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"Hey, this is where you start. Because everybody starts here."After my community-building lecture at the MAC in Paris, most questions from the Brazilian Zouk teachers and leaders were from the same family: the dancer who won't start at the beginner level because they already dance another style, and the student who isn't happy with how fast the courses go.This one's for teachers and organizers who keep bending their classes for the one person who wants something different.My answer: remember the values and goals you have for your community, and stop trying to please everybody, because you have a very, very big risk of pleasing nobody. If that person doesn't fit, let them go, and it just means "not today."And honestly, I've strongly burnt out two times just because I was trying to please too many people, so I'm gonna say especially yourself.What we get into:→ Assessment weeks: at District Zouk we really gatekeep the classes, and the ones who get in on the second try send Gui messages almost like they won a contest.→ Who this is not for: Gui is writing an explicit list into his course material.→ "Dance should be inclusive": Gui says it is, and his school still has a process. For me, dance isn't fully inclusive, because if it wasn't for a scholarship, I wouldn't be here.→ Two years of dancing, or how many hours? Six months of weekly classes is 24 to 36 hours.The big takeaway: "The people that we attract, great. The people that we expel, even better."Chapters:00:00 Opening highlights01:38 The Brazilian Zouk questions I got at MAC05:31 Stop trying to please everybody, let them go07:14 When it's most of your community, not one person09:14 The same thing they love, others dislike13:44 Assessment weeks: we gatekeep our classes17:03 When yours is the only class in town18:53 Me, them or design: why systems differ22:05 Don't copy another Zouk community23:19 I burnt out twice trying to please everyone24:46 Why losing one student still hurts26:35 Who your class is not for29:33 Shouldn't dance be for everybody?31:18 What martial arts students already understand34:37 Saying no to friends to go home on time36:06 You only have a room when you close the door38:36 Car keys, oceans and Vipassana prerequisites43:45 Two years of dancing vs real hours46:10 Six months of classes is 36 hoursCo-hosts: Alisson Sandi and Gui PradaZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/Episode: S06 Ep28 | ZoukNerds Podcast

"Those are my students."Something I absolutely don't like is when people in a Brazilian Zouk community say that, and not like "Oh, these are my students, please meet them." I mean in the sense that they own those people and you cannot touch them.This one's for the teacher who moved to a new city, or the student who wants to start a beginner class or a práctica in the park, in a scene that already exists.For me, beginner classes and opportunities to practice, nobody should complain, even on the same night, 'cause honestly, how many people are out there? The trouble starts when you build on the existing numbers and, by accident, split the community.What we get into:→ Don't bring me again: Gui has told organizers not to fly him in, feed him and house him for eight people, and to make those eight the core group of a new culture.→ Holding you ransom: in our DC core team I was the one asking, "But hold on. Are these people even here?" When the team offered what they asked for, they didn't pay, they didn't show up, they didn't sign up.→ The freshest oranges: every time I focused on the wrong people, I wasn't happy with my bank account. If a beginner says, "Hey, I need help," you've got me for the whole day.→ Two beginner classes, same night: Gui doesn't think they compete yet, because nobody is on Google checking which Zouk class has five stars and which has four.The big takeaway: "If you're not bringing something actually really new as an offering, then I don't think you're actually helping the community grow."Chapters:00:00 Opening highlights01:15 Joining a Brazilian Zouk scene that already exists03:25 Offering to existing dancers vs bringing new ones in07:38 Beginner classes and prácticas nobody should fight09:09 When a new class splits a small community14:04 Do two beginner classes on one night compete?16:57 The class your scene needs, and nobody comes21:12 Start a new culture with the eight who came22:53 Stop chasing the students holding you ransom25:33 Chasing the wrong people hurt my bank account28:45 The rebel years, and dancers who stop coming32:58 Why some dancers come back better after a break35:29 What you think they need vs what they think39:04 Why I won't open a new level for two requests42:27 Breaking the rules to teach technique at festivals44:57 A DC social where nobody was sitting down46:24 The one dedicated person every scene needs48:46 Stay consistent: 6, 12, 24 monthsCo-hosts: Alisson Sandi and Gui PradaZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/Episode: S06 Ep27 | ZoukNerds Podcast

Community leaders tell Gui and me they can't grow their Brazilian Zouk scene because they're busy pleasing the people with power, some bosses, some mafia people. I don't think you need to. I think you need to please the dancers.This one's for anyone trying to start Brazilian Zouk in a city where nobody dances it yet, and getting told what they're allowed to do.I learned it twice. Around 2003, as a Bolsista in Brazil, the owners of my school called me in for going to other people's socials, "Hey, are you not happy here?" Years later in Australia, as a teacher, another owner tried to cut my wings, "Why are you friends with this person?"What we get into:→ Don't count your hours: Gui told an organizer, "Don't do that, man." The numbers will make you say, "Why am I doing this with my life?"→ My night, my people: the Friday Bachata organizer who doesn't want your Zouk social on their night, and the founder of a tiny scene who starts saying, "my community, my people, my, my, my."→ Abundance or scarcity: Gui's teachers in Rio ran socials elsewhere while teaching at the Jaime Arôxa Dance Studio. After the pandemic, he hears, "Oh, but this person opened a social the same day that I did."So what would I do in a city with no Zouk? Be a fly on the wall, then teach a free intro class before the Salsa social and say, "Hello, nice to meet you." Twenty-plus years of dancing, and I still don't expect a red carpet.The big takeaway: "I'm gonna do what's right for the growth of the community and for the happiness of my students. I'm not here to please the lords above."Chapters:00:00 Opening highlights01:34 Starting Brazilian Zouk where nobody dances it yet03:40 Why building a scene takes longer than you think06:14 When other dance socials protect their night08:08 The founder who says "my community, my people"11:58 Called in by my own school as a Bolsista16:36 The same story again as a teacher in Australia19:22 Don't let the overlords clip your wings22:18 Abundance vs scarcity, Rio before and after the pandemic25:35 Cities of millions fighting over the same 30 dancers28:08 What is actually best for a dance community?31:18 Be a fly on the wall before you build anything32:46 What I'd do in a city with no Brazilian Zouk at all35:48 Why you don't get a red carpet in a new scene37:34 Melbourne, DC, Taipei: agree on everything up front39:10 If you're not a seasoned teacher yet, don't do it alone43:49 Find a mentor who has done what you want45:47 What's coming in part twoCo-hosts: Alisson Sandi and Gui PradaZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/Episode: S06 Ep26 | ZoukNerds Podcast

