded in both English and Spanish, and Alx says even though the song delivers more in Spanish, because of the wider vocabulary, but doesn't believe the song has lost anything in translation in the English version.

On the English Version vs. the Spanish version of the song

"I think the beauty of being second generation Latino, it allowed me to basically analyze the context of the song, and not lose it in the translation. And that's what I do with every song I translate. I don't do it word for word. As long as the message gets across, I'm content with it. So that's what I did with 'Dancing Kizomba.' When it was written in English, when I had to translate it, I made sure that the same message was portrayed. But at the same time, because Spanish is such a poetic language, I think it actually delivers more in the Spanish version. Because the vocabulary is wider, it gives you more area to say certain things. So I don't think it lost anything in the translation. If anything, I believe it added a little bit more to the story."

Alx is currently on tour with Nicky Jam, Zion Y Lennox, and De La Ghetto, and he says to share a stage with these artists is a dream come true. "Those were three of the artists that I grew up listening to, and I respected as artists. So being able to share a stage with those people is a dream come true. Being able to meet them, and seeing them as people as well, [it's] very inspirational. They're a very humble bunch. So, it's been an overwhelming experience, but at the same time very, very cool."

If you've seen Alx's music video for "Dancing Kizomba," the visual follows him actually learning how to dance Kizomba. So now being a natural, we asked Alx to show us his Kizomba dance moves. And as he explains a lot of it is in the footwork, as is a lot of latin-influenced dancing. Check it out Alx's Kizomba moves below:

Watch the music video for Alx Veliz - "Dancing Kizomba" below.

Photos: Wendy George for iHeartRadio