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Published by Alisson Sandi
The Brazilian Zouk podcast for dancers who overthink the dance. We overthink it with you. I'm Alisson Sandi — 3x Pro World Champion, Head Judge for the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council (BZDC), and Resident Lecturer for the MAC Project. I'll be honest: I was never a natural. I had to fight for every piece of this dance, and that fight is the reason I can explain it. Every week, Gui Prada and I — plus the occasional guest — talk about what classes don't cover: stalled progress, disappearing leaders, what connection really feels like. New episodes weekly, in audio and video.
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Lambada is like the sun, you know? It spreads the brightness and the energy to everyone around. And I'm sorry to say this, but sometimes, in some places, Brazilian Zouk can be like a black hole. Vanessa didn't even let me finish. "You just get in." Yeah. You get in, you get sucked in, and everything else disappears. It's my dance, and I say it with love. If you've danced Brazilian Zouk for years and still tell people you don't dance Lambada, this one is for you. I sat down with Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike in person, and these two are the nerds of Lambada. What we get into: → I already steal one of these. The follower is always looking for Soltinho, and Boneca when there's head movement. I taught it last week and my followers stopped waiting. → The 51/49. Leaders carry 51 percent, followers 49, "and we just have 49 because someone has to be the leader." → Vanessa asked what I should have asked years ago. Nobody fears Urban Zouk, everybody fears Lambada, and Zouk and Lambada are the closer pair. "Who builds their mindset are the teachers." → Then she gave away the secret. "First, we try to trick you all." They teach you a movement you like, wait for the wow, then tell you it was Lambada. Iago: "We set the trap." The big takeaway: Lambada came from the street, so there is no right or wrong body in it. Somebody asked Didi about a room dancing every which way. "I'm loving that." So which one are you, and what's stopping you trying the other? Tell us in the comments.
"I don't believe this person, they can really follow what this guy wants. I think they are guessing." That's Vanessa on why she started Brazilian Zouk, after fifteen years of ballet, jazz and contemporary. If you have a job you like and a dance you love, and you keep running the numbers at two in the morning, this one is for you. Iago was teaching mathematics in Campinas when Nina told him, "If you wanna be with me, you gotta dance." The pandemic shut his school, and when it reopened he said, "Well, good luck for you guys. I'm not coming back." I sat with both of them in person, and this half is about who they were before the stage. What we get into: → Vanessa doing continuous turns with Philip Miha and hearing "You are not following me." She found out years later he was right, because her ballet was supplying the momentum. → Nobody jumped without a net. Daniel Darbello gave Iago a room with no rent, and Vanessa's dad said "if you can't, you have a home." Mine was kebab shops. → My advice on going full time is six to twelve months of savings, or build the dance income on the side until it matches what you already earn. → Iago on living together 24/7: "it's a marriage." They were never dating, which he calls a golden rule, and I've done that once and I don't recommend it. The big takeaway: The time of life is the most precious thing we have to offer, so when someone chooses to dance with you, receive them with all the care you can. What did you give up to keep dancing? Tell us in the comments. Chapters: 00:00 Opening highlights 01:48 Meeting Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike 03:08 Why a ballet dancer didn't believe in following 05:42 From a math classroom to quitting the school 08:16 How the partnership actually started 11:16 The five-year plan that happened in two 13:04 The safety net that made going full time possible 16:14 Why a dance career is a whole different monster 19:34 The circles of information in a dance scene 21:53 Living together 24/7, and the golden rule 23:54 Travelling the world and still being alone 26:56 Why their partnership worked when others don't 29:48 Dance first or structure first: two ways to learn 32:08 The rule that settles every disagreement 34:03 The class that keeps a teacher awake at night 36:45 How to actually let a compliment land 38:43 The math student who came back crying 41:11 Their advice, and what's coming in part two Guests: Vanessa Meirelles and Iago Hassuike, Lambada and Brazilian Zouk artists from São Paulo. Hosted by Alisson Sandi. ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep20 | ZoukNerds Podcast
"Hell yes, hell yes." That's my answer every time someone in the group asks whether teachers hit plateaus too, and I teach Brazilian Zouk for a living. Ours just hides better. I can teach all week, feel completely fulfilled, and then meet Christina after three months apart and find that the things we could do together suddenly need thinking about again. Gui said it cleaner than I did. He'd been dancing mostly with his beginner students, having the time of his life, and then he went to do something explosive: "there was a wall. I couldn't do the thing." What we get into: → A student feels stuck and knows it. We feel great, right up until someone challenges us socially, and that's when I go "hang on, I have not been training that division of my dancing." → Gui's pizza chart. Almost every hour you teach goes into basics and everything vertical, so the sharp explosive layer gets a sliver of the pie and quietly rots. → Why I can't train with my own students. It's never their level, it's the hierarchy, and you hear it in the disclaimer: "I don't know, I'm probably wrong, but I feel like this." → What we actually do about it: the student seat at somebody else's weekender, a private lesson where you tell the teacher to hold nothing back, and cross-training in styles that have nothing to do with Zouk. The big takeaway: The plateau exists because we have a certain expectation, and the moment we remove that expectation, the plateau is not there anymore. When did you last catch yourself plateaued without noticing? Tell us in the comments.
