I speak fluent mambo. I also speak a lot of the other social dances, but whenever I try to dance zouk, I feel like I’m speaking a different, difficult language.
When I first heard about zouk a couple of years ago, I resisted. While I thought the music had a good vibe, it seemed way too relaxed compared to the familiar Latin beats. I’ll admit, I was skeptical if I would feel energized dancing to it all night – that, and I thought the dance was all about whipping your hair around. But my friends were posting more and more videos online of beautiful routines, demos and songs and my opinions started to shift.
I checked out a couple of drop-in classes and immediately jumped right into a weekend intensive to learn from a great talent straight from Brazil…but now a year has passed and my zouk-speak is still in its infancy.
Why?
Because I don’t want to be a beginner again!
My body can’t seem to find the groove of zouk like it did when I started salsa. I’m stiff! And I know I’ll be in “beginner hell” for a long time…so, I’ve been taking the easy way out – skipping out on socials or chatting with friends during a zouk set, avoiding the gamble of leaving my comfort zone.
It’s time to stop hiding behind the familiar and challenge myself to explore this new language some more. I’ve already taken my first zouk baby-steps – wonder what my first word will be?
Your first word, after having danced with a master zouker, will be 'wowwwwwwww!' :) xo
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