Zouk Dance Camps and Boot Camps 2020
Brazilian Zouk dance camps and boot camps is a new era and have become an essential learning tool and an asset contributing to the healthy growth of our beloved Brazilian Zouk community. They offer a controlled environment with a smaller number of students, teacher’s attention, progressive learning, learning structure and more; all of which help deliver a more in-depth, higher quality and effective personal dance development.
If you’ve not read my older blog posts comparing the different types of learning environments, check it out!
- A Guide to Different Types of Zouk Classes – Part 1
- A Guide to Different Types of Zouk Classes – Part 2
- A Guide to Different Types of Zouk Classes – Part 3
- A Guide to Different Types of Zouk Classes – Part 4
2019 has been one amazing year when it comes to Brazilian Zouk dance camps and boot camps which are week-long structured programmes to deep dive and help accelerate your learning & development!
2020 is going to be BIG! It’s going to be even better and we have created this list of Zouk dance camps and boot camps below so you are aware of them all! Their event links may not have their full information published quite yet but I do suggest bookmarking this page for revisiting again. Please note that I’ve only included events that focus around Brazilian Zouk and are at least 5 days long!
Which one(s) will you join next year? Start planning!
[Subject to changes and updates]
Bruno and Raiza Improvement Course: Level 1 - Calgary Edition
- 13-17 February 2020 in Calgary, Canada [6 Days 5 Nights]
This is the Bruno and Raiza Level 1 Immersion Course which was originally crafted together with Lauren Valdés Santurio from Stockholm, Sweden.
It consists of level 1,2,3 and teachers course. They released their level 1 course for the first time in Stockholm in 2019. After attending this life changing course, Jane Lee really wanted to share the knowledge with my fellow North American friends.
Come join me to work with Bruno and Raiza to learn their methodology and understand their dance fundamentals that applies so flawlessly to Zouk.
We will have 25 hours of class and 5 hours of practice time with Bruno and Raiza supervision over FIVE DAYS. There will be separate practice times as you will want to put this information into body ASAP. (Trust me you will want to be practicing!)
There will be one party at the end to wrap up the course and receive certification cards.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1414269075389098/
Bruno & Raiza Intensive Week by Modern Zouk
- 3-8 March 2020 in Berlin, Germany [6 Days 5 Nights]
This is another one of the Bruno and Raiza Level 1 Immersion Course which was originally crafted together with Lauren Valdés Santurio from Stockholm, Sweden.
As the training will be very intense: over the 5 days, the course will offer high-level workshops twice a day, followed by a time-slot to practice with guidance. This will give trainees time to ask questions, practice amongst themselves, and to pause before taking in any further information. The schedule is created to give the time and space for students to really apply the techniques and concepts offered, with the help from the artists themselves.
The final night will end with a farewell social, followed by a wonderful brunch on Sunday prepared by yours truly ;)
In the end, students will receive a Certificate given by Bruno and Raiza, allowing them to proceed to the next Course made available either in Berlin, or elsewhere. The artists are offering 3 levels (or steps) to this Improvement Course, taking students to a ‘Trainee’ level, giving them an opportunity to then attend the ‘B&R Improvement Course - For Teachers’.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2715639528481188/
Zouk Retreat: ‘Body Communication’ with Anderson & Brenda + In the Dark
- 13-18 May 2020 in Dobrovolya, Belarus [6 Days 5 Nights]
Russia’s Zouk Non-Stop (ZNS) and Europe’s ZoukDanceCamp (ZDC) team are combining forces to create an incredible Zouk training retreat for passionate learners!
Anderson & Brenda and a unique blindfolded workshop ‘In the Dark’ is waiting for you!
https://zoukdancecamp.com/13-18-may-2020-anderson-brenda-in-the-dark-zouk-retreat/
ZOUK Retreat Ukraine 2nd edition. Safe Intimacy and Touch
- 21-25 May 2020 in Trypillya, Ukraine [5 Days 4 Nights]
Our topic for the exploration will be: Safe Intimacy and Touch.
How can This retreat make you a better dancer?
In this retreat we will give you methods to liberate your way of dancing. Release your body conditioning, default and free up your movements, strengthen your body perception, connect with your creativity and let go the overthinking.
This course is mainly for Brazilian zouk dancers, but works well for many other dances.
Non dancers, and people not familiar with Brazilian zouk who are interested in the benefits of this course – should consult with the organizer of the retreat.
We will travel through a selection of exercises & meditations. These methods will help us to better understand and accept oneself. We will learn to appreciate the present moment in the dance, to appreciate and love your partner and yourself. We will learn how to easily connect with each other. Exercises will awake greater sensitivity and relaxation in your body and dance.