I apologised at the top of this one, because I know what the word does to people. "Fix your frame, your frame doesn't work, your frame is this, your frame is that."Nobody tells you which part of your body they mean. In Brazilian Zouk we use frame as an umbrella word for a pile of separate things, and then we correct people with it.This one is for anybody who has been told to fix their frame and walked away with no idea what to actually change.Gui asks the leaders who come to him to show him what they mean, and they tense their whole body and push harder into his.What we get into:→ A student at BraZouky asked Gui how to keep their lats engaged in close embrace, and he said, "You don't. You don't do that." Your frame there is your whole torso.→ The Wi-Fi test. If we can do the movement with no connection, just body leads, why do you need that much tension the second your hands land?→ The gap at the wrist. A leader's right hand never fully arrives on the body, so they frame up and squeeze, and the shape was never the problem.→ The Ruler of Intensity, or Régua da Intensidade, from Gui's own training. A one to ten on the tension in your own body, another on the compression into your partner.→ Why I start every dance from my quietest voice, and why the five you dance at is one you build together.The big takeaway: the frame is the shape you take, the distance from your partner, the tension you hold to keep it, and the connection points where the touch happens. At least four things, Gui says, probably more.Chapters:00:00 Opening highlights01:42 What frame means, and why the word triggers people04:31 What leaders do when you say "use more frame"06:24 Frame is a million things, not one thing09:27 How do you keep your frame in close embrace?12:36 The Wi-Fi test, and the hand that never arrives15:47 Don't take frame advice that can't tell you where17:57 "I can't feel their frame" and how to diagnose it21:19 Frame as a communication tool, with or without touch25:17 Three places to connect: arms, chest, hips28:08 How to ask a better question about your connection30:30 The Ruler of Intensity, from one to ten33:12 A vest with prosthetic arms, and where the lead comes from35:42 Why people quit when holding their frame hurts37:12 Guess your partner's number on the tension scale38:57 Starting a dance from the lowest voice you have41:50 Why your three is your partner's six43:41 Light and heavy frame are really light and heavy touch47:29 The four elements hiding inside the word frame49:59 When it is not your frame at allCo-hosts: Alisson Sandi and Gui PradaZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/Episode: S06 Ep25 | ZoukNerds Podcast

We put two people on the floor at a Brazilian Zouk teacher training and asked the room one question. These two are complete beginners, what do you fix first?Somebody said the timing, somebody said the posture, and then somebody said the torsion, so I had to stop everyone. "Hold on, slow down, torsion, who is that?" Like, is it food? At that point that word does not exist yet.If you've ever been told to fix your posture with no idea what that meant, this one is for teachers and for dancers who feel stuck.So Gui and I went through the two frameworks we use. The Correction Ladder is the order we fix things in, the Foundational Stack is the bare minimum you build a dance on.What we get into:→ Gui's ladder, from the ground up: rhythm, then the feet and ankles, then the knees, then the hips, then the posture. And it is a chain event. If you hold the beat standing still and lose it going front and back, you do not have a timing problem.→ Posture, defined so you can test it. Gui calls it whatever arrangement lets your forward step and your back step be the same length and the same stability. A Lambadeiro, a Tangueiro and a Forró dancer all stand differently, and all are stable.→ The part I know is controversial. At the very beginning we barely talk about frame, connection, leading and following at all.The big takeaway: Gui's words, not mine. The other person is there for guidance, for the connection, for the playfulness. For the dance to exist, it does exist in your body on your own.Chapters:00:00 Opening highlights01:10 The Correction Ladder and the Foundational Stack02:30 The teacher-training test: what do you fix first?04:28 Gui's ladder: rhythm, feet, ankles, knees, hips06:47 Why a timing problem is usually not a timing problem09:05 Say it in words a beginner already has10:37 Neutral body alignment, and why posture is too vague12:00 Most dancers arrive with no body awareness at all15:33 Make a correction stick: teach it back, then film it19:10 Four Brazilian dances, four postures, all stable21:00 Travel, control, ground, and where the balance goes23:35 Why we don't teach leading and following first26:54 Develop the dancer's autonomy28:34 Sliding feet or silent steps? Awareness and choice32:10 Head movement, and the foundation that sells itself33:50 What is frame, man?36:26 The second stack: building the Brazilian Zouk body38:30 Two months on the calendar, eleven hours in the room40:59 Soltinho, and what makes a step a basic loop45:50 Be a beginner in a beginner class, and the driving testCo-hosts: Alisson Sandi and Gui PradaZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/Episode: S06 Ep24 | ZoukNerds Podcast