District Zouk

We're kicking off a new season of our advanced Brazilian zouk training team. Our training teams are an opportunity for students who have completed our curriculum to dive deeper into training with other more advanced dancers. This team will run for four months - April through August - with Kuna and Julissa directing it. The workshop-style auditions on April 6 will be with Julissa and Iago.

This program is designed for experienced dancers ready to expand their movement vocabulary and deepen their understanding of Brazilian Zouk. We’ll explore innovative movements drawn from social dance videos, breaking them down into their fundamental mechanics and rebuilding them with clarity, control, and intention. Students will help shape the curriculum by submitting videos of movements they want to learn, creating a collaborative and evolving training environment.

We’re looking for committed dancers with a foundation in technique, timing, and connection, who are comfortable being challenged and stepping outside their habitual patterns. Ideal participants are curious, detail-oriented, and open to experimentation, focused not just on copying movements, but understanding how they work.

Mondays, 8:15-9:30pm
DanceSport Dupont Circle
April 13 - August 3

TEAM DETAILS
Following the auditions, we’ll send invitations to join the team with additional details.
Team members get:
- Discounts for progressive classes, workshops, and socials
- Free entry to Monday partner classes and practicas
- Discounted dues for joining multiple teams (if invited)

Where and When?
Monday, April 6
DanceSport Dupont Circle
8:15 pm - 9:30 pm

What to expect:
The audition will be a ‘workshop style’ session that’s similar to one of our team trainings. You'll get a sense of how the team works and whether it's a good fit. The audition includes the practica after, so you're welcome to stay and practice.

Audition cost: $30

Kuna’s journey to Brazilian Zouk started about 10 years ago. As an established videographer and photographer, Kuna was hired to photograph a zouk event, where his talent and ability to capture the beauty of zouk was discovered. Brazilian Zouk congresses around the world started hiring him to film and photograph their events, igniting his love affair with the dance. Kuna traveled across the globe as a filmmaker, while simultaneously learning from the most recognizable Zouk instructors. He became passionate about mastering the technique and intricate details of leading to not only improve his dance, but to also create a comfortable and smooth experience for those he dances with. For the past several years, Kuna has logged over 8,000 hours of social dancing, obtained teacher training from some of the most esteemed Zouk instructors (including Kim Rottier, Bruno Galhardo, Ry’El & Jessica, and Brenda & Anderson), and has danced with close to a hundred different dance communities around the world. In just a few short years, he has cultivated a skill level that’s inline with the top professionals and has become one of the most desirable and recognizable names within the Zouk community. Kuna went from being behind the camera to starring in front of it as an instructor at Zouk congresses and as a lover of zouk who can always be found dancing the night away. Today, Kuna continues to share his love of videography and dance with Zouk communities both big and small. He’s passionate about sharing all that he’s learned and has taught some of the biggest classes in the world, but still spends his time supporting the growth of smaller communities. Kuna’s classes are going to feel intimate no matter the size as he makes the effort to know each dancer personally. He has a unique approach to teaching that sometimes pushes dancers outside of their comfort zones, but never without a positive outcome. He is constantly looking to improve as both a dancer and instructor, which benefits all those lucky enough to cross paths with him in the zouk world. He will make jokes, half of which won’t be funny, but try to laugh anyway.

Julissa is a Washington D.C.-based Brazilian Zouk dancer and instructor. With a classical ballet and modern dance background (Alexander Horton technique), Julissa discovered Zouk in 2012 at New York Zouk Festival after being invited to a social. Since then, she has traveled globally as a solo artist, collaborating with artists in Zouk and Lambada. Through extensive training and teaching, Julissa refines her craft, bringing unique expression and passion to the Zouk community. As a dedicated dancer and instructor, she aims to empower followers through dance, emphasizing self-expression and personal power within partner work.