The Future of Brazilian Zouk after Coronavirus

While I also enjoy Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba festivals, this post will focus on Brazilian Zouk. A lot of what I talk about below also applies to other dance genres.

Brazilian Zouk is a relatively new dance genre compared to Salsa and Bachata. There are many small pockets of communities all over the world, but the dance isn’t as well known or popular as Salsa/Bachata. The biggest festivals (Elevation Zouk Festival and Warsaw Zouk Festival) used to draw 500-900 dancers together.

It’s been two months since quarantine started and I now have a better idea of what to expect over the next two years regarding the Brazilian Zouk dance scene.

Here are some changes I expect to happen:

1. Festivals - Some festivals will not return in 2021. Certain festivals will not have the budget due to a smaller pool of willing dancers to attend. Even the biggest festivals will probably see at least a 50% reduction in dancers. I don’t expect Brazilian Zouk festivals to be back to pre-COVID numbers for at least 3 years.

2. Privates gatherings - Private or invite only gatherings will grow. Brazilian Zouk is a dance that can be fun in a festival setting, but the same goes for an intimate setting with one or two other couples. With the right location, music, ambiance, and company - a small gathering of 2-5 couples can make for a very enjoyable night of dancing.

3. Private Lessons - I think private lessons will stabilize over the coming months. Once normal every day live resumes, more people will feel comfortable booking privates. Certain dancers who are afraid of risking large festivals or small dance events will opt for maintaining their dance through private lessons.

Dance is a high-risk activity, period. It will be interesting to see how the next two years unfolds. However, as far as nightlife/dancing/going out is concerned - we won’t be seeing this return for the rest of 2020.

10 Reasons Why Brazilian Zouk Dancers Should Learn Lambada

Leo and Ana recently shared a great piece of content stating 10 reasons why Brazilian Zouk dancers should learn Lambada. We had the pleasure of finally being able to film them in person at the 2020 Brazouka Beach Festival in heart of Porto Seguro, Brazil. This is a 100% Lambada festival and unlike any Brazilian Zouk dance event you’ll ever experience. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Brazil, this is a definite must!

Below are ten reasons why you should learn Lambada!

1. To learn how to play between odd and even timing.

2. Lambada was highly influenced by Salsa in the end of the 80s and into the early 90s. You can add a latin flavor through lambada hip movement and it’s sensuality.

3. Strengthen your base by practicing the most basic form of dance in which all movements require constant footwork patterns connected to the rhythm.

4. Improve your level of dancing by dancing with multiple partners (2 leaders with 1 follower or 2 followers with 1 leader) and learn the game of “stealing” that allows you to share several partners during one song.

5. Unlock the reverse side of the movements. In Lambada, the students are encouraged to learn the opposite side of every move.

6. Improve your skill in movements such as turns, circular movements, displacement movements establishing a continuous flow in which transitions between movements aren’t perceived.

7. Expand your repertoire of solo movements using the Lambada technique that consists of entering and leaving the partner while maintaining the flow and connection.

8. Knowing the roots of Brazilian Zouk will give you a better understanding of the evolution and history of the dance.

9. Although lambada is not only danced to fast songs, through its technique you can improve your ability to dance fast songs.

10. Expand your network! Discover new events, new people, new dancers, and contribute to the unity of both communities.

Dance Festivals in 2020

I’ve been filming dance festivals for the past five years, and most of them all feel the same.

The day starts with workshops, a short break, then performances which usually run late cutting into social dancing, and ending with early morning social dancing.

Most festivals use this format, some with a slight variation. At the end of the day, it just feels like you’re dancing in a standard hotel ballroom in your respective city/state.

Why have dance festivals not evolved? Well, like a lot of things in life, you get comfortable. You become complacent. If it works, it works. Why spend more money on artists, DJs, or production when you don’t have to?

The problem is this: consumers are getting smarter and smarter every year. They value money and their time. If they go to the same festival year after year, and the experience is the same, eventually they’ll want to do something else.

It’s the same crowd, the same hotel, the same DJ lineup, the same artists, and ultimately the same experience. Going to the same festival 3 years in a row gets a bit exhausting and redundant. Sure, it’s nice to go with a big group of friends/performers and party together for the weekend. However, with so many options, it might be nice to switch it up and experience a new event.

So what’s the solution? Ask around, do some research, and before you know it, you’ll know which festivals are worth investing in.

