Our Progressive Classes

From Monday to Wednesdays, 8 progressive courses

From April 7 to May 29, we'll have our second cycle of progressive classes of 2025.

This new cycle brings:

- 6 curriculum courses:

  • Basics 1, 2 and 3
  • Fundamentals 1B
  • Head Movements 1


- 3 Special Courses:

  • Musical Inspiration
  • Traveling, Transitions & the Dark Side
  • Lambada 3


- 1 Study Group Course:

  • Head Movement Transitions


Scroll down to learn more about our curriculum and special classes.

SCHEDULE - April 7 to May 29

Mondays

- Basics 1 w/ Gui, Raven & Brenda - 8:15-9:30 pm (8-week series) - APRIL 14 TO JUNE 2

Tuesdays

- Basics 2 w/ Raven & Sarah - 7:15-8:40 pm (8-week series)
- Basics 3 w/ Raven, Krystal & Emilia - 8:50-10:15 pm (8-week series)
- Fundamentals 1B w/ Alisson, Gui & Hermela - 7:15-8:40 pm (8-week series)
- Special Topics Intensive: Musical Inspiration w/ Alisson & Revathi (3-week series: April 8 - 22); Traveling, Transitions & The Dark Side w/ Gui & Sarah (5-week series: April 29 - May 27) - 8:50-10:15 pm

Wednesdays

- Lambada 3 w/ Kuna & Ashley - 7:15-8:40 pm (8-week series)
- Head Movements 1 w/ Gui & Elena - 8:50-10:15 pm (8-week series)
- Study Group: Head Movement Transitions w/ Alisson, Gui & Hermela - 7:15-8:40 pm (8-week series)

In addition, we also offer the opportunity to sign up for Monday drop-in classes as a series, which gives you a discount on the normal drop-in price. If you sign up for those with one of our other courses, then you get a discount on both.


LOCATION

DanceSport Dupont Circle
2201 P St. NW (GPS 1520 22nd St. NW)
The Church of the Pilgrims Fellowship Hall
(Entrance from the south side via stairs going down)
Washington DC 20037

Registration for our Progressive Courses

Price $195 (most courses) / $140 (one-hour courses)

- 10% discount if you enroll in two courses (automatically applied)


- 15% discount if you enroll in three courses (automatically applied)


- 30% discount if you retake a course you've taken before (with code RETAKE)


- If you have credits from previous classes, contact us for a code to use your credit to sign up.

Join Us!

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Did you know we have a Code of Conduct?

DZ's Code of Conduct helps us promote a safer and welcoming environment to the community.

When attending our classes, all participants and instructors agree to abide by the terms of our Code of Conduct. We encourage everyone to read it and get acquainted with its terms. The Code of Conduct also lays out the process one can follow in case of violations.
Read our Code of Conduct

Learn more about our curriculum!

After years of teaching continuous progressive classes, organizing socials, workshops, and observing social dance dynamics in our community, we adapt and adjust the ways, the speed, and the order in which we teach Brazilian Zouk fundamentals.

Our current curriculum is then the result of continuous improvement, aiming to provide our students with the tools to connect all the Brazilian Zouk pieces.

The premise of our curriculum

Our main goal at District Zouk is to provide the tools to help you become a comfortable and versatile social dancer. 

Within the time we have during each cycle - 85 minutes per week for 8 weeks - we focus on teaching the essential skills to dance Brazilian Zouk. On top of such skills, we build the fundamental patterns and other of the dance's signature movements.

We also build our curriculum to develop your social dancing skills beyond the knowledge of the movements, providing time to dance and practice in class with the guidance of our instructors and assistants.

How does the progression work?

Our courses and how to progress

Our Core Curriculum is made of 10 progressive courses:

- Basics Courses: Basics 1, 2, and 3

- Fundamentals Courses: Fundamentals 1A, 1B, and 2

- Foundations Head Movements: Head Movements 1, 2A and 2B

- Improvement Courses: Study Group

Taken consecutively, from Basics 1 to Head Movements 2A or B, our curriculum covers one's first 18 or so months into Brazilian Zouk. 

Each of these courses covers a set of essential skills, fundamental patterns, body movements, transitions, and general lead-and-follow principles. 

The Study Group works differently than the previous courses, as it doesn't have a set syllabus. That means that each new cycle we'll be studying a different topic at the Study Group. 