For years the DJ would put on traditional old school Brazilian Zouk and I'd walk off the floor. "Ah, I don't like that type of music, I'm gonna take a break." That was a lie. I didn't have the skills to enjoy it yet, and the day I learned them I loved it. So when Gui tells me he got so picky only two or three followers could give him a good dance, down to where their head sat against his, I know that feeling. He worked it out on the bus home from a social in Rio, where he realised he'd danced all night without being present once, because he spent the whole thing hunting those two or three people. And whose fault was it, right? What we get into: → Gui trained slow songs for years, then walked into a real Forró where Xote is five percent of the night. "Lack of exposure, for sure lack of exposure." → You start in flip-flops, any song, anyone. Years later it's two kinds of socks in your backpack and one follower who "knows how to dance with me." → "Because Gui is a gelato snob." "I am such a bitch. I'm such a gelato snob, yes. And without shame." → The unpaid dance escort. Friday nights in Rio, one friend, met at the door, forty five minutes, nobody else, home. → "But Alisson, I'm a customer. I'm paying to be here." Yeah, I don't argue with that. It still doesn't make your taste the DJ's problem. The big takeaway: I'll be picky as long as it doesn't affect other people, and if it may affect other people, I'm going to find a way to reduce that effect. Chapters: 00:00 Opening highlights 1:22 What the pickiness curve is 3:03 "I don't like this music" is usually a skill gap 4:46 Gui's Xote and Bolero problem 6:58 How pickiness climbs: shoes, floors, partners 8:47 Ignorance is bliss, and the gelato snob 10:35 When your checklist gets too long 12:18 The bus ride home, and what he asked next 17:21 Preferences versus pickiness 21:16 The unpaid dance escort 22:32 Reading your social battery in one night 25:43 "I'm a paying customer", and where the line is 29:47 Pandemic pods and the people who stopped coming 34:12 The teacher's pickiness curve 37:06 Your dance teacher is a business owner 40:44 Knowing your preferences without being picky 45:20 Festivals, and growing the community Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep18 | ZoukNerds Podcast
"I know, I've done this already." Every Brazilian Zouk teacher hears that in privates, and I ask the same thing back. "Okay, you've done it. But do you know it?" "Oh no, yeah, I know." "Do you know? Because if you knew, we wouldn't be correcting this." Then Gui told me the one that stuck. Hours of privates on Lambada, learned so much, never practised any of it. "Couple months went by, it's almost like I didn't do the private lesson at all. I forgot everything." What we get into: → Don't book me to buy a move. Someone points at a video and Gui usually just says, "this is a Ioiô," you already know it. → Three missed classes at District Zouk is four and a half hours, warm-ups, rotations, everybody's input. Gui asks it straight, "you wanna substitute that for one hour?" → My students book me like a physio, "Alisson, I need a health checkup." Once a month is my floor, and weekly only works if we're integrating. → "I wanna get better." Better how? Gui asks that every time, and it turns a drifting hour into a working one. → A follower came to him losing her balance, told her ankles were weak. It was never her ankles, she was moving her weight forward too fast. This one I keep chewing on, because I've done it as a student. Gui says people ask for what they think you want to hear, not what they actually want. Nowhere to hide in there, you know? The big takeaway: we know everything that we know, but we don't know what we don't know, and you are the one who can tell us. Chapters: 00:00 Opening highlights 01:14 Intro: what a private lesson is actually for 03:44 When someone asks you to teach a move 10:11 The Q&A before the first dance 12:54 Why the problem is rarely mechanical 15:09 I forgot everything I learned 20:34 How often to book: the health checkup 23:19 One hour can't replace three missed classes 26:40 "In Salsa we do it like this" 28:28 What to keep from your old dance style 31:19 Empty cup or full cup 36:05 "Tell me what only you do" 40:21 When a private goes wrong, say something 44:04 What does better mean to you? 47:14 It wasn't her weak ankles 50:04 Choosing the teacher who fits you Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep17 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Why do you dance like you're competing? Because Brazilian Zouk is one dance living as five: the social dance, the performance, the competition, the after-class demo, and the teaching dance. In this ZoukNerds episode, Gui Prada and I name all five, and what happens when you train one while wanting another. Gui saw it in a private lesson in Australia. A follower past 65 told him, "I am dancing not to go crazy. I do this as a mental health tool." Her balance diagnosis from other