Brazilian Zouk Fundamentals (Level 1): 6-Week Series

INTERESTED IN LEARNING BRAZILIAN ZOUK?!This beautiful partner dance has been growing in popularity both in the DC area and around the world. Learn the fundamentals with District Zouk's Gui Prada & Natalie Pcholkina. This progressive series will cover zouk foundations and prepare you to get out on the dance floor. Wednesdays at DanceSport Dupont [hidden] seriesJune 12 - July 24 (with a break on July 3) Each week will build on what you learned the previous week. Topics will include: Basic Steps Connection Viradinha Lateral Simple Turns Waves & Sways Close Embrace These classes will provide a good foundation for dancers new to Brazilian zouk and the opportunity for experienced zouk dancers to refine their fundamentals. The small class environment will allow for personal attention and a cohort to learn with as you explore this dance. Enrollment: $102 for the 6-week series No drop-ins - you must sign up for the full 6-week series No partner required (but you can encourage your friends to sign-up too!) When purchasing your ticket we ask you to decide if you'd like to lead or follow in the classes so we can keep the lead/follow ratio fairly even. Note: DanceSport Dupont Circle class cards cannot be used for this series. Location: DanceSport DuPont Circle2201 P St. NW (GPS 1520 22nd St. NW)The Church of the Pilgrims Fellowship Hall (Entrance from the south side via stairs going down) Washington DC 20037 Between P & Q St's, 2 blocks west of the Q St exit of the Dupont Circle red line Metro. Directions and unlimited adjacent Embassy Row parking info available at: [hidden] bus lines: G2, D2 & D6, 42, N line to Friendship Hts, S line from Silver Spring & downtown and Dupont Circle Circulator from Georgetown The Instructors: Gui Prada started dancing in 2004 inspired by the movie "Shall We Dance?". He began to dive deep into dance in 2006 as a work-study trainee of the Jaime Arôxa Dance School in Rio de Janeiro. Jaime Arôxa, one of the creators of Brazilian Zouk, was the head instructor and was a mentor for the most accomplished dancers in Brazil. During his 6 years as a member of the school's team, he learned all Brazilian partner dances (Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Soltinho, Bolero and Zouk) as well as Argentine Tango. After he left the school, he continued dancing and learning from other remarkable instructors, including Fabiano Vivas, Kelly Reis, Érico Rodrigo, Guilherme Pimentel and many others. Since then he has focused his training and research on taking the best of each of these dances and applying it to the close embrace, with the purpose of conveying a sense of well-being and relaxation to dance partners. In 2016 he attended the first Zouk Retreat in Valencia, led by Xandy Liberato, Brenda Carvalho and Anderson Mendes. After that, his research on partner dancing took a new direction, as he continued working with Brenda and Anderson to seek for the application of the concepts explored at the retreat in different ways by using the references of the other Brazilian partner dances and Argentinian Tango. As a result, the importance of the basic steps and concepts became evident, since it is through them that all dances reach another level. Ghee is looking forward to sharing his technique and training with students here in Washington DC to help them improve their basics, comfort and confidence on the dance floor. Natalie Pcholkina loves exploring the world through dance. It has brought her to 30+ countries where she performed, taught, trained, moved and enjoyed every minute of it! Dance has created countless memorable experiences that shaped her as a person and as an artist - from teaching underprivileged girls in India to raising her students into world champions out of a war zone. Natalie has a degree in dance from the University of Maryland, and currently teaches ballet as well as occasional jazz, modern and lyrical dance classes at Joy of Motion and Ovation dance studios in DC and Bethesda. Natalie was introduced to Brazilian zouk in 2017 and fell in love with it, and joined the District Zouk dance team shortly thereafter. She has continued learning, competing and performing, winning the novice jack and jill competition at Elevation Denver Zouk Congress in December 2018 and progressing to the intermediate level of the competition. Her training in other styles of dance has helped her tremendously in her learning, competitions and performance of this dance, and she looks forward to sharing it with others to help them grow as dancers. District Zouk’s mission is to offer regular opportunities to learn and dance Brazilian zouk, and to nurture and grow the Brazilian zouk community in DC. Ashley and Valentine co-founded District Zouk with Amy Abbott and Bianca Desroches, and they have been teaching weekly Brazilian zouk classes at DanceSport Dupont Circle since June 2014, as well as organizing workshops and other events. District Zouk received an award at the New York Zouk Festival in October 2017 for their contributions to zouk in North America. For some examples of what this dance looks like, check out: [hidden] More Info below.