We have a very important lesson today! We are dancing zouk for the party so sometimes we have to speak about social dancing. In social dancing you have to take care about the feelings of your partner. You are a good dancers if your partner feels good after the dance.
The first 20 seconds of a song with a new partner you just try to make a good connection with her or with him. You don’t need unbelievable steps: feel your partner and enjoy dancing togehter. A good idea is to transfer the way from one side to the other. The video shows you how to do it.
One more thing about social dancing: take care about your hygiene. If we are dancing with a close contact that’s a very important point.
we love this step. Please, if you want to dance it safe, do a warming up and dance the step on your own responsibility. Another thing: guay, at the party be sensitive and careful with the woman, her feelings are more important than a step. Lead the step soft and if you see, the lady don’t understand the leading, don’t force her in the step.
The beginning of this step needs a good preparation. Guys, you have to go the first step backwards and at the same time you bring the left shoulder of lady back and down and the right shoulder up (you do it with your left hand up). Ladies: you are breathing to the side opening your chest. The first step the head goes just to the side.
The second step. Guys, you go to the side with your right foot out of the line of the lady. You have to make some space for the lady (if you need it, put your chest in for some extra space). You paint a circle till the head is in the center. Both shoulders should be parallel to the floor. For the ladies: contract your center (go a little bit down on your knees, pelvis to the front, chest in for a head movement with a good balance). If your head is on the front, you think about stretching your neck (back side).
Third step. Guys, you open to the side, the right hand goes up and the left hand down. Ladies, you open with the right, paint the rest of the circle to the right and breath. You go a little bit down on your right leg and you stretch your left leg.
Fourth step. Guys and ladies, just transfer the weight to the left. The head stays on the right side.
Fifth step. Head in the middle, shoulder line parallel to the floor.
Sixth step. Opening to the left (right hand down guys, left up). Ladies, breath to the side.
For the cambré. Guys: you bring the lady from the right to the left and stop her by the second step. Just turn a little bit more the lady, let her do her preparation for the cambré and lead it.
For the wave to the side with the hips you have to go little by little to the side first with the hips, then with the flank, the shoulders and at the end the head.
Guys: for the leading of the wave you push with your left hand the opposite hip and block the upper body of the lady holding the right hand to the right. You can lead the wave if you bring your left hand up and your right to the left. For the wave in the other direction you start pulling with the right hand to the right and blocking with the left the upper body of the lady, so she is going with her hips. Then you let the left hand go down.
For the turn with the head movement you push with the left hand (in this wayy the lady is going into the line), your right hand come to her shoulder and when she is facing you, you bring her both shoulders in the same line (parallel to the floor).
For the ladies: the move with your hips is fluent, you recommend you to practise at home in front of the mirror. For the head movement you stay by 1 to the side, by 2 your head is in the center and you contract (your chest is in, your pelvis is to the front) and by 3 you bring your head just up. Of course there is more possibilities for the head but the is leading now this one.
The first time you see people dancing zouk you have the feeling the dance is very fluent. The step of today is a perfect example: the wave!
For the wave you have to learn to isolate your chest, bringing your chest to the front and back.
For the ladies: the most important thing to understand that the guy is leading the wave, is keeping the contact with the hand on your back. You have to be connected with the guy.
For the guys: at the beginning is difficult to coordinate your body. You go to the front with your shoulders and your chest transfering the weight to the front (your left foot) and at the same time you lead the lady to you.
One advice: don’t think, you are going down while doing the wave.
Today we did a beautiful headmovement. If you try it at home, please get first warm and do the step on your own responsibility.
For the headmovements the head is not active. Your head ladies is always following the shoulder line. Guys: you are playing (careful) with the shoulder line of the lady.
Ladies:
For the first sidestep (lateral) is very nice if you bring your head to the left side breathing and opening your chest. The second step you stay with the head to the left side and between 2 and 3 paint half of circle with your head to the right. By painting a circle to the front you bring your chest back.
For the turn you will bring your head back and to the left side again. If your head is back you try strecht the frontal part of your body. When your head is down, pay attention because you don’t know what’s coming next. Try to be connected with the guy.
If you are doing headmovements please do short steps.
Guys:
Your arms will be a little round, like holding a ball.
For the first step of the lady you start bringing the left arm up und the right down. The second step you stay in this position, doing your steps and going in front of the lady. The third step you change the frame (now left is down and right is up). you are a little bit to the left, so the lady has enough space for her turn.
If you do the turn with the spiral, you bring first the lady into the turn pulling with your right hand and after that you change the frame: the right hand starts to go down and with the left hand you paint a circle first up and after that down.
Now you are finished und you need just to bring the lady up.
Some more important things for the leading:
Try to lead from your upper body.
