Class structure

Concept of the classes

The Zouk class structure triangle illustrates the structure of the classes. No strong building without a good foundation, therefore you’ll learn the Zouk Foundations in the first classes. Afterwards we continue building by adding the main Zouk Elements. Once you know the main Zouk Elements, we start diving deeper in the Techniques behind to provide you with the tools to become more creative in your dance in the Creation class. And finally, after constructing our solid structure, we can put the last stone and learn how to create as much Freedom as possible in our dance while still maintaining a great connection with our partner.

Zouk classes structure | overview

Personal learning experience

All classes have a set of specific goals to support your personal development as a Zouk dancer at any moment. If you’re new to Brazilian Zouk, you start with Zouk Foundation (also if you have already other dance experience). Afterwards the class that is most suitable for you depends on your personal progress. This is highly variable for everybody and depends on a lot of factors such as dance background, number of dance & practice hours, participation to other events and classes, etc.

A detailed overview of the learning goals of all classes can be found below. At the end of every series there will be an organised moment where you can receive feedback from your teachers who will help selecting the most suited class for you at this current point in your dance journey.

In general you follow at least 1 series (13 classes) of Foundation before joining Elements. Afterwards you dance at least 1 to 2 years in Elements before joining Technique and you dance at least 2 to 4 years in Technique before joining Creation. For most people it will take longer than the minimum defined time to really integrate the content in your body and therefore it’s likely better to stay a bit longer in a certain group before switching to the next one to respect your own learning journey and to respect the levels of the groups.

Keep in mind that the goal it not to change to next classes as fast as possible but to improve your dancing skills while keeping the learning process fun.

The class you dance in does not reflect your value as a dancer in any way!

To progress faster it’s advised to combine multiple classes as repetition and practice makes perfection. To encourage you to keep improving and polishing what you’ve learned before, you’ll have the possibility to add previously completed classes to your curriculum at half price. This is valid for as many classes you want to add and independent of your dance role. But keep in mind, regular full paying students have priority in case of imbalance or a full group. By paying full price for any class you retain the regular subscription time based priority to join the class.

After mastering most techniques in one role, we highly encourage you to start learning the other role. Even if it’s only for one series. A new world will open and this experience will help you to better understand the concept of lead and follow. Therefore it will make you better in your regular dancing role as well. Furthermore, it will give you the tools to switch lead and follow in the dance and co-create a dance with your partner.

If you’re not sure which class(es) you should join, check if you find your answer in the FAQ and if you did not find the answer to your question please contact us.

Besides taking classes, you need a lot of dance hours to process what your learned. Therefore we recommend you to join the after-class practice, the local Zouk socials and international Zouk event as much as possible. Our socials are open for Zouk dancers of all levels! Even after your first class you are already welcome to the socials!

Zouk classes structure | details

Zouk Foundation

What? In this series you will learn the fundamentals of Brazilian Zouk. We will cover the rhythm of the dance, the basic steps, the technique behind the Zouk connection and the fundamental movements of the dance. With these foundations you have the tools to create your own dance and you are ready to further discover the beauty of Zouk. We encourage you to join the practices and socials from the beginning to enjoy more and accelerate your learning.

For who? Good fundamentals are the essence of a solid development, therefore this level is for everyone new to Brazilian Zouk and for Zouk dancers aiming to improve their dance by refining and reinforcing their basics. Also if you have experience in other partner dances, you don’t want to miss this class.

Duration? This series consists of 13 classes and will be repeated 2 times a year. This means that there are two moments a year to start learning Brazilian Zouk (September and February). You should join this series at least one time, but repeating this class more than once (possibly in combination with other classes) is necessary to develop good basics.

Content? Below you can find an overview of the most important movements and soft skills that you will acquire during this series. You need to be sufficiently comfortable with dancing these movements and you need to have sufficiently acquired these soft skills to join the next group. Besides the listed movements, every series we will add some new extra’s and variations to make repetition extra interesting.

Soft skills
Knowing & respecting the dance floor rules
Basic social dance skills
Understanding the Zouk rhythm
Basic understanding connection and frame
Understanding the lead/follow concept
Regular participation to the classes and after class practice
Frist experience with social dancing

 Zouk Elements

What? In this series you will learn all basic elements or building blocks used in Brazilian Zouk. We will explore more aspects of the steps, the different turns, lower and upper body movements, the typical Zouk connection, the flow of Zouk and the lead-follow techniques.