Our dancing practices will focus on Brazilian Zouk, mainly;
Note that this weekend can help for all the dances which are using connection between partners (Blues, Kizomba, Bachata, Tango, WCS…), Zouk is however particularly suitable for maximum benefits.
This course will be given in English. With possible translations to other languages if necessary.
https://www.facebook.com/events/575910569882407/
Zouk Immersion Program by Freddy & Andressa
- 6-10 June 2020 in Helsinki, Finland [5 Days 4 Nights]
The first time with special guests: Val & Vanessa and Dj Kakah!
Boost your knowledge and understanding about the concepts, rules, techniques and etc, in Brazilian Zouk.
This is a unique opportunity to learn and/or polish your dance with the creators of the Fundamentals Courses, a teaching methodology that has been exported and used by other professionals around the world due to its format functionality and results.
Freddy & Andressa are known worldwide by their precision with technique and clear teaching in Brazilian Zouk, as well as, by their love for the dance foundation!
This course is designed specially for those who lead a scene without a professional supervision in their cities, the ones interested in growing the knowledge about concepts and techniques, the ones aiming to become future teachers, advanced and intermediate dancers interested only in becoming better dancers as well and etc…
Joining the Immersion Program, you will have access to a lot of contents about dance technique in general, plus everything related and applied to Brazilian Zouk, mainly the Zouk Tradicional from Rio de Janeiro (Rio Zouk).
Don’t miss this special week, become a #badassbasic with a #badassembrace and improve your skills, learn how to give proper guidance to your own scene, train correctly avoiding to create bad habits, injuries and so much more!
https://helsinkidancecentral.com/about/upcoming-events/immersionprogram/
ZoukDanceCamp Series: ‘Retrace Your Dance Journey’ with Anderson & Brenda - Chapter 1 (Grounding)
- 26 June-5 July 2020 in Andrychów, Poland [10 Days 9 Nights]
Grounding.. This is the main topic of the Chapter 1 of the ZoukDanceCamp Series with Anderson & Brenda.
Do you want to know more about it? Read below from Anderson and Brenda and learn about what they want to give to you during these days.
“Zouk, when we started to learn in Brazil, was a dance with a lot of African and ground characteristics. The movement came from the ground, boil on the hips and explode in the head in Lambada… After traveling the world, Zouk changed a lot, and this is an aspect that we miss the most when we remember the roots of this dance. Today, this is the aspect that we feel people need the most, since Zouk can have a very airy and water flow, it’s very common that people feel unbalanced with the lack of grounding.
In the way we teach, we like to build the dance from toe-to-head, so grounding is where everything will start. Not only about the understanding of the skeleton and the stacking bones, posture, muscle tone, and how to step in a way that feels more balanced, efficient and pleasurable, but also about grounding yourself with confidence, self power, decision and pleasure to live in your own body.
Samba de Gafieira, Bolero and Tango, helped us so much on building our connection from the ground to frame, so we will use them to practice exercises applying our technique into it and connect it to Zouk. We will use Eutonia (a form of physical practice) to increase sensitivity on feet, ankles, knees, hips and posture to use gravity for a relaxed balance. Another big influence of hips and enjoyment of lower body in Brazil was Axe, a local popular solo dance that helps having ground, fun and flow on hips movements, so we will also bring that to help your grounding.
Lots of lateral, traveling steps, hip movements, turns and lead and follow challenges will be used to apply grounding in your Zouk. And we hope that with this development, we will be able to also challenge you with changing dynamics and speed being fast and slow together with your partner with the less tension you can. Remember all the series we gonna go through all the 4 basic principles: Grounding, Lead and Follow, Flow and Building. But this one it will be the base for all of them.”
https://zoukdancecamp.com/3-12-july-2020-series-with-anderson-brenda-chapter-1/
Zouk Needs You Bootcamp in Slovakia 2020 Val and Vanessa
- 5-12 July 2020 in Slovakia [8 Days 7 Nights]
Val and Vanessa are known for teaching Brazilian Zouk in a very organic and funny way, and for making the complicated Zouk moves very easy to understand!
Dive deep into zouk with this 30 hours Bootcamp with Val and Vanessa in a small group of 40 participants.
ZNY or Zouk Needs You is a methodology Val and Vanessa have developed to teach Brazilian zouk in a way that is very natural to our bodies. It has been used in zouk scenes in Brazil, some European countries, Russia and the USA. Val and Vanessa organize their ZNY course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January and this is European edition of it.
During the course they progressively cover different topics from fundamentals to more difficult techniques used in Brazilian zouk. The content they teach varies every year based on the needs of zouk scene and those of the group. That is why many people come back to attend their courses over and over again and every time they leave with new knowledge.