Be careful about your lady if you are dancing it in a party, don’t be rude.
The lady needs the feeling, she has a lot of space. Ask the lady for her feedback to improve you leading.
We have in zouk different kinds of turns. We call “zouk turn” to the most popular turn: the first two steps go in a line and after that we come back, just transfering the weight to the other foot, so you do your thrid step on the spot.
If the lady is turning with the right foot to the right we say “right turn”. If the lady is turning with the left foot to the left, we call it left turn.
Today we will learn the right turn from the basic step. If the lady do her basic step, she is going with the right forwards. Here she needs space to turn, guys, the step before you are leading the right turn, you let lady go and do your steps on the spot. The right hand will slide from her shoulder blade till her hand. While she is turning you cross with the left in front.
An important thing for the leading: while turning your hand is painting a circle over the head of the lady. By 1 and 2, the hand is moving to the left and by 3 the hand is coming back to the right (so the lady needs to do the third step on the spot). Also if a turn ends, guys you have to bring down the hand that leads. In this way, the lady knows that the turn is over.
Ladies: don’t forget your third step on the spot. You hold your arms in front of your chest. If you turn to the right, your right elbbow should be in front of your right shoulder. If you bring your right elbow more to the side you can heart your partner, be careful.
We are learning today a very beautiful step with a cambre. First of all: be careful if you are doing cambre. Prepare your body with a warming up and if you are practising, the step is your responsibility. Our videos don’t replace the normal lessons with a zouk teacher.
Guys, four things:
You are turning the lady on a line. At the beginning you have to pull with the right hand and you think always to bring the lady along the line.
The step need a preparation. Are you bringing the lady down? You need a preparation to the top. You are leading the lady up with the left hand if she is doing the second step.
You will lead most of the time with your upper body and not with the hands.
For the cambre let the lady do her preparation and be sensitive, do very soft movements feeling where are the limits of your partner and how she feels.
For the ladies:
The preparation for the cambre: first you go with your chest and then you go down.
Your pelvis is to the front and you go little by little in the cambre. At the same time your knees go to the front.
If you are doing the snake-variation: go first with the head and after that with the body.
If the guy is not leading cambré and just bring you up, look at him as you were a tiger and he a delicious zebra.
We have today two beautiful elements: a turn on one leg for the ladies and a opening to te right with the head.
Turn on one leg.
Guys: if you are leading the sidestep (lateral) to the left, lead the first step like matrix (slow motion) and after that use a little bit of explosive energy. You have take care abut the axis of the lady. Your left hand pull and paint a circle over the shoulders of the lady, the right hand has to push and hold the the lady.
For the ladies: if you are turning, you imagine you are growing to the ceiling, you make your center strong and bring both legs together. Don’t forget to spot on the partner.
Opening to the right with head.
Ladies: you are doing your steps on a line. Your first step with the right foot your head stays to the left side. Your second stepyour head go down in a circular movement and the third step your head go to the right (again in a circular movement).
Guys: you are playing with the shoulders of the lady. At the beginning your right hand is down and the left hand is up. The second step both hands are in a line. The third stepright is up and left is down.
For the cambre: just two steps. Guys, watch the video. The first step you just lead the lady to the left and after that you are painting a circle (you are moving your right hand like a DJ) and lead the lady down for she to do her preparation for cambre. You will be carefull with the cambre, please prepare your body adn don’t do any crazy things, you have to do cambre slowly. If there is pain: don’t ontinue! Ladies: just do your preparation for the cambre and go little by little. At the same time your knees go to the front and your pelvis is always to the front. If the guy is leading you up, push with the right foot up.
We did a very cool move in Bremen today . The zouk world call it “spiral” (we have two kinds of spirals, today we did just one) and maybe the dancers from MZouk (Spain, I hope, we can speak in the future slowly about Meister Gege and the spiral dancers) were the first on create this step (I prefer to say not create but “discover” for the rest of the zouk world).
A spiral is a special turn, where the axis of the turn is not the classical axis in a line (90° to the floor) with the head straight but with the head in another direction.
We did a exercise to practise the movement of the head. Here the lady put the head on chest of the guy and turn keeping the contact and looking up and down while turning.
Then we did a turn with a spiral. Five things:
1. Guys, the leading is like painting a circle.
2. The lady is crossing always with the right (if you are turning to the left, your are turning now aroung your left foot).
3. Ladies: keep the center strong.
4. Ladies: your body has to follow your arm, don’t go with the body first.
5. Fix a point on the floor and use it for keeping the direction of your head.
For the guys: if you want to turn you need to continue leading with the idea of painting a circle. If the lady if behind of you, dann you change the hand and don’t stop with the leading.
