Let’s practise the long left turn on the line (bumerangue) with a nice variation.
For the guys: Very important if you are turning that you focus on your partner and that you “cross the street” to the other side, becasuse you have to let the line free for the lady. If you are leading the second bumerangue, you do it with your right hand on 1, then on 2 the lady accepts the “chocolate”. Try to think about the line of the lady and help her to stay on the line. In every turn you are first pulling into the line and after that you lead the turn.
For the ladies: To stay on the line is very important and to focus on the guy too. If you are dancing the bumerangue, imagine you have a miniskirt, so you don’t go long steps. You need the feeling, your thighs are together.
It’s so nice to show you this beautiful step! Let’s go!
For the guys: At the very begining we put our right arm a little bit up for you to support the lady better. The first step backwards you bring the head of the lady to her left side (your left hand is up and your right hand is down). The second step you bring the lady in front of you (both shoulders are on the same line). The third step you bring the head of the lady to the right and you change the contact of your hand (the light blinds you!). You go to the side with the lady another step while you continue leading the turn (forth step). Being in front of the lady you lead her head half of circle backwards and then the next head movement comes. You bring the lady into the line with your right hand. The first two steps you lead with the hand up and while going the third step you bring the hand down, so the lady goes down with the head) and after that you bring the lady up with your body and your hand.
For the ladies: Your head isn’t active, your head is always following the shoulders. At the beginning keep the contact with the arm of the guy and very important too, do it while turning. Don’t loose the connection with the partner. If you are painting half of circle backwards, please stretch the frontal part of your body (your pelvis is to the front too). If you are turning and doing anything with the upper body or with the head, you have to close your ribs to keep the balance. The last turn with the head, stay on your line and don’t go with the head to the front before the leading comes. Bringing the head to the front you are opening a space with your chest in, please don’t bring your upper body to the front because in this case you will loose your balance. When you are bringing your head up, feel the weight of your hair, to now how much energy you need.
The turn on the line in the closed position is a very beautiful step with a lot of nice variations. Before you practise this step, please warm up your body and do the steps under your own responsibility.
For today: Guys, if you are leading the lady to the left, you have to push a little bit more with the right hand on the side of the lady and bring your under arm down but keeping the contact. Your left arm goes up. Ladies: here you have your head to the left side (because right shoulder is up) and you have to keep the contact with your right hand and the left hand of the guy.
Now guys you pull with your right hand to the left and block up with the left, so the lady has to go first with the hips. After that you let the lady go with the upper body transfering the weight to her right and at the end you lead her head to the right side. At the end your left hand is in front of her left shoulder.
For the opening to the left, guys you pull with the left hand to the left the first step, so the lady just transfer the weight to the left. Then you lead the turn and bring the hand down, so the lady start the head movement. Ladies, feel the weight of your hair by bringing the head to the left side, so you can control that you don’t have any hair on your face at the end of the head movement.
Today we learnt the wave from the lateral step and a turn for the guys under the arm of the lady from lateral step.
1. The wave from the lateral step.
Guys: while leading the lateral step you can block the way of the lady and do the wave. If you bring the lady to the left, you will go in front of the lady but a little bit to the left, so she can go in the wave with her right foot between your feet. Lead the lady first to you pulling to you and then bring your hands down. In this away the lady will go with the shoulders down in the wave. Combine your leading with your body language and do the wave at the same time. You can do the step in the other direction (hier you will be in front of the lady this time a little bit to the right).
For the ladies: sometimes doing the wave we stay with our hips back the hole time. In a normal wave you go to the front with your shoulders, then with your chest and at the end with your hips. There is a moment where your hips are over your foot and you stay straigh over the foot in the front. Another important thing is to stay with the shoulders down the hole time. If you bring your shoulders up, your neck will look shorter, that’s not beautiful.
2. Turn for the guys under the arm of the lady from lateral step.
The beginners can look cool too! Today one step for the guys.
While bringing the lady to the right you change the grip of your hand. Important for the ladies: your hand has to answer always with the same grip and the same energy as the hand of the guy.
Guys, while leading this step (and in general) you lead first the lady and after that you go. You lead the lady into the lateral to the left and then you turn to the right. Here you will feel the tension of the arm of the lady on your left hand (back). If you continue turning to the right you pull automatically, bringing the lady to the right. After he goes her first step, you can turn under the arm.
While turning, guys, let your left hand without energy. Ladies, you answer with the same energy, so you relax your right hand.
A very nice thing about dancing brazilian zouk: you don’t have to follow the beat of the music everytime. By zouk time is yours! I want you practise one exercise at home: dance without music! I love this exercise. Guys, it’s a really good waay to improve your leading and for the ladies it’s a challenge, because you have to learn to keep the contact with your partner without being heavy for him. Try at home!
After that we turned the lady to the left and do some steps to the front or backwards (it’s a nice way to proof the connection with the partner). How to bend in this position the lady to the front? (If you want to try this exercises at home, please warm up und do the steps under your own responsibiltity).
Guys, you are facing the girl. You want to lead the step with your body and not with your hands. Try to do a wave from your hips to the left. So you do the preparation. Ladies, go with your rightfoot first, then with your hips, open your chest and stretch you neck. By bending to the front contract your center, put your pelvis to the front, your chest is in.
From this position we have three posibilities:
1. Come back and lead the sneak. After bending to the left, the guys start bending to the right stop in the middle and come back.
2. Just up to set an accent in the music. Guys, take care about the center of the lady because she can loose her balance.
3. Lead cambré going to the right. Ladies: don’t go up, go direct backwards. If you go up and then back, you can get injured on your low back. Important to press against the arm of the guy for you to understand the leading and to let the guy supports you. Guys, don’t go up and after that lead the cambre. Go direct with your hip to the left and continue with the wave. Ladies: you hold yourself, don’t trust the guy. For finish the step you can lead the snake.
We are in the beginners course but we start to do some moves for intermediate. Be patient with this step. Try to understand how it’s working and you will improve very fast.
Let’s speak about the most important point. Guys, you hold the right hand of the lady with your right handand the left with the left. The first step you just want to give the idea of moving on the line. At the end of the first step you startwith the turn and your right hand goes up. The second step the lady is turning and you start to bring the left hand up. While the lady is going her third step, you look to the other side, you bring the right hand down and the left hand down too after keeping the connection with the back of the lady.
If you want the lady goes up, you go up with your body. The lady is keeping the tension on the arms and you lead her up in diagonal, thinking about leading her shoulders up.
Another kind of head movement is the “boneca” (“doll”). In this step the lady is like hanging on the hand, like a doll without energy to hold the head. As long as the hand of the guy is up, the shoulder (here the right shoulder of the lady) is up and the head fall to the left side. Between two and three the hand is coming down. The position of the shoulders changes and the head paint half of circle to the front.
We combine the “boneca” with this step (we did it two weeks ago).
Please, if you are practising any steps of the videos, you have to warm up your body and do the step on your own responsibility.
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.
