Welcome to The ZoukPod, an audio journey into the world of Brazilian Zouk. Hosted by a dynamic trio—Anthony, Abe, and Alé—they bring an explosive blend of humor, honesty, and conversation that gets to the core of Zouk. You will learn about the necessary technical foundations of Brazilian Zouk, the many different styles of Zouk and how it is danced differently all around the world, how to be creative yourself and develop your own voice in dance, how to deeply connect with your partner in social dance, how become a community organizer and/or professional traveling artist, all so you can reach yo
In this episode, we talk to the Close Embrace Master himself, Gui Prada! We go deep into the intricacies that exists in the embrace and walking, how he his able to teach the embrace to less-physical cultures, and the beauty + metaphysics of Tango. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did interviewing :)
0:00 Intro
2:32 How Gui is making Brazilian Zouk more accessible to a wider audience
6:45 The Zouk Economy: Why instructors teach flashy movements
9:13 The intricacies that exist in walking and embrace
18:50 How Gui developed "the Universe Behind the Hug" workshop
23:44 Touch starvation and the cultural differences that exist around physicality
31:46 How Gui manages to teach embrace to less physical cultures
35:55 How Gui adapts to the follower
43:36 The follower is never wrong?
59:44 The beauty of Tango
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk
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12 Sept 2023
The Most Talented Zoukers You've Never Heard Of
In this podcast, we talk about our biggest inspirations in Brazilian Zouk and how the new generation of Zoukers in São Paulo are innovating and pushing the boundaries of this dance.
00:00 Intro
00:40 Zouk Open Recap
09:27 Anthony's inspiration for the month
14:58 Organic Creativity in Zouk
21:26 How movement in nature inspires dance
25:07 Abe’s visual inspirations from other dances
30:57 Why Abe is learning choreography
33:10 What living in the Mecca of Zouk is like
40:00 How the New Generation is Innovating
48:48 Gui Prada… THE INSPIRATION
Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk
29 Aug 2023
Top 5 Moments in Zouk that Changed Our Lives
In this episode, we share our 21+ years of shared experience dancing Brazilian Zouk; from starting in the LA Zouk scene to training with the founders, Renata Peçanha and Jaime Aroxa.
00:00 Intro
00:29 The dance that inspired Abe to learn Zouk
07:29 Alé’s life changing dance moments
12:52 Zouk opens up a world of creative expression
18:18 Ant’s story traveling to SP
20:04 Demos are just routines
21:43 What makes Zouk special compared to other partner dances
35:51 Alé’s experience training with the GOD of Brazilian dance
39:03 The dedication it takes to become an incredible dancer
42:17 Anthony’s experience in dancing in Rio
48:56 Why Zoukers from Rio are so stuck-up
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk
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15 Aug 2023
The Best Approaches to Learn Brazilian Zouk
Hello from Londrinas! We are currently at one of the best Zouk festivals in Brazil and decided to record a podcast with our friend, Gabby. In this episode we discuss the many different paths to learn Brazilian Zouk, how to speed up your progress with structure, and other miscellaneous social dance phenomenons :)
00:00 Intro
00:43 Hello from ZoukUnity!
11:14 How to get functional at Brazilian Zouk
21:12 The value of learning from multiple instructors
28:52 Social dancing is crucial to your dance growth
30:22 Why you need to develop your own style
32:19 Abe spent $100k on Zouk
36:24 What are the misuses of time when learning Zouk?
38:59 The importance of revisiting your basics
41:20 How to respond to a disconnected dance partner
43:46 How to deal with intense eye contact from your dance patnerFollow us on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk
1 Aug 2023
The Power of Presence with Luan and Adriana
Join us as we explore the world of connection and presence, in today's interview with LUAN & ADRIANA! Share with us what your thoughts on this episode and who you might want to see interviewed next! :)
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:00 The mindset behind a connective and present social dance
05:23 What makes a "good" dancer?
07:52 The best dances are inside the embrace
08:41 Why most Zouk instructors don’t teach the embrace
10:13 If there is connection and sensations, then the movements come naturally
13:07 How Luan & Adriana teach beginners connections and sensations
14:11 How Luan helped “unblock” Alé with close embrace
16:29 The 3 principles that make up connection in dance
20:15 How to style and express but also maintain a connection
24:28 Why beginners should learn to dance in the embrace
26:42 What to do if the person you are dancing with is not paying attention to you
29:10 Cultural differences and miscommunication that happens in social dance
33:47 How Luan’s spiritual practice leads him to wholeness
36:51 Are Luan & Adriana Dating?
39:28 Why Boom-Chik-Chik is the essence to Brazilian Zouk
45:56 As much as you train technique, you need to train your self-connection
48:54 How did Luan & Adriana develop their methodology of connection
53:53 Influences from Jaime Arôxa
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk
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26 Jul 2023
Discovering the Life-Changing Magic of Brazilian Zouk
Hey! Anthony here. I recently sold all my things, and moved to Brazil just for Zouk 😅
For me, Zouk is way more than just a partner dance. It can be about the pursuit of technical perfection, musical expression, connection, being apart of a community, building a community, popularity, dating, being the best, getting to know a different culture... and more. It can be any of these things, and all of these things at once.
