ZoukNerds • Learn | Build | Belong

"Hey, this is where you start. Because everybody starts here."

After my community-building lecture at the MAC in Paris, most questions from the Brazilian Zouk teachers and leaders were from the same family: the dancer who won't start at the beginner level because they already dance another style, and the student who isn't happy with how fast the courses go.

This one's for teachers and organizers who keep bending their classes for the one person who wants something different.

My answer: remember the values and goals you have for your community, and stop trying to please everybody, because you have a very, very big risk of pleasing nobody. If that person doesn't fit, let them go, and it just means "not today."

And honestly, I've strongly burnt out two times just because I was trying to please too many people, so I'm gonna say especially yourself.

What we get into:

→ Assessment weeks: at District Zouk we really gatekeep the classes, and the ones who get in on the second try send Gui messages almost like they won a contest.

→ Who this is not for: Gui is writing an explicit list into his course material.

→ "Dance should be inclusive": Gui says it is, and his school still has a process. For me, dance isn't fully inclusive, because if it wasn't for a scholarship, I wouldn't be here.

→ Two years of dancing, or how many hours? Six months of weekly classes is 24 to 36 hours.

The big takeaway: "The people that we attract, great. The people that we expel, even better."

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:38 The Brazilian Zouk questions I got at MAC

05:31 Stop trying to please everybody, let them go

07:14 When it's most of your community, not one person

09:14 The same thing they love, others dislike

13:44 Assessment weeks: we gatekeep our classes

17:03 When yours is the only class in town

18:53 Me, them or design: why systems differ

22:05 Don't copy another Zouk community

23:19 I burnt out twice trying to please everyone

24:46 Why losing one student still hurts

26:35 Who your class is not for

29:33 Shouldn't dance be for everybody?

31:18 What martial arts students already understand

34:37 Saying no to friends to go home on time

36:06 You only have a room when you close the door

38:36 Car keys, oceans and Vipassana prerequisites

43:45 Two years of dancing vs real hours

46:10 Six months of classes is 36 hours

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: S06 Ep28 | ZoukNerds Podcast

"Those are my students."

Something I absolutely don't like is when people in a Brazilian Zouk community say that, and not like "Oh, these are my students, please meet them." I mean in the sense that they own those people and you cannot touch them.

This one's for the teacher who moved to a new city, or the student who wants to start a beginner class or a práctica in the park, in a scene that already exists.

For me, beginner classes and opportunities to practice, nobody should complain, even on the same night, 'cause honestly, how many people are out there? The trouble starts when you build on the existing numbers and, by accident, split the community.

What we get into:

→ Don't bring me again: Gui has told organizers not to fly him in, feed him and house him for eight people, and to make those eight the core group of a new culture.

→ Holding you ransom: in our DC core team I was the one asking, "But hold on. Are these people even here?" When the team offered what they asked for, they didn't pay, they didn't show up, they didn't sign up.

→ The freshest oranges: every time I focused on the wrong people, I wasn't happy with my bank account. If a beginner says, "Hey, I need help," you've got me for the whole day.

→ Two beginner classes, same night: Gui doesn't think they compete yet, because nobody is on Google checking which Zouk class has five stars and which has four.

The big takeaway: "If you're not bringing something actually really new as an offering, then I don't think you're actually helping the community grow."

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:15 Joining a Brazilian Zouk scene that already exists

03:25 Offering to existing dancers vs bringing new ones in

07:38 Beginner classes and prácticas nobody should fight

09:09 When a new class splits a small community

14:04 Do two beginner classes on one night compete?

16:57 The class your scene needs, and nobody comes

21:12 Start a new culture with the eight who came

22:53 Stop chasing the students holding you ransom

25:33 Chasing the wrong people hurt my bank account

28:45 The rebel years, and dancers who stop coming

32:58 Why some dancers come back better after a break

35:29 What you think they need vs what they think

39:04 Why I won't open a new level for two requests

42:27 Breaking the rules to teach technique at festivals

44:57 A DC social where nobody was sitting down

46:24 The one dedicated person every scene needs

48:46 Stay consistent: 6, 12, 24 months

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: S06 Ep27 | ZoukNerds Podcast

Community leaders tell Gui and me they can't grow their Brazilian Zouk scene because they're busy pleasing the people with power, some bosses, some mafia people. I don't think you need to. I think you need to please the dancers.

This one's for anyone trying to start Brazilian Zouk in a city where nobody dances it yet, and getting told what they're allowed to do.