teachers: engage your core, point your feet. Competition tools. The real fix was weight distribution. She almost got emotional, because she thought something was wrong with her. I put my hands up here too. In my Australia years, everybody trained for Jack and Jill. My classes taught the cleanest, most precise execution, and we called it social dancing. What manifestation of the dance are you training? → The body: when I competed, my body was ready for a show any minute. A relaxed embrace? My body could not process it. → The feed: we don't have social media anymore. We have attention media. It decides which version of the dance looks like THE dance. → The diet: people want comfort, but 99% of their training and Instagram watching is Jack and Jill. I wanna be healthy, but I go to McDonald's every day. If you ever left a social feeling like your partner was performing at you, this is why. The order is improvised. The execution is not. That's choreography. The big takeaway: training for Jack and Jill is not the bad thing. It's how you're training for Jack and Jill. Know which dance you're training, and change the chip between them. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: one dance, three dances 05:41 "I am dancing not to go crazy" 07:00 Weight distribution fixed her balance 12:55 My competition body couldn't relax 15:14 The 99% Jack and Jill diet 17:45 Train a concept and a feeling 19:36 João Lambadeiro: stage moves went social 21:00 My Australia confession 26:27 Attention media, not social media 29:26 How Brazil studios kept paths separate 36:44 Improvised order, not improvised execution 37:29 The fifth manifestation: the teaching dance 39:36 Change the chip 42:55 Don't let others create your reality Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep16 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Why did you leave that amazing Brazilian Zouk class confused? Because the teacher was serving three meals at once. Every dance class teaches one of three things: mechanics, concepts, or feeling. When nobody names the main one, you learn a nice move and walk out not knowing what the class was about. In this ZoukNerds episode, Gui Prada and I talk about how teachers build classes, why most of us default to mechanics, and how to decode what your class is actually teaching you. People ask me, "Can you teach spins? We have one hour on the Friday." Nope. Do you want them to feel like a spinner? Okay, I need three hours. There are things that need time. You cannot cheat that. What your class is teaching you: → Mechanics: how to execute. The Bônus = traveling turn, rock step, Patinha. → Concept: what it is for. The same Bônus becomes dancing on a track, or a circle. → Feeling: what it is like. The turning, the momentum. This one needs time and a reference point. Gui's line is, "it's almost like a ladder. You study the mechanic and you get the concept and then you have the feeling." The part most teachers skip: naming it. If you ever left a workshop thinking "I suck at this", that was probably a class built to show you what you don't know yet. That class exists. Somebody just forgot to tell you. The big takeaway: The move is just a move. What you learn through the move is the class. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:58 Mechanics, concepts, or feeling 06:06 The students choose how I teach 11:45 Gui's confession: all mechanics 13:36 Why I refuse one-hour spin workshops 17:16 The ladder 20:59 The teaching autopilot hot take 23:03 The move is just a move 26:16 One move, three classes: the Bônus 28:36 Two kinds of classes 33:50 What one hour of spins buys 35:52 How to watch a demo 38:10 Feelings need a reference point Co-hosts: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep15 | ZoukNerds Podcast
How does a dance school become your safe space? Before Brazilian Zouk, before teaching, Gui Prada and I were two shy kids who found one safe room. In this ZoukNerds episode, we thank the first teachers who built us, and I tell a story nobody has ever heard. Not even my family. Brazil, 1999. I was around 10. A community center near my house had dance classes, and my parents couldn't afford them. "Look, I'm sorry. We cannot afford that." So I would hide before class, join when the warm-up started, and run before it finished. For months. One day the teachers came to me: "Hey, before you go, can we have a chat?" I never went back. Years later it hit me: they were probably offering me my first Bolsista position. What did our first teachers actually give us? → The ethos: Dan and Lily ran my first school on one rule. Make people happy, everybody has fun, you're doing a great job. The rest comes with time. → The standard: Gui trained at Jaime Arôxa in Rio. Jaime had this thing in class: "Normal person, special person." Two postures, two people. The older ladies and widows walked out special again. → The seeing: Val gave me my first chance to assist when nobody else would. "You have something that they don't, and I see it." We didn't dance because we were dancers. It was shyness: cold sweats, hiding in corners. Dance was the only room where we could connect without talking. Keep the body moving. Don't speak. The big takeaway: a dance school is a permission space, the place where you become someone who connects. I slept at mine between the Saturday 4 AM party and the Sunday 8 AM training. That school raised me. