Virgula

ComptageDanced to a slow 4/4 pulse; kizomba does not use salsa-style break counts (no On1/On2). The comma typically unfolds over roughly two slow beats, with steps placed on the pulse, and can be stretched or compressed to fit the phrase.

Temps musicalComfortable across typical kizomba tempos, roughly 80–110 bpm, where the slow, grounded pulse suits the curving redirection; the figure can be stretched or clipped to fit the music. At faster semba tempos (around 120 bpm and up) it tightens into a quicker, more compact execution.

• Kizomba basic walk (saída)
• Stable close-embrace connection
• Leading and following from the chest and torso rather than the arms

• ✕Leading the redirection with the arms or hands instead of the chest and torso, breaking kizomba's body-led connection.
• ✕Making the step too large or straight so the path loses its comma curve and reads as a flat side step.
• ✕Rushing the figure rather than letting the curve unfold across the slow 4/4 beats.
• ✕Loosening the close embrace as the couple rotates, so the follower stops receiving the direction lead.
• ✕The follower anticipating the new direction instead of waiting to read it from the leader's body.

• ≠'Vírgula' literally means 'comma' in Portuguese; it names this comma-shaped step, not any cross-step footwork.
• ≠Saída — the basic walking entry; the virgula is a redirect built from it, not the basic itself.
• ≠Tarraxa / tarraxinha — grounded hip and torso isolations danced largely in place; the virgula travels and redirects, it does not.
• ≠Salsa 'cross-body lead' — a slot-based exchange in a different dance; kizomba has no slot and the virgula is not its equivalent.

• Angola / Portugal (Lusophone origin)

  vírgula

  Portuguese for 'comma'; the source term carried with the dance from its homeland.

• International scenes (Europe, North America, Latin America)

  virgula

  Adopted directly from Portuguese, commonly written without the accent; no distinct local renaming attested.