ABOUT THE CREATOR OF MIAPOLO

Kelly, the creator of Miapolo®, has always been passionate about dance since childhood, and later on, he studied various martial arts such as Thai boxing, Kajukenbo, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and Jeet Kune Do. To help himself remember certain movements, he formed his own Kata and discovered that self-defense movements closely resembled African dance movements. Not only did he learn combat techniques more easily, but he was also able to lose weight extremely quickly while having fun and dancing to engaging African music rhythms. Kelly believes that African dance is more than just a dance; it carries secrets that have been partly lost over time. African dance can be unveiled in different ways, and through his research work, he reveals self-defense in it. He thought this could help many people and thus created Miapolo®, which means 'we're going to hit you' in the Mina language of Togo.

ABOUT MIAPOLO

Miapolo® allows you to learn self-defense basics through African dance. Thus, we strive to create a space where African dance inspired by self-defense movement and afrofit meet for personal development. Participants will discover and master a dance that celebrates the uniqueness of each individual, thereby strengthening self-esteem through the learning of self-defense basics via African dance and also being better in their body. Miapolo® is entertaining and also promotes social relationships between students. Let yourself be carried away on this unique adventure that marries artistic expression and self-confidence. Join us!

AFRICAN DANCE

With us, it’s a whole program. Miapolo®, a bold fusion of African dance inspired by the four corners of the African continent, opens the doors to a multidisciplinary adventure. Through our courses, imagine mastering an innovative, aesthetic, and carefully created dance inspired by contemporary and traditional African dance, as well as different African styles such as Ndombolo, Coupé-décalé, afrobeat, Kuduro, Azonto, and many others. Miapolo® is much more than just a dance; it's an experience that transcends artistic and physical borders. Whatever your prior experience and age, our experienced instructors will guide you.

FITNESS

With Miapolo® you have fun on African rhythms while sculpting your body. The dance is designed to shape and strengthen the whole body with a significant result on muscle building and toning, particularly on the buttocks, legs, and helps combat overweight issues, as well as eliminating belly fat. You will thus see a significant result on weight loss and muscle gain for maintaining good health.

SELF DEFENSE

The choreography consists of African dance movements with hidden self-defense techniques. Through the choreographies, participants will perform the movements repetitively so that in a self-defense situation the movements are applied automatically to defend themselves. Each Miapolo® step has a name that corresponds to its translation in self-defense. During the course, we select a step in choreography, look at its translation in self-defense, and pair up to practice self-defense with one attacking and the other defending, and vice versa, always gently and without risk of injury. Generally, in a one-hour course, we do one or two translations. Be aware, Miapolo® cannot be considered a combat sport, it remains above all a dance because we are 85% dance and 15% self-defense in translation.

TEAM COHESION AND SOCIAL BOND

Miapolo® encourages sharing and exchange thanks to the self-defense workshop for two. It’s a playful and friendly moment where everyone learns to get to know each other. Miapolo® is thus ideal for all organizations wishing to create team cohesion and social links and for the professional world, employee engagement, transversality, and inclusion.