During the course you will not only be given a lot of information, but Val and Vanessa are really good at giving variety of exercises that will help you get the information from your mind to your body, which is quite often the most difficult part of learning process. And if the time during the 30 hours isn’t enough for you and you wish to practice even more, you can do that during socials at night.
This course isn’t suitable for complete beginners, but whether you are somewhere at the beginning of your zouk journey or trying to master this beautiful art, teaching it or aspiring to do so, you will find a lot of useful information that will help you transform your dancing.
Thanks to its small size and everything happening under one roof, the ZNY Bootcamp in Slovakia offers you a great opportunity to work hard on your zouk while feeling as part of the ZNY family.
https://www.facebook.com/events/669083086933617/
Brno Summer Zouk Camp with Ludek, Pavla & Monika & Ludek [TBC]
- Usually July TBC [Usually 10 Days 9 Nights]
Ludek & Pavla are the creators of the successful Brno Zouktime events & community with over 10 years of Brazilian Zouk teaching experience. L&P&M are known for their in-depth knowledge of dance and technique applications!
More info coming soon!
Original Bruno and Raiza Level 1 Immersion Course
- 1-5 August 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden [5 days 4 Nights]
Level 1 is the first level of a 3 part course. This course is great for teachers, or those who are considering teaching in the future, and those who really want to have things to take home to work on.
Bruno and Raiza’s methodology is comparable to language learning. First, we must be able to make the sounds, which would equate to body control and awareness and singular movements. Once we are able to do this then we can learn the words, which would be our Zouk fundamentals: basic step, viradinha, simple turn, etc, and finally, after this, we can build sentences, which would be variations of all the basic movements and the ability to combine them.
On each level, we will work with all 3 concepts, but level 1 is predominantly learning our sounds and words. Their unique pedagogy, which was developed on Braiza Island (it’s absolutely a real place!) offers new insight into how to view and break down each movement, very useful for those interested in teaching as well as those interested in understanding why we do each movement the way we do it.
Your participation of each level will be registered with Bruno and Raiza and listed on their database, and once you have completed levels 1-3 participants will have the opportunity to continue with teacher training and be listed as a teacher on Bruno and Raiza’s website.
https://www.facebook.com/events/520532645173781/
Original Bruno and Raiza Level 2 Immersion Course
- 8-12 August 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden [5 days 4 Nights]
Level 2 of a 3 part course which starts right after the level 1 week. To join this level 2 course, you will be required to have completed level 1 with Bruno and Raiza whether the week before or previously.
On each level, we will work with all 3 concepts, but on level 2 we can start to work more with our words and sentences.
See above ‘Bruno and Raiza Level 1 Immersion Course’ for a summary of what to expect and the concept!
https://www.facebook.com/events/583991118807140/
ZoukDanceCamp Series: ‘Retrace Your Dance Journey’ with Anderson & Brenda - Chapter 2 (Lead & Follow)
- 9-18 October 2020 in Andrychów, Poland [10 Days 9 Nights]
The second of four chapters with ‘Lead & Follow’ as the main topic. You do not need to have completed Chapter 1 (Grounding) to join.
Who never got impressed with the crazy dynamics, going from super-fast turns to super slow pauses in the middle of the movement that Anderson & Brenda show in their demos? Oh well, the relaxed aspect of it comes a lot from the way they use the ground, but the speed is basically communicated by their technique of lead and follow.
If grounding is the base of the dance in terms of movement, lead and follow is the base of what will make this movement to be communicated. And this is one of the most important aspects to make our dance “social”… The possibility of communicating with anybody, from wherever part of the world, by understanding the language that intelligent and fluid bodies use to incorporate a leader role or a follower role, in this case, through Brazilian Zouk.
Anderson & Brenda got very nerdy in this aspect of dancing. That was how they got so much into connection… It was not from breathing or spirituality, that was actually a consequence of studying so much the elements of lead and follow.
So in this chapter, they are very excited to share some of the secrets behind their connection:
- The Ruler of Intensity (Leader & Follower)
- From The Center (Leader & Follower)
- The Power of a Sensitive Waiting (Follower)
- Organisation and Structure (Leader)
- The Power of Fluid Decision (Leader)
- The Power of Touch (Leader & Follower)
https://zoukdancecamp.com/9-18-october-2020-series-with-anderson-brenda-chapter-2/
More to be added here! Please contact Hoi
Please do not contact me if your boot camp is less than 5 days long and not coordinated with progressive structure!
If you prefer shorter Zouk dance camps or boot camps, there are actually many short weekend ones which you can find here in the Zouk Calendar European Events! http://bit.ly/2MtmXel
Know friends who’d be interested? Please S H A R E this blog post with them!
Hoi x