And I think that's why I was crazy enough to move to Sao Paulo, because being apart of the Zouk community has allowed me to engage and express so many parts of myself, and parts of myself I didn't even know existed. And living on this side, where I can express myself and feel more alive, that for me was worth giving up the security I had in the US...
In this episode, Abe, Ale, and I talk about the mindset and approach to dancing with beginners, how Brazilian Zouk becomes a life-changing passion, and the differences in how Zouk is danced in Brazil compared to the US and Europe.
But I would love to hear from all you Zoukers, what makes Zouk so addicting for you?
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
2:02 Why it is important to dance with beginners, especially as a higher level dancer
9:56 Should professionals to deny dances?
15:12 Showing compassion in social dance
17:08 Why Zouk is the key to life
22:11 The incongruency of “connection” Zoukers
24:27 What social dancing is about?
28:54 Zouk in Brazil is Very Different than in US & Europe
38:52 Brazilians don't need "close embrace" classes
41:31 Brazilian Zouk changes when it leaves Brazil
45:26 The best teachers to learn Brazilian Zouk
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVNleW01QWN1bks5MzFDWGRNbWFwZDJhZVJud3xBQ3Jtc0treWJpWEhvY0RvdnFERzJiWVNmY2l1MzJZd3lIYmNTdlFmZ3B3WGZndUFmRTUxTjdyU0JlS3RNRGFzakZLc0hMV0hka29IckNoX0luWVBfU2JYLVUzdXRiX1BGMWpkQUt5XzlFUzVySFM1MXNHMTdTQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fbankaizouk&v=yqM7E36g-oo)
26 Jul 2023
Discovering Your Voice as a Follower with Evelyn Magyari & Derrick Lopez
“Surrendering in the moment with a balanced mental and physical state, combining creativity through inner-beauty, while existing in harmony with the music" - Evelyn
Evelyn & Derrick embodies a unique approach to dance – an art of moving, expressing and interpreting the music internally, and from your heart. Her talents inspire dancers around the world to express their dance from their souls.
15 years as a professional Zouk dancer, Evelyn is still sharing her love and passion for the dance – now gratefully combining the beauty of being in love with her forever thankful, inspirational and beloved husband Derrick, who has also been breakdancing for over 20 years.
You can learn more about them at: https://evelyndance.com (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbDVpeENIT1IwMkw0aGlpTllabnh5UmFqVXUtUXxBQ3Jtc0tsQXo3bjRXUVN1djJRNExacml4MzZZWEctQ2tCUUFQa1A4RmNCbTBWb2s3Y2ZzbWNKQUpnc0dPVjNoMWF4RnJlUTVybG41Zi16WHVsOEdlc3ktVlBOV3JhOEFOU2s4N3V0R0JxWHJkUDFDNlc2cklHWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fevelyndance.com%2F&v=8Nq3mv3XMiY)
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWY4a3dEdXd3TDJQTkFMN0FRSERJSnA4WW5iUXxBQ3Jtc0trZlFhdEEwY0dkLXhNU2RFb1hNNThmb0FUSGxIY2N4WnI4bWFPM0hteFpnWmstY3dEMGJPSlZoMDFhc2g4RnN3b1AtaFpLLXRvOVF3T3B5TG93ZmwtYUZ3WU82RVBNMmpIbk1CQ21qdDdJQTNiaWtsUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fbankaizouk&v=8Nq3mv3XMiY)
26 Jul 2023
How to Train Creativity with William Wegert
William Wegert is a Brazilian Zouk dancer, dance teacher, and Martial Artist. Within dance his primary focus is teaching connection, structure, and technique that make up dance. Living by the motto, “it’s not about what you do, it’s about how you do it,” he believes that even the most simple of dances can feel the most amazing.
You Can Follow William at: https://www.instagram.com/williamwegert/ (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTV5dndvWkduQWd6clpQaVVBWUZIcXM5bnZTZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsRGpQZ3otaGpPckhKV0tjRmhkYm9PTndUNVlpQ2VYdzJvdVEzVkdNYl84c1pScTVhaDl1VnFNN0xvdlRkOGhtcnJka1JSelJUQjhzQnBieC14bE1BNXpDb3J3ODZ5SWsxTGlMVXBDb2l6dTZuLWxfdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fwilliamwegert%2F&v=J29NDfOEj1Q)
Hey, what's up! Anthony and Abe here. We are BANKAI ZOUK, two creatives living in São Paulo. We both got started in learning Brazilian Zouk a little over a year ago, and got obsessed! We wanted to use our skillset of video making to create content that explores the richness of this dance, the culture, and the people around it. We plan to interview more artists and document our journey within the Zouk world.
Follow us on
https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk/ (https://www.instagram.com/bankaizouk/)
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