I learned it twice. Around 2003, as a Bolsista in Brazil, the owners of my school called me in for going to other people's socials, "Hey, are you not happy here?" Years later in Australia, as a teacher, another owner tried to cut my wings, "Why are you friends with this person?"

What we get into:

→ Don't count your hours: Gui told an organizer, "Don't do that, man." The numbers will make you say, "Why am I doing this with my life?"

→ My night, my people: the Friday Bachata organizer who doesn't want your Zouk social on their night, and the founder of a tiny scene who starts saying, "my community, my people, my, my, my."

→ Abundance or scarcity: Gui's teachers in Rio ran socials elsewhere while teaching at the Jaime Arôxa Dance Studio. After the pandemic, he hears, "Oh, but this person opened a social the same day that I did."

So what would I do in a city with no Zouk? Be a fly on the wall, then teach a free intro class before the Salsa social and say, "Hello, nice to meet you." Twenty-plus years of dancing, and I still don't expect a red carpet.

The big takeaway: "I'm gonna do what's right for the growth of the community and for the happiness of my students. I'm not here to please the lords above."

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:34 Starting Brazilian Zouk where nobody dances it yet

03:40 Why building a scene takes longer than you think

06:14 When other dance socials protect their night

08:08 The founder who says "my community, my people"

11:58 Called in by my own school as a Bolsista

16:36 The same story again as a teacher in Australia

19:22 Don't let the overlords clip your wings

22:18 Abundance vs scarcity, Rio before and after the pandemic

25:35 Cities of millions fighting over the same 30 dancers

28:08 What is actually best for a dance community?

31:18 Be a fly on the wall before you build anything

32:46 What I'd do in a city with no Brazilian Zouk at all

35:48 Why you don't get a red carpet in a new scene

37:34 Melbourne, DC, Taipei: agree on everything up front

39:10 If you're not a seasoned teacher yet, don't do it alone

43:49 Find a mentor who has done what you want

45:47 What's coming in part two

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: S06 Ep26 | ZoukNerds Podcast

I apologised at the top of this one, because I know what the word does to people. "Fix your frame, your frame doesn't work, your frame is this, your frame is that."

Nobody tells you which part of your body they mean. In Brazilian Zouk we use frame as an umbrella word for a pile of separate things, and then we correct people with it.

This one is for anybody who has been told to fix their frame and walked away with no idea what to actually change.

Gui asks the leaders who come to him to show him what they mean, and they tense their whole body and push harder into his.

What we get into:

→ A student at BraZouky asked Gui how to keep their lats engaged in close embrace, and he said, "You don't. You don't do that." Your frame there is your whole torso.

→ The Wi-Fi test. If we can do the movement with no connection, just body leads, why do you need that much tension the second your hands land?

→ The gap at the wrist. A leader's right hand never fully arrives on the body, so they frame up and squeeze, and the shape was never the problem.

→ The Ruler of Intensity, or Régua da Intensidade, from Gui's own training. A one to ten on the tension in your own body, another on the compression into your partner.

→ Why I start every dance from my quietest voice, and why the five you dance at is one you build together.

The big takeaway: the frame is the shape you take, the distance from your partner, the tension you hold to keep it, and the connection points where the touch happens. At least four things, Gui says, probably more.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:42 What frame means, and why the word triggers people

04:31 What leaders do when you say "use more frame"

06:24 Frame is a million things, not one thing

09:27 How do you keep your frame in close embrace?

12:36 The Wi-Fi test, and the hand that never arrives

15:47 Don't take frame advice that can't tell you where

17:57 "I can't feel their frame" and how to diagnose it

21:19 Frame as a communication tool, with or without touch

25:17 Three places to connect: arms, chest, hips

28:08 How to ask a better question about your connection

30:30 The Ruler of Intensity, from one to ten

33:12 A vest with prosthetic arms, and where the lead comes from

35:42 Why people quit when holding their frame hurts

37:12 Guess your partner's number on the tension scale

38:57 Starting a dance from the lowest voice you have

41:50 Why your three is your partner's six

43:41 Light and heavy frame are really light and heavy touch

47:29 The four elements hiding inside the word frame

49:59 When it is not your frame at all

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: S06 Ep25 | ZoukNerds Podcast

We put two people on the floor at a Brazilian Zouk teacher training and asked the room one question. These two are complete beginners, what do you fix first?

Somebody said the timing, somebody said the posture, and then somebody said the torsion, so I had to stop everyone. "Hold on, slow down, torsion, who is that?" Like, is it food? At that point that word does not exist yet.

