Elena's Followers Team
Grow your confidence and skills as a dancer, and enrich your zouk follow experience with a combination of diverse dance technique and choreography!
Become the dancer you want to be.
Do you want to feel more comfortable in your body? Learn how to move your arms gracefully? Be able to do impressive spins? It all comes down to training! On this team, you can discover your individual style, learn new ways to move your body, and find out what you are capable of!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Join Elena "the Rhinestone" Rovito to learn a variety of widely applicable methods of improving as a follow. There will be 2 new videos uploaded each week - 1 hour of technique, and 1 hour of choreography/performance.
Each class will focus on a different aspect of zouk technique along with some cross-training in various styles which you can add to your zouk technique. The choreography class will slowly build and once the entire choreography is learned, will focus on refinement, stage presence and presentation.
DO I NEED A PARTNER?
Nope! You do not need a partner for this class. You’ll be able to practice all of the concepts solo.
IS THIS FOR LEADERS OR FOLLOWERS?
This class is intended for anyone interested in improving their dance ability. The most comfortable and confident dancers are those who have learnt and experienced all sides of the dance, and here at District Zouk, we highly recommend every dancer learn them all!
WHY SHOULD I JOIN?
This team is designed to create and encourage versatility in dance. If we have a wide base of knowledge, we can more easily express ourselves while dancing, especially while following.
There are many ways to feel and look great while dancing, and we want to make sure that people understand and appreciate each one. Diversity makes dance beautiful! No matter your level of experience, body type, or typical role in zouk, this course will help you to embrace yourself and nurture your development as a dancer.
Prerequisites
In order to get the most out of this course, we recommend you have at least 6 months of experience with Brazilian Zouk and are familiar with the fundamentals, such as:
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Basics - in place, linear (Passso Básico) and side
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Lateral
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Simple Turn
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Lunge
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Traveling Turn
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Cuddle
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Yoyo
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Bonus
NEED A REFRESHER?
Learn from one of the multiple Solo Training courses from Foundation Footwork, Fundamental Moves, Body Movement, and more!
WHAT IS IN THIS COURSE?
Each week will include two classes - one hour of technique and one hour of choreography and performance.
The first hour is a deep-dive into zouk technique with cross-training in other styles of dance including ballet, samba, contemporary, and acro. This class is progressive and each week will use concepts from previous classes.
The second hour will work on the team choreography. Once the choreography has been learned in its entirety we will continue working on refinement, stage presence, and presentation!
Would you like to have a taste of our Online learning experience?
Just sign up to our taster and check out some of our lessons.
Instructors
Junior Instructor Elena Rovito
Elena is a Brazilian zouk instructor, performer, and DJ, originally from California. She has a diverse background of many different arts and sports including gymnastics, parkour, ballet/jazz/modern/contemporary dance, and various partner dances.
She began partner dancing in 2014, and has since competed at collegiate ballroom events, completed certifications in multiple dance courses, and taught classes all over North America - from San Francisco to Playa Del Carmen.
Her preferred styles of dance are Brazilian zouk and bachata, but she also dances samba de gafieira, salsa, West Coast Swing, forró, while dabbling in many others.
The nickname “Rhinestone” refers to her love for sparkly accessories, but also to her constant development of inner sparkle and inspiration. She is a passionate advocate for body positivity and acceptance, and she loves to incorporate this into her teaching so that people of all body types can learn to dance! She also blogs about body positivity, mental health, and personal growth (therhinestone.medium.com).
In 2019, she visited DC for a weekend event and fell in love with the welcoming atmosphere and dedication of the local dancers. After a few years, she finally took the leap and moved cross-country to join the District Zouk core team! She is very excited about getting to learn alongside their phenomenal trainees and instructors and to help further grow the incredible community in DC.