Brazilian Zouk means enjoyment - happyness - fun - emotions - community
When I stared dancing Zouk 3 years ago, I knew that it would once become my passion. The people, the care, the fun, it was simply astonishing.
The Beginning
My dad was a very good social dancer in the past. Also his parents did it a lot when they were young. They even attended tournaments like the "Blackpool", one of the biggest standard social dancing events in England. I'm very proud of them.
Once when I was 15 my dad came to me to ask if I would like to go to a dance school. First I was a bit sceptical but I agreed and startet to take my first lesson some weeks later.
It was a very interesting time. I attended formation dance tournaments and even once a profi scout asked me to go to a talent school in London. The problem was that I was just 18 and still had to finish my school. So I left the chance behind.
The Change
After some years have passed, I decided to move to Switzerland because of my then-partner. Before we met once or twice per month but it was too much exhausting for me to drive hours over hours just to see my partner for a weekend.
When I moved to Zurich, I felt like being in a parallel world. Suddenly I was in this new country with new people, a new environment and new chances to live my life.
Zurich has a big big Salsa scene. I never saw so many Salsa dance schools at one place before. That's how I found myself being at a Salsa dance school called "Gozando". I became good friend with Eddy.
After many Salsa events and congresses, I wanted to try out something completely new. That's when my friend called my attention to Zouk. I knew from before that there was something like a dance called "Zouk" but it never came to my mind to check out what it was until I went to my first class.
Zouk blew my mind
When I joined the Zouk community, the people were extremely friendly and familiar. it was different to the Salsa scene where most of the contacts were superficial. Guys were jealous about the talent of others and it always felt like being on a competition when I went to the regular dance events.
The Zouk people were different. Everyone tried to help each other to improve. We established a group of talented Zouk dancers to delight people with our dance shows. It was a beautiful and exciting time. I still know how fast my heart was beating before we entered the strage in front of a crowd of hundreds of people.
We are still organizing events about three times a week where we meet our valuable friends and enjoy.
How does it feel to dance Zouk?
It is very hard to describe when you never tried it out before. But it is an amazing feeling. Once when you learned the steps and movements, you just stop thinking and start enjoying.
Sometimes it happens that you dance with a kind of dancing soulmate where everything fit from the first dance. You just enjoy together and forget about the time. You're one, you're in a trance and feel like nobody can ever take your enjoyment. I never knew before that there could be a delighting feeling like that.
Check out this amazing video of two of my favourite Zouk teachers:
What is Zouk? An explanation: http://zouktheworld.com/brazilianzouk/
Want to learn Salsa in Zurich? https://www.gozando-salsa.ch/ueber-uns/team (the place where I learned how to dance Salsa)