Followers Solo Training: The Zouk Body
Join us in this new course where we will explore how you can use different styles of movement by some of the most loved Followers in the Brazilian Zouk community
Aaaannd… We're back!
District Zouk’s Followers Solo Technique course is coming to you in our 7th cycle of online dance classes!
This month, Alisson and Vanessa will come together to share with you their best practices to transform and train your body to be its best. In this followers course, they will bring to you their combined expertise on how to train, what to train and the best ways to unlock your potential in learning and training your dancing.
‘The Zouk Body’ is one of the most beautiful aspects of Brazilian Zouk. There are many different accents that you can learn, in this course we will teach you how to experiment and find the one that suits your body best. We know this is a daunting journey, but together we will break them down and find what works for you!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Every lesson will be structured to explore main styles for Followers in Brazilian Zouk, the focus of this course is to experiment with different ways to move your body within those topics and see what works best for your way of expressing musicality and connection.
SOLO TRAINING? WHY? HOW?
Once you can understand that most of what you may see as a ‘new move’ is only an ‘upgraded’ version of a foundation move, your dance aesthetics will start to change. For everyone who’s been working on their technique and foundation, this is your next step. We will guide you through this research/experiment by teaching you how some of the most adored dancers have chosen to execute their foundations and why it suits them better.
The short term goal for this is to show you how foundations can be expressed in many different ways, and often they can also be adapted and disguised and in that situation you may think: ‘I don’t know this move’... We are here to help you recognize and over time get more confident with your following and with the flow of your dance.
This is a solo course for followers, or current leaders who want to learn the followers role. If you have someone to apply some of the concepts with it can be helpful to get immediate feedback and understanding of how things flow together, but it is not necessary.
DOES IT HAVE PREREQUISITES?
To take better advantage of this course, students should have some dancing experience (Brazilian Zouk or others), but it is not compulsory. Since we are not going to be working on partnered patterns, anyone with some partner dancing experience and the will to learn can join us!
WHAT IS THE CURRICULUM?
We will be using moves and concepts from Brazilian Zouk and technique/influence from some of the most prominent followers in our industry. Those can often be expressed in many ways, which is what we will be doing. What we want is to show you the ‘key secrets’ when it comes to ‘The Zouk Body’, like that moment when you go: ‘oh, that was niiiice’.
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Lateral - Travelling and Linear
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Momentum and Turns - Travelling and Stationary
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Concaving and Convexing - Contraçāo and Cambré
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Lines and Posture for better Decorations
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Instructors
Senior Instructor Alisson Sandi
Alisson Sandi began his dance career at the age of 15 in São Paulo, Brazil, where he was born. Over the years he trained in Brazilian, Latin and International Ballroom dancing with Jaime Arôxa, Renata Peçanha, Alex de Carvalho, Rodrigo Delano, and others. In 2007, he joined the Juan Rando Dance Academy (JRDA) in Perth, Australia, and stayed in Australia through 2019 teaching in multiple cities and around the world. Alisson has held performances and workshops in over 41 countries, and holds titles including 2x Pro World Champion, 3x Australian Pro Champion, and Winner/Finalist of various BZDC All Stars/Champions Jack and Jill Comps. He is one of the the founders and the first choreographers of the International Zouk Flash Mob. He has also been an official judge for the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council since its first competition event. Alisson has a passion for teaching and is known for his attention to detail and effective instruction in dance techniques. Recently Alisson completed the 50-hour lambada certification course with Master Braz, and is looking forward to practicing and teaching more lambada and sharing it with the dancers and community here and in Washington, DC.
Junior Instructor Vanessa Scott
Vanessa Scott found zouk in New Zealand and was drawn to its music, fluidity and circular movement. When she lived in the midwest US, she persuaded a ballroom teacher to split the cost of some instructional DVDs and learn Zouk from scratch together. In 2016, Vanessa moved to the DMV area and has been zouking as much as possible ever since. She joined the District Zouk dance team and performed with them for three years, and began teaching with District Zouk at the end of 2016. In 2017, she went to the first ever 30-day Rio Zouk Immersion Course in Brazil where she studied with top Brazilian instructors Jaime Aroxa, Renata Pecanha, Brenda Carvalho and Anderson Mendes da Rocha. Working closely with them in such an intimate setting allowed her to see the depth and different philosophies of this dance. She continued learning from some of the top international instructors, including a 40-hour one-on-one training with Xandy Liberato in Spain and a 19 hour training with William and Paloma in Singapore. In 2018, she formed her own Ladies Performance Team with District Zouk and she continued as the director and sometimes as the choreographer. In summer 2019, the District Zouk Ladies team won first place at the National Team Zouk N Play Competition under Vanessa’s direction. Vanessa has been teaching, traveling the world, and soaking up different flavors of Zouk, and is excited to share her passion and knowledge with others.