Goal

Significantly improve the level of dance  through an intensive training taught by qualified Brazilian Zouk instructors.  A focus on technical and theoretical aspects of the dance in a structured and fun environment meant to create a special experience.  The team has now completed nine month long trainings, this will be our tenth.  We are excited to continue improving the program and create special experiences.

Who is this course for?

• Zoukers interested in seriously improving their level of dance and understanding
• Zoukers interested in competing in J&Js
• Zoukers who want to learn lambada
• Aspiring teachers who wish to gain knowledge and attain more course resources

Program

The program is divided up into 100 hours of instruction & activities over a little under a month.  Courses are scheduled to begin Sunday January 26, 2025 and conclude prior to the festival on Thursday February 20th, 2025. We recommend arriving to Playa latest the January 25th to participate in the program.

We offer 6 different tracks:

• Foundations (Weekday evenings)
• Beyond Fundamentals (Weekday daytime + select evenings)
• Beyond Fundamentals (Weekday evenings)
• Competition track (Weekday evenings)
• Lambada (Weekday evenings)
• Teacher Training (Weekday daytime + evenings + select weekend evenings)

Sessions that take place weekday evenings will be work remote friendly. All tracks also have class on weekends in the daytime. Each track has 3 days per week with their track, and 3 days per week classes with participants from other tracks. 1 day per week there is an optional (included) excursion.

Team

• Qualified Brazilian Zouk instructors, part of ZoukMX program
• On site organization coordinator & MX team

Program Includes

• Assistance with shared group accommodations
• Special program excursion activities for group
• Course notebooks for study/training
• ZoukMX official tees
• Access to private video library for post study of various selected courses
• Limited group size
• Structured training hours and practice time
• Practicas and fun socials throughout the city with training team
• One in a lifetime epic experience in one of the most beautiful and cultural parts of the world

Program Tracks

Foundations 

In this track, we will go through all the foundations of Brazilian Zouk to make you a great social dancer! You will learn or review the foundational stepping patterns such as basic step, viradinha, lateral, simple turn, soltinho, abertura, bonus/boomerang, elastico/raul, yo-yo and common variations, as well as be introduced to body movements. You’ll learn how to be more confident and how to lead/follow comfortably and musically to have a great social dance experience.

This track is great for you, if: 

• You are new to Zouk/have less than 6 months of Zouk experience
• You haven’t had the chance to follow a progressive beginner’s course yet, and want to go through/review all the foundations
• You have already done a full beginner’s course but wish to solidify your basics
• You are an advanced dancers who want to clean and refine your basics, or learn the dance as the other role (lead/follow)
• You are looking to teach, or are already teaching – joining this track can help you experience a complete course for beginners to inspire you for your own classes

You can apply to this track without any video. No previous experience is required.

Beyond Fundamentals 

You’ve already passed through the beginner modules at your local dance school, or taken enough private classes to be comfortable with all the basics listed in the Fundamentals track above. You’ve got the basic stepping patterns down, can stay consistently in the beat, and can have a comfortable dance in a social setting with a partner. You’re now ready for more challenges! In this course, the focus will be on expanding your Zouk horizon beyond the fundamentals – working more on connection, musicality and creativity, all while solidifying all the things you already know. 

This track is great for you, if: 

• You have a good understanding of all the basic stepping patterns
• You’re looking for more challenges in your dance
• You want to work on connection, musicality, and creativity

You must submit a video of your dancing to demonstrate that you are comfortable with all the basics listed above. Please show us all the movements listed. We want to see that you can dance on time, in connection with your partner, with solid basics. Instructions for sending the video will follow after you’ve submitted your application.

Competition Track 

This track is for those who wish to work on improving both their social dance and the aesthetics of their dance. We’ll start by guiding you through the rules and concepts for Jack & Jills (aimed towards competition in official BZDC competitions), and then work on cleaning your 3 T’s – technique, timing and teamwork, as well as teaching you some useful movements to impress and add level to your dance in a Jack & Jill. You are not required to participate in any BZDC competition in order to join, but the training will be aimed towards this type of competition. 

This track is great for you, if: 

• You already have a solid understanding of stepping patterns, timing and body movements
• You want to work on having a good social dance with any partner
• You want to improve your own aesthetics in your dance
• You want to compete in BZDC Jack & Jills (not required)

To join, you must submit a video of your dancing to demonstrate that you are comfortable with all the basic stepping patterns (basic step, viradinha, lateral, simple turn, soltinho, abertura, bonus/boomerang, elastico/raul, yo-yo and common variations), as well as body movements (isolations, undulations) and simple linear and circular head movements (linear head movements, balão). Please show us all the movements listed. We want to see that you can dance on time, in connection with your partner, with solid basics. Instructions for sending the video will follow after you’ve submitted your application.

Lambada 

This course is a fast-track to lambada. You’ll learn all the foundations of lambada, so if you’re looking to expand your horizon and learn more lambada from the best, this is your chance! 

This track is great for you, if: 

• You already have a good understanding of all the basic stepping patterns in Traditional Zouk
• You want to learn lambada
• You want to add some spice from lambada to your Zouk dance

You can apply to this track without any video. No previous lambada experience is required. This track will not teach you traditional Zouk.

Teacher Training

For those interested in teaching, this course is for you. Learn vital tools for teaching, and get hands-on experience. We recommend a thorough understanding of Zouk, but any level can join the training as we will focus on teaching skills rather than dancing skills.

This program is designed to give you concrete, hand-on tools to improve your teaching, whether you are new to teaching or have been teaching for years. Teaching involves much more than teaching some moves, and you will learn – among other things – about how to structure and organize a class and workshop, build your curriculum, teach at different levels, adapt to different cultures and learning styles, and you will be given tools to help make your teaching as clear and coherent as possible. You will learn about posture, alignment and injury prevention, community building, dance etiquette and the responsibilities that come with being a teacher.

This track is great for you, if: 

• You would like to start teaching classes or workshops in Brazilian Zouk and would like some help on how to start
• You already teach Zouk and are looking to improve your classes to retain more students and grow your scene
• You aspire to teach zouk locally or as a traveling artist

To join, you must submit an application by email to zoukmx@zouk.us describing your motivation for joining the teacher training course, and what you hope to get out of it. Note that the teacher training track included both daytime and evening hours and is as such more demanding than the other tracks, and not remote-work friendly. You do not need to submit a video.

*NOTE*

We reserve the right to adapt and make changes to the tracks. If your chosen track is changed, you will be given the option to transfer to another track. This is to allow for an equal lead/follow ratio and limited group sizes.

To apply to the program please start the process by selecting the application below, then you can also leave a deposit to secure your spot. If for some reason your application is not accepted you will receive a full refund on your deposit.

Apply here: http://bit.ly/zoukmx100

Deposit here: http://zoukmx25.eventbrite.com

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Video from our monthly long trainings on Maui, we’ve done two! Insta @mauizouk

Video from our month long trainings in Rio De Janeiro, we’ve done two!

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