"I don't like this music." Every Brazilian Zouk social dancer has said it, me included. And most of the time, it's not actually true. Most of the time, "I don't like this music" really means "I can't dance to this yet." That one swap changes everything about your night out.

Gui brought the story that cracked it open for me. His first Zouk congress abroad, Warsaw 2017, and in his words, "I danced with four people for a couple songs the entire three days, because I couldn't connect to the music at all." A future world-class dancer, four songs in three days. It wasn't the music. His body just hadn't learned to move to it yet.

I saw the flip side at BraZouky Germany, an event I organized. Same DJ, same night, one person wrote the music energy was "way too low" while another wrote "way too high." Same room, opposite nights.

In this episode Gui and I get into it:

The Four Elements of every social: you, your partner, the music, the space. When a few go down, your battery drains fast and you start blaming the DJ.

Why "I don't like it" is usually a skill gap, not a taste.

The Three E's for DJs: Educate, Excite, Explore. Serve all the dishes.

The big takeaway: A bad social isn't always a verdict on the room. Sometimes it's just your battery at 20%, and that's okay too.

What's the one music style you swore you hated, then learned to love? Tell us.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

00:18 Intro

00:51 Why people leave the same event with opposite experiences

05:18 From electronic remixes to traditional Brazilian Zouk

13:04 How a repetitive DJ set causes mental fatigue

17:42 Disliking a music style vs lacking the versatility

21:55 The four elements of your social dance battery

27:02 How music volume and earplugs silently shape the night

35:48 The Three E's for DJs: Educate, Excite, Explore

Co-hosts: Alisson Sandi and Gui Prada

ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/

Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/

Episode: S05 Ep13 | ZoukNerds Podcast