My premise for going to Rio was to study Brazilian Zouk – a sensual partnered dance done to Zouk music. I was introduced to Zouk in 2014 and fell in love with it instantly. I didn’t pursue it at the time for various reasons, but studying Zouk in Rio was top on my list when I decided to embark on this project. During my time in Rio, I attended twice-weekly group dance lessons, as well as a few private lessons, with Renata Peçanha, one of the premier dance instructors in the world of Brazilian Zouk. I was also fortunate to be here during Renata’s “Zouk in Rio” Zouk congress and to attend quite a few Zouk dance parties.
Brazilian Zouk got its start in the 90’s. When Lambada died around this time, Zouk grew out of its ashes to better reflect the evolution in contemporary dance music. According to this Wikipedia article, Renata and her partner at the time are credited with originating the Brazilian Zouk style of dance, growing it out of Lambada, borrowing from Salsa and Bolero, and creating new movements. Here’s an interview she gave earlier this year about the origins of Zouk and how she developed it, along with some video clips of her dancing with one of her partners, Jorge Peres (it starts in Portugeuse for the first minute, but then it switches to English; great video of them dancing begins at 6:41).
You may not have heard of Zouk, but I assure you it is huge the world over. Zouk congresses – usually 3 days of dance instruction and social dance parties from Friday-Sunday – are held in Brazil, the U.S., Canada, Russia, the Netherlands, Israel, Malaysia, the Emirates, Lebanon, Germany, Australia, Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic…all over the world! And it all started with Renata Peçanha. And I got to spend three weeks with her studying this dance she created.
Zouk is a sexy dance. It can be danced chest to chest, and dancers often press their faces or heads to one another. It involves body rolls and body waves on the part of both partners, and lots of slinky body movements and head rolls on the part of the follows. It is danced to Zouk music and to pop music that has usually been remixed. In classes and at dance parties, we danced to Colbie Callait, Sara Bareilles, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Sia, and Ed Shirin, among others. I will never be able to hear Sia’s “Chandelier” again without feeling Zouk inside me, without seeing the dark rooms and undulating bodies of the Zouk parties in Rio.
I really enjoy Zouk, but I struggle with it, as well. I come from the school of Lindy Hop, where social dancing means the lead leads the follow by moving his own body and the follow responds accordingly. This is true of Zouk, as well, but the line becomes blurry when it comes to the body movements and head rolls the lead leads the follow to do. There’s a lot of direct manipulation by the lead of the follow’s body movements – it’s not the lead dancing and the follow following, it’s the lead moving the follow. Granted, I only danced Zouk for about 3 weeks, but I never did get used to, or comfortable with, that aspect of the dance. In addition, the lead to move the follow into – or out of – a head roll is sometimes very subtle, and I often found myself frustrated, not sure which direction to move or when to straighten up. These are complex movements, though, and more time and practice would yield greater comfort and success with the dance. The body movements and head rolls put a lot of strain on the body, though – it’s important, but not necessarily easy, to protect your back and neck when you’re bending forward, backward, or to the side while simultaneously rotating or turning. A night of Zouk dancing was always followed by a day of rest and relaxation for my neck and back. Fortunately, Copacabana and Ipanema were both just a few blocks away from my studio :).
P.S. I wrote this post while sitting in the lobby of of my jumbo jet-cum-hostel in Stockholm, Sweden with several other guests. When it became clear several of us are here for the Herrang Swing Dance Camp, tables were cleared to make an improptu dance floor so that I and another dancer could demonstrate for the non-initiates what Lindy Hop is. One of the Swedes said this type of dance would never be danced in Sweden – it is not politically correct here for a man to lead a woman in anything! From one end of the world to the other…I’m definitely not in Rio anymore 🙂
TL;DR: Zouk is sexy. I like it. Now, on to Lindy Hop!