For who? After at least following one series of Zouk Foundation and being comfortable with the basics, you can join this class.

Duration? You join this group for at least 1 to 2 years. Depending on the amount you dance Zouk, it is probably useful to repeat this level at a later stage to keep all Element fresh in your mind and to improve them.

Content? Below you can find an overview of the most important movements and soft skills that you will acquire during this series. You need to be sufficiently comfortable with dancing these movements and you need to have sufficiently acquired these soft skills to join the next group. Besides the listed movements, every series we will add some new extra’s and variations to make repetition extra interesting.

Soft skills
Adherence to the dance floor rules
Regular participation to socials
Helping beginner dancers to feel welcome in the community
Clean footwork in basic movements
Understanding the concept of pre-movement
Understanding body lead & follow
Comfortable close embrace
Fluid connection in different embraces
Daring to improvise
Going in and out the basic rhythm
Being comfortable with dancing on alternative Zouk music

Zouk Technique

What? In this series we will build on what you learned in the previous series. We will dive into the techniques and details behind the Zouk elements you’ve learned and start creating more complicated movements. This will help you to better understand the functioning of each movement, which will provide you with the tools to create more fluid, creative and connected dances.

For who? You can join this class after having mastered all elementary Zouk movements and skills from the Elements class.

Duration? You join this class as long as needed to master all the movements and skills from this class. To accelerate this process you are advised to join as much local socials and international events as possible. We also highly recommend to start learning the other role to improve your understanding of the lead-follow technique. In general you will dance at least 2 to 4 years in this group before considering to join the Creation class.

Content? Below you can find an overview of the most important movements and soft skills that you will acquire during this series. You need to be sufficiently comfortable with dancing these movements and you need to have sufficiently acquired these soft skills to join the next group. Besides the listed movements, every series we will add new extra’s and variations to make sure you can continue learning.

Soft skills
Being an example as a social dancer
Being a community member that helps protecting the safe space
Making beginners feel like they are advanced
Understanding and dancing the alternative Zouk rhythms
Understanding and using of the musical structure in the dance
Speed, size and energy variations in all movements
Regular participation to local and international events
Using breath in dance
Understanding grounding and suspension
Fluidly changing embraces and connections
Being stable and comfortable in all headmovements
Mastering the elasticity and relaxation in the connection

Zouk Creation

What? Once you mastered the Zouk Elements and learned the Techniques behind, you will learn how to create more challenging movements and combinations. The goal of this class is not to teach you long choreographed combination, but to provide you with inspiration, ingredients and methods to help you creating your own dance. We will also work on musicality in the dance and bring dance communication with your partner to the next level.

For who? You combine the building blocks learned in the Elements group in a fluid way in your dance, you are comfortable with the techniques that your learned in the Technique group and you are eager to start creating more during your dance. It’s important that the Zouk techniques are sufficiently integrated in your body to benefit from and join this group. To get the most from these classes, they need to be combined with the repetition of Zouk Technique. To join this class, you need to be able to dance all basic movements in both roles. Furthermore, you regularly join international events and feel comfortable dancing with many people at those events.

Duration? There are 2 series of 13 classes per year but we add new content continuously so you can continue to learn in this class as long as you want.

Zouk Freedom (not organised yet)

What? After having mastered all elements of Zouk, the techniques behind and being able to create your own creative dance you can take the next step to create more freedom in your dance. While in Zouk Creation, we mostly combine different sub-movements and techniques, in Zouk Freedom we will experience that with the right technique and connection everything becomes possible. There will be a lot of room for experimentation and breaking free from what you’ve learned before and for mixing with other styles. You become one with your partner and the music, create the feeling of freedom in dance, play with musicality without thinking and add a new definition to the word being “Zouk-high”.

For who? Zouk addicts! This class is for the people with a lot of Zouk experience who almost never miss a social and travel a lot to join international Zouk events to learn and experience.

Duration? There are 2 series of 13 classes per year but new content is added continuously so you can continue learning in this class as long as you want.