Moving from one course to another is simple. Each course and group of courses has a set of essential skills students need to embody to move on to the next. Our instructors verify it by the end of each course or through our Assessments that happen between cycles.

Fundamentals 1A and 1B, as well as Head Movements 2A and 2B, can be taken in any order as they present similar levels of difficulty.

To progress to Fundamentals 2, the student must have completed both Fundamentals 1A and 1B. To progress to the Study Group, the student must have completed Head Movements 2A and 2B. Even upon completion of the above courses, the referred progressions also depend on approval from the Instructor.

Joining any of the courses above Basics 1 requires an assessment from our instructors.

Special Courses

Complementing our curriculum with fun and interesting topics

Every cycle we offer 1-2 Special Topics courses. 

These courses complement our curriculum by zooming into specific aspects of the dance or bringing new styles or Lambada.

For our upcoming April/May cycle we have:

- Musical Inspiration (3-week Intensive)

- Traveling, Transitions & the Dark Side (5-week Intensive)

- Lambada 3

Since these courses are not in the regular flow of our curriculum progression, please mind their prerequisites. You'll find them in the descriptions below.

How is each course structured?

Each course is 8 weeks long, with one 85 minutes class per week. We strongly encourage students to practice outside of class and, most importantly come to Practicas and Socials given the limited time we have together.

Basics 1 to 3, Fundamentals 2, and Head Movements 1, 2A, and 2B all present a more fixed syllabus. 

Fundamentals 1A and 1B can vary from cycle to cycle. These are courses designed to present more options and variations of the content developed during our Basics Courses. Therefore, different options will be presented depending on each group of students on each cycle.

Can I do two or more courses at the same time?

We strongly encourage you to take more than one course at the same time when possible. 

On a case-by-case basis students can take 2 or more classes in our curriculum or a combination of those with Special Topics.

How do I know what course to take?

If you’re brand new to Brazilian Zouk, start at our Welcome to Zouk Monday class or Basics 1.

If you've been dancing Brazilian Zouk already let us know so we can set up an individual assessment. With the assessment, we'll be able to verify what course(s) will work best for you.

What is covered in each course?

Below you will find some of the main topics of each specific course. In all of them, we will cover some aspects of:

  • Essential Skills, Fundamental Patterns and Transitions

    Our main goal with our courses is to provide the tools to create comfortable, and healthy social dancing. With that in mind, all of our courses will cover a specific set of essential skills and build our fundamental patterns on top of them. We then combine everything, working on the most challenging aspect of all: the transitions.

  • Musicality

    Each course will study a different layer of musicality. This is such a wide and comprehensive topic and we're really excited to have it fully incorporated into the curriculum. Brazilian Zouk can be danced to a wide variety of music styles and we will share tools to dance to all of them.

  • Social dancing dynamics, etiquette, and safety

    All of our courses will discuss social dancing dynamics, etiquette, and safety. We will give tips and tools around these topics and address the modifications we can do in our dance to adapt to the different venues we dance in.

Check out the main topics of each progressive course

At each course, we cover several aspects of Brazilian Zouk, focusing first on learning the dance's essential skills

Basics 1

Learn about and review your foundations and basics here.

Our Basics 1 Course covers the first set of essential skills and fundamental patterns in Brazilian Zouk. 

In terms of essential skills, at this level we cover:

- Basic timing and rhythm,

- Leading and following with the body, and

- Basic Floorcraft with understanding of the tracks in Brazilian Zouk.

In terms of fundamental patterns, we'll cover:

- Basics (Basic on the Spot, Side Basic, and Linear Basic),

- Viradinha,

- Send Away,

- Lateral, 

- first version of Simple Turn*,

- Simple side-to-side body undulations, and

- combining everything.

TO PROGRESS TO BASICS 2, THE STUDENTS NEEDS TO, AT LEAST:

- be able to stay in the timing,

- get in and out of lateral and lead and follow with their entire body not just with the arms,

- Leader: walk around the track of the follower,

- Follower: stay on their track.

*Brazilian Zouk has several variations of the 'Giro Simples', the Simple or Single Turn. In Basics 1, we cover the Simple Turn coming from the Linear Basic.