If you've ever been told to fix your posture with no idea what that meant, this one is for teachers and for dancers who feel stuck.

So Gui and I went through the two frameworks we use. The Correction Ladder is the order we fix things in, the Foundational Stack is the bare minimum you build a dance on.

What we get into:

→ Gui's ladder, from the ground up: rhythm, then the feet and ankles, then the knees, then the hips, then the posture. And it is a chain event. If you hold the beat standing still and lose it going front and back, you do not have a timing problem.

→ Posture, defined so you can test it. Gui calls it whatever arrangement lets your forward step and your back step be the same length and the same stability. A Lambadeiro, a Tangueiro and a Forró dancer all stand differently, and all are stable.

→ The part I know is controversial. At the very beginning we barely talk about frame, connection, leading and following at all.

The big takeaway: Gui's words, not mine. The other person is there for guidance, for the connection, for the playfulness. For the dance to exist, it does exist in your body on your own.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:10 The Correction Ladder and the Foundational Stack

02:30 The teacher-training test: what do you fix first?

04:28 Gui's ladder: rhythm, feet, ankles, knees, hips

06:47 Why a timing problem is usually not a timing problem

09:05 Say it in words a beginner already has

10:37 Neutral body alignment, and why posture is too vague

12:00 Most dancers arrive with no body awareness at all

15:33 Make a correction stick: teach it back, then film it

19:10 Four Brazilian dances, four postures, all stable

21:00 Travel, control, ground, and where the balance goes

23:35 Why we don't teach leading and following first

26:54 Develop the dancer's autonomy

28:34 Sliding feet or silent steps? Awareness and choice

32:10 Head movement, and the foundation that sells itself

33:50 What is frame, man?

36:26 The second stack: building the Brazilian Zouk body

38:30 Two months on the calendar, eleven hours in the room

40:59 Soltinho, and what makes a step a basic loop

45:50 Be a beginner in a beginner class, and the driving test

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: S06 Ep24 | ZoukNerds Podcast

I danced with someone I'd followed online for years, walked off the floor, and went to a dark corner to question every decision I'd ever made in my life.

They're one of the best Brazilian Zouk dancers in the world, the dance was terrible, and like most of us do, I blamed myself.

If you've ever come off a dance with somebody you admire and quietly decided the problem was you, this one's for you.

Gui's version is a follower in his D.C. scene who tries to sit down and can't, because the leaders keep coming. She's intermediate, and the teachers in that room are the ones sitting.

What we get into:

→ What "technical" even means. I go to the Olympics and the Ballroom World Championships, and then the question that matters: is that who you want to ask for a dance?

→ Gui ending a dance before the first song was over, with the follower a friend promised him explosions with. "We came to an agreement that it was not working."

→ What Jaime Arôxa's studio actually graded us on. Not only technical knowledge, but how comfortable we were, how we used the space, how musical we were, how we switched rhythms.

→ How many ways do people say water? That's the practice I'd put you on, flavours of the same Basic, Lateral, Viradinha and Soltinho, not another endless list of moves.

The big takeaway: What people want is to connect with everybody, and they are chasing that through things that are not in alignment with connecting with everybody.

Who's the dancer in your scene everybody wants to dance with, and what do they do? Tell us in the comments.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:22 What do we mean by a technical dancer?

03:51 The follower everyone asks to dance

07:07 Textbook technique vs social technique

10:08 What happens when you finally dance with your idol

12:33 The dance that ended before the first song

15:32 Why the same partner feels different two years later

18:29 The night I decided to forget what I saw

22:43 What Jaime Arôxa's studio actually graded

26:04 The leader who stopped listening to followers

27:49 Why Gui gave up elegance to fit more bodies

30:56 Why people chase the wrong thing to dance with everyone

35:28 How many ways do people say water?

37:20 The 'should' in your head that blocks the dance

39:16 Echo chambers, and keeping them out of your dancing

41:30 Your preferences are allowed, and they nurture you

43:00 The private lessons that came from one social dance

45:09 A mindset for life, not a six-month project

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: S06 Ep23 | ZoukNerds Podcast

"I don't know what to do. My students don't wanna learn the foundations. Please help me." An organizer said that to me years ago, and it is the most common thing I hear in Brazilian Zouk.

This one is for teachers and organizers who have said out loud that their students do not want the basics.

