Hi everybody!
Today we were in Gothenburg (Sweden) giving some Workshops with the lovely dancers from here.
We speak about a lot of things! We speak for example about the flow: a state of mind when you have the feeling, you are one with your body, with your partner and with the music. You cannot control the flow (it’s not like a button you can press) but can do some things to let it happen.
In my opinion there are three ways to feel the flow:
- The way of feeling your own body.
- The way of feeling the partner.
- The way of feeling the music.
During the workshops in Gothenburg we want to work the way of the body. Please, feel like Indiana Jones: You want to discover something new, everyday, every song, with every dance partner. If you are thinking like that, your ego stays at home. That’s the first condition to get the flow: your ego has to take a break.
We love the idea, dancing zouk is a massage for your body. Start feeling your own body and the body of your partner, try to feel the connection. At the very beginning of a song take some seconds for you and for your partner and enjoy just being together. What can you do here? Don’t be shy and get like in a hug with your partner. The guys have contact with the belly of the lady, you have the lady on your right side. From here you can tranfer the weight, play with the hips and the upper body like in the video.
Ladies: keep the contact with the guy. If you have contact with your belly, you have to press to the front. If the contact is just with the hand of the guy on your back, you have to press a little bit too agains the hand staying a little bit back.
Two very important things for the guys in the workshop:
- Think you are a gentleman „first the lady“. You cannot go before the ladies go. You propose something with your leading and you see the answer of the lady. Then you continue the movement.
- You want the lady has a good feeling if she is dancing with you. Zouk is a social dance. Please take care about the contact with the lady. Your hands have to be soft and sensitive, don’t be rude.
After that we did a combination to get a flow in the movement. Sometimes we are going a lot of steps dancing zouk but more than of the steps are building just one movement. Think on moving your body and not on doing steps, if you think on separate steps, you will break the flow.
One move brings you into another. Use the circular energy as much as you can for it.
Somethings about the combination:
- For turning the lady, keep the contact with your arm and the bely of the lady.
- For the turn together on the spot: keep the contact with the leg, stay in front of your parter and let the energy goes back, your chest is a little bit in, don’t try to go to the front with your chest.
- For the cross step: three steps but just one move. For the ladies: push with your foot behind by going the side step (lateral).
- For the opening to the right, guys you go to the front, not backwards. You think „first the lady“. For the ladies: your chest is always facing your partner.
The „anaconda-step“!
Guys: your right bring the lady two steps to the front and after that blocks the lady. Left hand goes like a anaconda till the left shoulder of the lady. Your weight should be now on the right, the ladies n the left. Bring the lady to her right and then turn the lady (she goes with the left) and you transfer the weight to the left. Now you are behind the lady and you get her arms like a moto. Lead the elastic like in the video but try to be soft, the leading is coming from your body.
For the ladies: if you are doing the elastic, first go with your hips and then with your chest. If your chest is on the front you stretch, giving the idea, your neck goes back (but you just want to stretch). Going up you do it little by little. At the end, the head goes up like a tiger.
It was a nice workshop!
Tomorrow more!
