Tools for Mindful Dance: Breath, Creativity and Fluidity
Learn the tools that will help you feel more attuned with your body, your partner, and the music.
Social dancing and learning to dance can be an amazing and overwhelming experience at the same time. There are quite a few things to think about all at once, so it's easy to fall into habits where we miss the perception of our own body, our partner’s body, barely hear the nuances of the music, or get caught up thinking “what do I do next?”
Being in our heads all the time can cause us to disconnect from the sensations our bodies receive from the ground, the environment, the music, and our partners. There are tools, however, that we can use to experience the dance in a more mindful way and increase our connection and enjoyment.
In this 8-week long online course, Gui Prada will focus on providing these tools to bring these important aspects into your dance experience. From mindset to movement, this course will cover the different topics that will help you dance with presence and attention. We'll think less of the next thing and more of what is happening now.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
This course has 6 hour long classes recorded live with students' questions and participation and 2 pre-recorded classes. Classes are a mix of talking, experiencing with exercises, moments to follow along, and sharing.
Each week focus on a new topic. The idea is for you to get an assortment of different tools that will help you develop more mindfulness about your body, your dance, the surroundings, and the patterns.
This course complements the learning of Brazilian Zouk techniques and touch on details that we normally don’t get the opportunity to explore in-depth.
IS THIS A SOLO OR A PARTNER COURSE? FOR LEADERS OR FOLLOWERS?
This is strictly a solo class for both leaders and followers.
WHY SHOULD I JOIN?
This course provides you material that is rarely covered in regular technique classes. Such content can make a significant positive impact on the way you perceive your dance, your body, and what it is that makes a dance good.
You will see that small things can make a big difference in the end. More importantly, this course shows you that you really - REALLY - don’t need to be an advanced dancer to be able to have and provide an amazing experience for you and your partner.
This is also a way you can support our instructors - some of whom teach dance as their full-time occupation - and they can support you during this time.
PREREQUISITES
The only thing we ask for this class is knowledge of timing and the basic fundamentals, especially the Basics in place, side, and linear.
The more you know and have experience with the dance, the more examples you will be able to draw on to apply the concepts you learn.
WHAT IS THE CURRICULUM?
During our 8 weeks together, we are going to cover the following topics:
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Mindset, environment, and preparation
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Breath and Movement
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Musicality
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Creativity and Versatility
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Groundedness and Balance
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Instructor
Senior Instructor Gui Prada
Gui Prada started dancing in 2004 inspired by the movie "Shall We Dance?". He began to dive deep into dance in 2006 as a work-study trainee of the Jaime Arôxa Dance School in Rio de Janeiro. Jaime Arôxa, one of the creators of Brazilian Zouk, was the head instructor and was a mentor for the most accomplished dancers in Brazil. During his 6 years as a member of the school's team, he learned all Brazilian partner dances (Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Soltinho, Bolero and Zouk) as well as Argentine Tango. After he left the school, he continued dancing and learning from other remarkable instructors, including Fabiano Vivas, Kelly Reis, Érico Rodrigo, Guilherme Pimentel and many others. Since then he has focused his training and research on taking the best of each of these dances and applying it to the close embrace, with the purpose of conveying a sense of well-being and relaxation to dance partners. In 2016 he attended the first Zouk Retreat in Valencia, led by Xandy Liberato, Brenda Carvalho and Anderson Mendes. After that, his research on partner dancing took a new direction, as he continued working with Brenda and Anderson to seek for the application of the concepts explored at the retreat in different ways by using the references of the other Brazilian partner dances and Argentinian Tango. As a result, the importance of the basic steps and concepts became evident, since it is through them that all dances reach another level. Gui is looking forward to sharing his technique and training with students here in Washington DC to help them improve their basics, comfort and confidence on the dance floor.