That night I went to the social. Acrobatics everywhere, every head movement, not one Viradinha. Then he started dancing, because he was the local teacher, leading crazy moves to people who could barely do a basic step.

So Gui and I sort this into three buckets, a me problem, a them problem, or a design problem, and the one everybody reaches for first is almost never the right one.

What we get into:

→ Gui on why a curriculum gap only shows up a year later, in the warm-up, months after you built it.

→ "Move, move, move more." His class moved their bodies and stayed where they were, until a co-teacher said the word he meant was travel.

→ What he told an organizer mid-briefing: "I think it's the time for us to stop putting the blame into the students."

→ When it really is them. Someone read the format, said "This is not for me," came anyway, and left after day one.

→ A month of classes where I never went past Soltinho, and the room grew every single week.

The big takeaway: Whoever is at the top of a community takes credit for the good and the bad in it, because a community identifies with what its leadership values.

Think about the last class or event that did not work for you. Me, them, or design? Tell us in the comments.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:41 Me problem, them problem, or design problem

03:08 Why a curriculum gap only shows up a year later

06:41 Over-preparing a class and losing the room

09:20 When 'too slow' is really a design problem

11:54 "My students won't take a basics class"

16:44 The one word that changed the whole class

18:42 When is it genuinely a them problem?

22:06 Learning who your course is not for

23:49 Festival passes and what nobody reads

28:00 The scene with acrobatics and no basics

31:21 A month of classes that never passed Soltinho

33:41 Not every teacher belongs in a beginner class

35:03 Your social dancing teaches more than your class

37:44 Why you become the reference point

42:09 Stop saying 'them' and ask yourself why

46:02 A festival with no breaks: bad design or good value?

48:14 Taking accountability for your own experience

52:40 Open mind versus strong expectations

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

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

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

Episode: S06 Ep22 | ZoukNerds Podcast

Lambada is like the sun, you know? It spreads the brightness and the energy to everyone around.

And I'm sorry to say this, but sometimes, in some places, Brazilian Zouk can be like a black hole.

Vanessa didn't even let me finish. "You just get in." Yeah. You get in, you get sucked in, and everything else disappears. It's my dance, and I say it with love.

If you've danced Brazilian Zouk for years and still tell people you don't dance Lambada, this one is for you.

I sat down with Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike in person, and these two are the nerds of Lambada.

What we get into:

→ I already steal one of these. The follower is always looking for Soltinho, and Boneca when there's head movement. I taught it last week and my followers stopped waiting.

→ The 51/49. Leaders carry 51 percent, followers 49, "and we just have 49 because someone has to be the leader."

→ Vanessa asked what I should have asked years ago. Nobody fears Urban Zouk, everybody fears Lambada, and Zouk and Lambada are the closer pair. "Who builds their mindset are the teachers."

→ Then she gave away the secret. "First, we try to trick you all." They teach you a movement you like, wait for the wow, then tell you it was Lambada. Iago: "We set the trap."

The big takeaway: Lambada came from the street, so there is no right or wrong body in it. Somebody asked Didi about a room dancing every which way. "I'm loving that."

So which one are you, and what's stopping you trying the other? Tell us in the comments.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:52 Zouk Nerds meets Lambada Nerds

03:38 How Iago fell for Lambada after hating it

05:06 Why a Lambada room feels different

07:06 Brazouka, and jumping into someone else's dance

09:04 Where Lambada and Brazilian Zouk actually split

12:20 Teaching Brazilian Zouk with more timing

15:18 Will Lambada get bigger than Brazilian Zouk?

17:04 One community, and letting the DJ decide

20:16 What Zouk dancers gain from Lambada rhythm

21:36 Why Forró students learn Portuguese

24:40 Opening or crossing: where each one came from

27:27 'Chorinho', and bringing Brazil into class

29:42 How they trick a Zouk room into dancing Lambada

33:57 How to actually learn Lambada, and where to go

38:41 The elastic and the hula hoop

40:55 Followers who attack, and the 51/49 rule

45:01 Soltinho Forever, Boneca, and the embrace rule

48:34 Why the Lambada head movement fits Brazilian Zouk

52:40 How Lambada became teachable

55:06 Who translated Lambada for other bodies

57:48 How far is too far before a dance changes

1:00:14 The three things Lambada has to keep

1:01:14 There is no right body in Lambada

1:02:55 Naming the masters who came before you

1:06:11 Why you should learn both dances

1:08:35 The teacher who nearly put me off Brazilian Zouk

Guests: Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike, Lambada and Brazilian Zouk artists from São Paulo. Hosted by Alisson Sandi.