Basics 2

Our second Basics course expand what was covered on Basics 1 and introduces new skills and patterns

During our Basics 2 course, we'll cover the following essential skills:

- Basic direction changes in the Linear Basic

- Slowing down the dance,

- Leading and following with the body,

- Understanding and playing with the tracks.

When it comes to the fundamental patterns, the above skills will help us build:

- Elástico and variations,

- Vira-Lateral

- Lunge,

- second version of Simple Turn**

- one version of Soltinho***, and

- Undulations

TO PROGRESS TO BASICS 3, THE STUDENT NEEDS TO, AT LEAST:

- same as Basics 1

- be able to transition between the movements learned in Basics 1 and Basics 2

**Brazilian Zouk has different variations of 'Giro Simples', the Simple or Single Turn. In Basics 2, we cover the Simple Turn coming from the Lunge.

***Brazilian Zouk has different variations of 'Soltinho'. In Basics 2, we cover Soltinho without the leader's turn.

Basics 3

Completing our Basics courses, Basics 3 brings the final set of fundamentals patterns and techniques in Brazilian Zouk.

During our Basics 3 course, we'll continue developing the essential skills we've started in the previous Basics. 

When it comes to fundamental patterns, Basics 3 will bring:

- Arm wrappings - Yo-yo and Cuddles

- Bonus

- Lateral Opening

- Traveling Simple Turn

- Soltinho****

- On top of everything, we'll work on the transitions between everything that was learned in this and previous Basics courses.

PROGRESSION TO THE FUNDAMENTALS COURSES:

To progress to Fundamentals 1A or 1B, the student will need to:

- be able to stay on timing consistently and slow it down,

- change directions in the basics,

- be able to combine the fundamental patterns, especially Lateral, Elástico, Bonus, Simple Turn, and Soltinho.

For the leaders

- have ease in navigating the tracks and executing the related fundamentals

For the followers

- maintain consistency in the lateral footwork and awareness of directions in open position

**** Soltinho where the leader also turns

If, by the end of Basics 3, the student cannot keep the timing, they will not be able to progress into the Fundamentals Courses.

Fundamentals Courses

Once all Basics Courses are completed, the student can start our Fundamentals Courses. 

This progression is not automatic. The student needs approval from our instructors either in class or through an assessment.

The Fundamentals courses are designed for horizontal progression, where we'll have time to play with everything we've learned so far, variations, and important aspects of musicality.

There are 3 courses: Fundamentals 1A, 1B and 2.

Fundamentals 1A and 1B are similar in difficulty and can be taken in any order.

Fundamentals 2 requires the student to have taken both Fundamentals 1A and 1B.

Fundamentals 1A and 1B

Combine everything, more musicality, learn new vocabulary

Fundamentals 1A and 1B focus on getting everything we learned in our Basics Courses, combining the content, and bringing new and exciting variations that will enrich the dance. 

It'll also be an opportunity to refine our essential skills and learn new ways of executing the movements we learned in their basic form.

Each course will present a new fundamental, variations of the fundamental patterns, direction changes, and explore a different aspect of musicality and play, as well as a different family of body movements.

Check out the topics below.

Fundamentals 1A

  • Abertura

  • Viradinha

  • Bônus

  • Body Movements - Undulations

  • Musicality - Playing with rhythm

Fundamentals 1B

  • Balanço

  • Soltinho

  • Yo-yo and Cuddle

  • Simple Turn

  • Elástico

  • Musicality - Playing with melody

  • Body Movements - Isolations

Fundamentals 2

This course brings our last set of classic Brazilian Zouk Fundamentals, and what we consider the most challenging ones.

  • S (esse)

  • Gostosinho

  • Pião

  • Raul

  • Cambre

Head Movements courses

After our Fundamentals Courses, the student can move to our Head Movement Courses, where we will study the foundations and principles of Brazilian Zouk's head movements.

Our Head Movement courses have the goal to provide students with the technique to a safe and comfortable head movements. Therefore, we'll prioritize practice time in class with Instructors and Assistants.

Progressing from the Fundamentals to the Head Movement Courses is not automatic. The student needs approval from our instructors either in class or through an assessment.

