In this episode, we talk to the Close Embrace Master himself, Gui Prada! We go deep into the intricacies that exists in the embrace and walking, how he his able to teach the embrace to less-physical cultures, and the beauty + metaphysics of Tango. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did interviewing :)

2:32 How Gui is making Brazilian Zouk more accessible to a wider audience

6:45 The Zouk Economy: Why instructors teach flashy movements

9:13 The intricacies that exist in walking and embrace

18:50 How Gui developed "the Universe Behind the Hug" workshop

23:44 Touch starvation and the cultural differences that exist around physicality

31:46 How Gui manages to teach embrace to less physical cultures

35:55 How Gui adapts to the follower

43:36 The follower is never wrong?

59:44 The beauty of Tango

In this podcast, we talk about our biggest inspirations in Brazilian Zouk and how the new generation of Zoukers in São Paulo are innovating and pushing the boundaries of this dance.

00:40 Zouk Open Recap

09:27 Anthony's inspiration for the month

14:58 Organic Creativity in Zouk

21:26 How movement in nature inspires dance

25:07 Abe’s visual inspirations from other dances

30:57 Why Abe is learning choreography

33:10 What living in the Mecca of Zouk is like

40:00 How the New Generation is Innovating

48:48 Gui Prada… THE INSPIRATION

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https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk

In this episode, we share our 21+ years of shared experience dancing Brazilian Zouk; from starting in the LA Zouk scene to training with the founders, Renata Peçanha and Jaime Aroxa.

Hello from Londrinas! We are currently at one of the best Zouk festivals in Brazil and decided to record a podcast with our friend, Gabby. In this episode we discuss the many different paths to learn Brazilian Zouk, how to speed up your progress with structure, and other miscellaneous social dance phenomenons :)

00:43 Hello from ZoukUnity!

11:14 How to get functional at Brazilian Zouk

21:12 The value of learning from multiple instructors

28:52 Social dancing is crucial to your dance growth

30:22 Why you need to develop your own style

32:19 Abe spent $100k on Zouk

36:24 What are the misuses of time when learning Zouk?

38:59 The importance of revisiting your basics

41:20 How to respond to a disconnected dance partner

43:46 How to deal with intense eye contact from your dance patnerFollow us on

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk

Join us as we explore the world of connection and presence, in today's interview with LUAN & ADRIANA! Share with us what your thoughts on this episode and who you might want to see interviewed next! :)

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

02:00 The mindset behind a connective and present social dance

05:23 What makes a "good" dancer?

07:52 The best dances are inside the embrace

08:41 Why most Zouk instructors don’t teach the embrace

10:13 If there is connection and sensations, then the movements come naturally

13:07 How Luan & Adriana teach beginners connections and sensations

14:11 How Luan helped “unblock” Alé with close embrace

16:29 The 3 principles that make up connection in dance

20:15 How to style and express but also maintain a connection

24:28 Why beginners should learn to dance in the embrace

26:42 What to do if the person you are dancing with is not paying attention to you

29:10 Cultural differences and miscommunication that happens in social dance

33:47 How Luan’s spiritual practice leads him to wholeness

36:51 Are Luan & Adriana Dating?

39:28 Why Boom-Chik-Chik is the essence to Brazilian Zouk

45:56 As much as you train technique, you need to train your self-connection

48:54 How did Luan & Adriana develop their methodology of connection

53:53 Influences from Jaime Arôxa
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Hey! Anthony here. I recently sold all my things, and moved to Brazil just for Zouk 😅

0:00 Intro

2:02 Why it is important to dance with beginners, especially as a higher level dancer

9:56 Should professionals to deny dances?

15:12 Showing compassion in social dance

17:08 Why Zouk is the key to life

22:11 The incongruency of “connection” Zoukers

24:27 What social dancing is about?

28:54 Zouk in Brazil is Very Different than in US & Europe

38:52 Brazilians don't need "close embrace" classes

41:31 Brazilian Zouk changes when it leaves Brazil

45:26 The best teachers to learn Brazilian Zouk

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk

“Surrendering in the moment with a balanced mental and physical state, combining creativity through inner-beauty, while existing in harmony with the music" - Evelyn

William Wegert is a Brazilian Zouk dancer, dance teacher, and Martial Artist. Within dance his primary focus is teaching connection, structure, and technique that make up dance. Living by the motto, “it’s not about what you do, it’s about how you do it,” he believes that even the most simple of dances can feel the most amazing. 

You Can Follow William at: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/williamwegert/⁠

Hey, what's up! Anthony and Abe here. We are BANKAI ZOUK, two creatives living in São Paulo. We both got started in learning Brazilian Zouk a little over a year ago, and got obsessed! We wanted to use our skillset of video making to create content that explores the richness of this dance, the culture, and the people around it. We plan to interview more artists and document our journey within the Zouk world.

Follow us on 

⁠https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk/