THE BOOM OF BRAZILIAN ZOUK

Brazilian Zouk… What? What’s that? I’m happy to share one of my latest discoveries about this dance.

Brazilian zouk is a close couple dance from Brazil that started in the early 1990s. It is a social dance, meaning the purpose is to dance at parties where they play zouk music. The dance is not choreographed; the couples on the dance floor improvise to the rhythm of the song played by the DJ. However, the most common steps must be learned beforehand.

ORIGIN OF ZOUK

Brazilian zouk originates from lambada (I bet you remember this provocative dance style, coming from Brazil during the 80s) but has been influenced by samba de gafieira, contemporary jazz, ballet, Argentinian tango, hip-hop, and other dance styles and is still very much evolving.
In the 80’s, Lambada was very popular in Brazil and quickly gained worldwide notoriety through its music. Later on, many factors influenced the decrease in its popularity. In the mission of rescuing some of its essences, Renata Peçaña, Adilio Porto, and Jaime Aroxa, got together and co-created a fresh style with a beat that will be able to adapt to many music styles.

ZOUK MUSIC AND STYLES

Zouk is danced on 4/4 (four-on-the-floor) time. The ideal speed is 70-80 bpm, but we can also dance up to 90 bpm, especially in lambazouk (a combination of both lambada and zouk). Can be danced to a wide variety of songs and I think that’s what makes it so popular and enjoyable. The music you hear at parties can range from zouk to pop, R&B and reggaeton, but what they all mostly have in common is the distinct African-Caribbean rhythmic pattern. It is also possible to dance zouk to a slow lyrical song with no beat – in this case, people often add more contemporary or lyrical dance elements to it.

Nowadays, there are congresses and workshops all around the world. They like to organize Competitions named “Jack and Jill” that have started appearing in recent years. However, their goal still remains to recognize people for their good social dancing skills, also to promote correct dance technique and a lot of fun and support from your fellow dancers.

You can find different branches of zouk according to the music style and the way they use their 4/4 time or no time at all. We have the Urban Zouk, Neo Zouk, Soul Zouk, Zouk Flow, Contemporary Zouk and apparently it keeps evolving, which keeps the dance fresh, vibrant and interesting! This brings me to the last part of this article 😀

WHY I LIKE ZOUK SO MUCH

I find dancing is therapy, an opportunity to meditate by connecting to oneself, and your partner and if there is the right magic and conditions, connect the two of you with the music, BOOM that’s where I find my high. The head movements and flying hair are so beautiful to watch. gives the feeling of letting go, surrendering and trusting, both when you dance it yourself or watch someone else. The moves are relatively big so you’ll feel like you’re flying across the dance floor. There is breathing involved, micro-movements, and lots of contentment and respect. It’s a beautiful way to have a silent conversation through body movement, where so much is felt if you really want to be present in those 3-4 minutes through that connection with your dance partner.

I like that this rhythm is challenging, giving a lot of room for improvement, and has motivated me to work on my posture, mobility, and strength to execute more advanced moves. There’s so much variety within zouk that you simply cannot get bored. The music can be anything from lyrical and slow to something with a strong bass and a lot of attitude.

The community is open, welcoming, accepting and very huggy and cuddly. If you like music, you are looking for a hobby that will bring, fun, friends, exercise, challenge, meditation, connection and expression, you must taste it, cause once you do, believe me, there is no going back.

I want to invite you to try one of our zouk classes, from one of the most renowned amazing zouk instructors, called Ivo Vieira, on our YouTube channel; this class will give you a glimpse of the zouk movements & feeling, you can do it alone, without need of a partner, as it’s a solo choreography taught step by step

[pexyoutube pex_attr_src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPwe8wHHHCE”][/pexyoutube]

And if you already have a dance partner and you both want to try Brazilian zouk, I encourage you to take this class, where instructor Ivo Viera teaches one of the most important steps of zouk, called Soltinho.