Footwork & Groundedness: Brazilian Zouk Special Topic Series

GET READY TO WORK ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE FOUNDATIONS! This is where everything starts. Once you learn how to walk, you can take over the world, literally! When we were babies we had to learn to roll, crawl and then walk. Once you start dancing world, you need to now learn it all over again because every dance has a different walk and technique. Your feet, how it moves and how it connects with the rest of your body can make magic happen and whole difference in your dance. For us to properly master the more challenging patterns, even the upper body and head movements that zouk is known for, we must be able to move smoothly around the floor and be confident in how we step. Weight transfer and movement mechanics are the foundation of this dance, but funnily enough, because of their difficulty they are not the first things we train. In this lab with Alisson Sandi, Gui Prada and Natalie Pcholkina we will have 5 weeks to improve our footwork and make it more smooth. Thursdays at DanceSport Dupont Circle 6:45 - 8:15pm 5-week series July 11 - August 8 Each week will bring a new topic or combination, building on what we learned on the previous week. Topics will include, among others: Improving your walk/weight transfer Freeing up your flow and being in control of your balance The master of Axis control: E.T.I.T. (Extension Transfer Isolation Turn) With the drills, practice and feedback included in the class you will feel more confident with your base, timing, axis and balance, as well as have some homework to take away and practice. Enrollment: $110 for the 5-week series No drop-ins - you must sign up for the full 5-week series No partner required 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. Pre-requisites: Level 2 Progressive Fundamentals (and the preceding classes) In order for you and others to benefit from this series, we ask that participants should have completed our District Zouk Level 2 (Progressive Fundamentals) or higher within the last 3 months. If you haven't completed those series but would like to join or are not sure if this series is right for you, reach out to a District Zouk instructor to see if this class is a good fit for you. 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: Alisson Sandi began his dance career at the age of 15 in São Paulo, Brazil, where he was born. Over the years he trained in Brazilian, Latin and International Ballroom dancing with Jaime Arôxa, Renata Peçanha, Alex de Carvalho, Rodrigo Delano, and others. In 2007, he joined the Juan Rando Dance Academy (JRDA) in Perth, Australia, and stayed in Australia through 2019 teaching in multiple cities and around the world. Alisson has held performances and workshops in over 41 countries, and holds titles including 2x Pro World Champion, 3x Australian Pro Champion, and Winner/Finalist of various BZDC All Stars/Champions Jack and Jill Comps. He is one of the the founders and the first choreographers of the International Zouk Flash Mob. He has also been an official judge for the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council since its first competition event. Alisson has a passion for teaching and is known for his attention to detail and effective instruction in dance techniques. He is excited to move to Washington, DC and help grow the dancers and community here and in North America. 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. Gui 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. More Info below.