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

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

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

Episode: S06 Ep21 | ZoukNerds Podcast

"I don't believe this person, they can really follow what this guy wants. I think they are guessing." That's Vanessa on why she started Brazilian Zouk, after fifteen years of ballet, jazz and contemporary.

If you have a job you like and a dance you love, and you keep running the numbers at two in the morning, this one is for you.

Iago was teaching mathematics in Campinas when Nina told him, "If you wanna be with me, you gotta dance." The pandemic shut his school, and when it reopened he said, "Well, good luck for you guys. I'm not coming back."

I sat with both of them in person, and this half is about who they were before the stage.

What we get into:

→ Vanessa doing continuous turns with Philip Miha and hearing "You are not following me." She found out years later he was right, because her ballet was supplying the momentum.

→ Nobody jumped without a net. Daniel Darbello gave Iago a room with no rent, and Vanessa's dad said "if you can't, you have a home." Mine was kebab shops.

→ My advice on going full time is six to twelve months of savings, or build the dance income on the side until it matches what you already earn.

→ Iago on living together 24/7: "it's a marriage." They were never dating, which he calls a golden rule, and I've done that once and I don't recommend it.

The big takeaway: The time of life is the most precious thing we have to offer, so when someone chooses to dance with you, receive them with all the care you can.

What did you give up to keep dancing? Tell us in the comments.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:48 Meeting Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike

03:08 Why a ballet dancer didn't believe in following

05:42 From a math classroom to quitting the school

08:16 How the partnership actually started

11:16 The five-year plan that happened in two

13:04 The safety net that made going full time possible

16:14 Why a dance career is a whole different monster

19:34 The circles of information in a dance scene

21:53 Living together 24/7, and the golden rule

23:54 Travelling the world and still being alone

26:56 Why their partnership worked when others don't

29:48 Dance first or structure first: two ways to learn

32:08 The rule that settles every disagreement

34:03 The class that keeps a teacher awake at night

36:45 How to actually let a compliment land

38:43 The math student who came back crying

41:11 Their advice, and what's coming in part two

Guests: Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike, Lambada and Brazilian Zouk artists from São Paulo. Hosted by Alisson Sandi.

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

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

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

Episode: S06 Ep20 | ZoukNerds Podcast

"Hell yes, hell yes." That's my answer every time someone in the group asks whether teachers hit plateaus too, and I teach Brazilian Zouk for a living.

Ours just hides better. I can teach all week, feel completely fulfilled, and then meet Christina after three months apart and find that the things we could do together suddenly need thinking about again.

Gui said it cleaner than I did. He'd been dancing mostly with his beginner students, having the time of his life, and then he went to do something explosive: "there was a wall. I couldn't do the thing."

What we get into:

→ A student feels stuck and knows it. We feel great, right up until someone challenges us socially, and that's when I go "hang on, I have not been training that division of my dancing."

→ Gui's pizza chart. Almost every hour you teach goes into basics and everything vertical, so the sharp explosive layer gets a sliver of the pie and quietly rots.

→ Why I can't train with my own students. It's never their level, it's the hierarchy, and you hear it in the disclaimer: "I don't know, I'm probably wrong, but I feel like this."

→ What we actually do about it: the student seat at somebody else's weekender, a private lesson where you tell the teacher to hold nothing back, and cross-training in styles that have nothing to do with Zouk.

The big takeaway: The plateau exists because we have a certain expectation, and the moment we remove that expectation, the plateau is not there anymore.

When did you last catch yourself plateaued without noticing? Tell us in the comments.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening highlights

01:32 Do dance teachers plateau too?

05:00 Why a teacher's plateau looks different

07:22 Festival anxiety and the inner saboteur

09:13 Making time to train when you teach all week

13:12 Why you can't train with your own students

15:26 Finding a body that moves like yours

18:51 Why students hold back their feedback

21:07 Five years of choreography, no social growth

22:43 The pizza chart of what teachers actually train

25:04 Which layer of Brazilian Zouk do you own?

27:38 Private lessons and cross-training that wake you up

31:44 Consistency, and how fast the flow comes back

33:28 Jack and Jill as a fitness test

36:26 When the DJ and the room take over

38:34 The vault of knowledge in a dancer's body

40:34 Learn from every class, even the ones you dislike

44:18 The happy plateau and the comparison trap

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: S06 Ep19 | ZoukNerds Podcast