District Zouk

For many generations, partner dancers in Brazil would learn at least two dance styles at a time. It's part of the culture. That's one of the reasons why Brazilian Zouk dancers from Brazil have a different quality of movement and embodiment. 

The variety adds footwork dexterity, hip and lower body movements and contact, upper body swag, and the ability to connect with people and songs in unique ways. During Gui's training days in Rio, for example, a dancer needed to master a minimum of 6 different dance styles (Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, Soltinho, Forró, Brazilian Zouk and Tango) in order to become a teacher assistant. There was also consistent contact improv classes and a splash of solo dances added to the mix. For Elena, learning Samba de Gafieira, Samba no Pé, and Forró after learning Brazilian Zouk was essential to refining and developing confidence in weight transfer, musicality, and close body connection.

This multidisciplinary approach would develop technique, musicality and floorcraft in unique ways, and dancers would be able to code switch with the change of a song to another. 

In this new season of the Brazilian Zouk Training Team, Gui & Elena are going to bring back elements of this way of learning. They'll incorporate elements of other Brazilian partner dances and Contact Improv as a way to expand body awareness, connection, quality of movement, and what we understand as “technique”. These elements will then serve as inspiration to the Brazilian Zouk's patterns and dynamics they will explore.

ARE WE GOING TO LEARN ALL THESE DIFFERENT DANCES?

No. We're going to be introduced to their basic footwork and partner-work. 8 weeks is not enough time to learn an entire different dance style, but more than enough to skim through some of their basic principles. 

These basic ideas and dynamics about different dance styles will then serve as inspiration for the Brazilian Zouk movements we'll study.

WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR

This team is aimed at dancers who:

• LOVE to social dance and are looking for a way to take it to the next level;

• Are less interested in learning complicated moves, and more in increasing their quality of connection and movement;

• Don't need to know why we're doing something for and trust that all knowledge will find its way to be expressed organically and over time;

PREREQUISITES

The Brazilian Zouk Training Team is designed for those with a good understanding of Brazilian Zouk's basics and variations (DZ students that have completed Fundamentals 2 and up). Therefore, to take part in the team, students need to:

• Have NO ISSUES WITH TIMING AND BASIC TRANSITIONS - staying comfortably on the rhythm and keep it during transitions between basic steps,

• know all the basics/fundamental patterns and execute them effortlessly (Basics 1 to Fundamentals 2 content),

• be able to connect the basics/fundamental patterns with ease,

• know basic direction changes: in the Linear Basic, Viradinha, and Lateral.

AUDITIONS 

Auditions will take place on August 10, from 8:15 to 9:30 pm at DanceSport Dupont Circle.

Auditions will be in workshop format, starting with a warm-up, then moving into partnerwork. We'll be doing a sequence of movements designed to verify if most of the prerequisites laid out above are met.

MAXIMUM CAPACITY

9 followers and 9 leaders

DAY AND TIME

Weekly Training: 

Mondays from 8:15 - 9:30 pm at DanceSport Dupont Circle

August 17 to October 5