Head Movements 1

Here we cover the basics of head movements in a safe and structured manner. In this course, we'll approach:

  • Intro to Active vs Passive Head Movement

  • Front and sideways Unlock and Release

  • Balão Apagado

  • Entrances and Exits for Balão Apagado

Head Movements 2A

After learning the Balão Apagado (circular head motion) on Head Movements 1, we continue with learning the second foundational head motion and more:

  • Frango Assado in close hold

  • Transition between Balão Apagado and Frango Assado

  • Active and passive head movements entrances and exits

  • Chicote

Head Movements 2B

This course comes after Head Movements 1, and can be taken before or after Head Movements 2A.

  • Frango Assado in open hold

  • Side chicote

  • Active and passive head movements entrances and exits

Study Group

The study group is for students who have successfully completed our head movement courses and want to continue training. It will explore ways to combine and improve everything we've learned, including fundamentals and head movements.

  • Combining all fundamentals, head movements and exploring variations

  • Deeper study of musicality for leaders and followers

  • Studying more complex patterns

  • Deepening mastery of foundations

This coming cycle:

Study Group: Head Movement Transitions

For our Aril/May 2025 cycle of progressive courses, our Study Group will focus on Head Movement Transitions.

We'll work on combining the contents of our Head Movement courses with our fundamentals and their variations.

Prerequisites: students must have completed Head Movements 2A and 2B and receive instructors' approval to take this course. The student can also be accepted into the Study Group through an assessment. 

Special Topics Intensives

This cycle we're offering special intensive courses with topics of much interest of our students

Musical Inspiration w/ Alisson & Revathi

Welcome back Alisson Sandi, joined by Revathi, for a unique 3-week course focused on mastering musical interpretation in Zouk. Are you ready to infuse your dance with deeper expression, playful spontaneity, and genuine connection?

We'll delve into the art of listening to and structuring music for dance, revealing how to transform perceived limitations into opportunities for creative exploration. By learning these structures, you will be able to understand how to:

  • Clearly propose your musical ideas

  • Intuitively interpret your partner's responses

  • Express your individual style within the music

  • Cultivate dynamic connection and nuanced texture

  • Follow/Lead 1,2,3,4 connection structure as a tool for musicality

This course will equip you with the tools to understand and embody the music, creating a more engaging and fulfilling dance experience for both you and your partner.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed a Fundamentals course or higher to take this course. Students can also be accepted upon taking an assessment with our instructors.


Traveling, Transitions & The Dark Side w/ Gui & Sarah

In this Intensive, we're diving into floorcraft by exploring the technique and options for traveling in Brazilian Zouk, and dancing to the side and directions we rarely go to (aka The Dark Side).

We'll also combine fundamentals in ways that will exercise transitions for leaders and followers equally. 

Our curriculum will include:

  • Traveling with Basics
  • Traveling with Viradinha, Soltinho, Bonus and Elástico
  • Reversing the Linear Basic in the Elástico
  • Reversing the linear and circular Soltinho
  • Combining everything

Gui and Sarah will share their tips, tricks, and insights from recent training and exploration. Get ready to travel, transition, and dance on both sides with them! 

Prerequisites: Students must have completed a Fundamentals course or higher to take this course. Students can also be accepted upon taking an assessment with our instructors.


Lambada Courses

We also teach Lambada! These courses rotate in what we offer each cycle.

Brazilian zouk came from lambada, and the two dances continue to influence each other a lot today. The energy and musicality of lambada is joyful and infectious. Understanding it will help build your awareness of timing, adaptability, and possibilities in your dancing, both for Brazilian zouk and lambada.


Lambada 3

In this course with Ashley Kent and Kuna Malik Hamad, we’ll build on lambada techniques covered in our Lambada 2 course to introduce more variations, combinations and complex techniques. You’ll be able to dance confidently with lambadeiros/lambadeiras and have fun dancing lambada. We’ll focus on variations and transitions using piao, boneca, chicote and turns, as well as triple turns, traveling, vovo and more. For more experienced zouk dancers, we’ll offer variations and upper body techniques that can be layered on top of the footwork. 

Join us to learn and practice this mother dance of Brazilian zouk - it just might become your new obsession ;-)


Prerequisites: students should be comfortable dancing and combining concepts from Lambada 2 on typical lambada timing (on 1), including soltinho, bonus, chicote, double turns, boneca, frango assado and piao. Ideally, students should be in or have completed our Brazilian zouk Fundamentals courses and be familiar with piao, aviao, and some upper body movements.