For salsa/bachata I recommend Summer Sensual Days in Croatia. I’ve heard amazing things about this festival from Europeans and North Americans. It’s worth the trip, offers all types of dancing, and is worth the experience. In the US, I recommend the Phoenix Bachata Festival in Arizona. The production value of this event is unparalleled and you’re guaranteed to experience some great bachata moments with live artists.

For Brazilian Zouk, we recommend Zouk MX in Playa Del Carmen, Interfusion in DC, and Warsaw Zouk Festival. These three events are incredible and offer a completely different experience than most B-Zouk events.

For Kizomba/Urban Kiz, we recommend Miami Beach Kizomba Festival or Kizomba Luxembourg. These are massive festivals that are really fun. For smaller more intimate festivals, talk to some European dancers as there plenty of these in France and Holland.

With so many festivals competing for the same format, we’ve seen an increase in marathons (which is great!). At the end of the day, dancers just want to social dance for as long as possible.

We are excited for another year of filming dance festivals and can’t wait to see what these festivals bring to the table. Happy dancing!

Brazilian Zouk in Asia (Shanghai, China 2019)

Brazilian Zouk has seen rapid growth in Asia. There are dancers and events in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China. The community may not be big in numbers, but it’s strong and vibrant in support. Brazilian Zouk is not an easy dance, and it takes time to grow naturally and organically.

SBKZ Media had the pleasure of filming the first Brazilian Zouk festival in Shanghai, China. This was our first time in China and were pleasantly surprised by the dancers that attended from neighboring countries and the overall energy of the event.

Andy and April are the organizers of the festival who also host the China Kizomba Congress in Shanghai. They both dance Kizomba and Brazilian Zouk really well. Andy and April were present all weekend; social dancing, interacting, and making sure everything ran smoothly.

It’s great to see promoters enjoying themselves throughout the weekend. Our artist dinners were also really fun and engaging. The success of dance festivals is really determined by the intention, energy, and personality of the promoter(s).

It was great meeting dancers from all over the world. We danced and filmed all weekend. One highlight of the weekend was capturing Renata Pecanha talk about lead/follows of Brazilian Zouk. We created some short form content that did extremely well on Facebook.

If you’d like to see all the content we created for the 2019 China Brazilian Zouk Congress in Shanghai, visit their Facebook Page.

Four Similarities Between Salsa On2 and Brazilian Zouk

Salsa On2 and Brazilian Zouk are completely different dance genres. However, after filming and dancing both for awhile, I’ve noticed similarities between the two dances that I’d like to point out.

High Level of Dancing:

When you reach a certain level of dancing, you’re able to explore different instruments in the music. Your musicality allows you to create unique movements, patterns, and make every dance a unique, one-of-a-kind experience.

After watching many skilled dancers connect with each other, the music, the ground, etc. - their social dancing musicality is incredible. The sequences, patterns, and connection that some are able to create in the moment is amazing to witness.

Freedom:

With Salsa, dancers can do shines and dance by themselves to the music. They can express themselves individually. There are many instruments going on at the same time which gives the lead many options to choose from when playing with musicality. Dancers are able to go on or off the beat, and switch to different styles of salsa during a song.

With Brazilian Zouk, there is no defined music genre. You can literally dance to anything. However, popular music genres include ghetto zouk, hip hop/r&b, EDM, trap, future bass, lyrical, etc. The endless amounts of music genres coupled with many different Brazilian Zouk styles, well, you get the idea, the options are endless. Lead and follows are also able to swap roles during the song which really adds a different dynamic to the dance.

Basic Step

The basic step is the same. Yes, the movement, grounding, and energy is completely different. However, at it’s core, the basic is the same.

Trending

Both dance genres are hot right now. Brazilian Zouk has seen rapid growth in the US over the past 3 years. High quality video content has increased visibility on social media platforms. Salsa On2/Mambo events have been increasing over the past 2 years. Here in Los Angeles, there’s more and more mambo events as well as dance teams and students.

Both dance genres are difficult to learn and sometimes turn new dancers away because of how difficult it looks or seems. There is a slow learning curve at the beginning when learning fundamentals, technique, and musicality. However, after enough time and investment, things begin to click and you see why so many people love these dances.

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These are four similarities between Brazilian Zouk dancers and Salsa On2 or Mambo dancers. Another point I’d like to make is that many dancers who dance either dance, are dedicated solely to that dance. I know many mambo dancers that ONLY dance mambo. and Brazilian Zouk dancers that started with Brazilian Zouk and only dance that.

If you’re a Brazilian Zouk dancer and/or a salsa on2 dancer and have any insight or feedback, shoot us a message!