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: thank you, first teachers 02:05 "Make people happy": the ethos 04:59 "What is Jaime Arôxa?" 07:44 Elegance with an edge of arrogance 11:40 Val: the teacher who saw me 16:00 The story I never told anyone 23:13 Too shy to talk, so I danced 25:02 Normal person, special person 26:55 I never left the dance school 31:55 Paulinho, the Chacha man Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep14 | ZoukNerds Podcast
What's the difference between a Brazilian Zouk retreat and a Zouk festival? In this ZoukNerds episode, Gui Prada and I go down memory lane to the events that marked us, and they could not be more opposite. Gui's first Brazilian Zouk event ever was Xandy Liberato's first retreat, in Valencia, 2016. Invitation only. On arrival day, the exercise was simple: look your partner in the eye, one touch on the shoulder, one on the arm. Gui started sobbing in front of a stranger. The stranger cried too. Eight months later he flew to the Warsaw Zouk Festival and danced with four people in four days. My version: Brazil Central in Brisbane, an old museum building, all the masters from Brazil. That event is the reason I made a rule when I created BraZouky: "This event will never be in a ballroom or in a community center that has no personality." Why did the same dance feel like two opposite worlds? → The retreat: everything organic, everything subtle, fire day, water day, air day. Solid basics in the room, so "the only way were to go deeper." → The festival: a vodka stand, a club room, songs Gui had never heard. He sent a friend an audio message: "Look what they're listening to. How do I dance to that?" → The etiquette: in Australia it was one song, high-five, change partners. Third song is a marriage. If your first big festival disappointed you, Gui found the answer years later. The retreat was a very specific container. A very intentional container. The festival was never trying to be one. The big takeaway: a festival is not a broken retreat. They are different kinds of events, and intention is what made one of them feel like another world. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: the events that stay in our heart 01:06 Gui's first: the Valencia retreat (2016) 05:09 Brazil Central: an arts festival, not a ballroom 07:36 Prague: the social that never stopped 12:00 Day zero: the sobbing exercise 15:18 Time, immersion, and the able body 18:03 All styles, all good 21:00 Third song is a marriage 23:27 Studio socials vs the fish market 28:38 Let's spill the tea: Warsaw 30:12 Four days, four dances 32:40 A very intentional container 36:10 Like going to the opera 37:24 What's new is what we remember Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep13 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Is Brazilian Zouk a spiritual dance? Do you have to be spiritual to dance it? In this ZoukNerds episode, Gui Prada and I take the "too hippie" stereotype apart. The complaint: too spiritual, too much eye contact, whale music. So I asked the Buddha himself, Gui Prada, to define it. His definition: anything you do that connects you to meaning, to purpose, to something larger than yourself. Not a belief, a practice. Yoga counts. Journaling counts. In an old German monastery, brewing beer counted, and the monks drank from three-liter mugs. By that definition I am in it already: weight transfer drills, feeling the floor. Yeah, we all hippies, okay? Does the stereotype survive the episode? → The wardrobe: linen from Bali, organic and vegan, and less depth than someone in jeans in a big city. "It's not what people wear. It's not what they eat. It's not where they live." → The competition: I asked Gui, "Could I be a Jack and Jill hardcore, fanatic point chaser and still be a spiritual dancer?" "100%. 1,000%." → The retreats: journaling connects you to yourself, yoga to your body, meditation to your thoughts, and the dance to each other. That is why retreats use Brazilian Zouk as a connection tool. Then I remembered Beijing. The Chinese Olympic ice dancers saw a video of me dancing Zouk and said, "We don't want to learn the dance itself. Teach us how to become one like you guys do." I could relate. When I competed, my training was for the outside, for the judges, for the show. The big takeaway: spirituality in dance is depth of practice, not wardrobe. The Tuesday-night dancer doing footwork drills may hold a deeper spiritual practice than the professional in yoga pants who lost the why. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: is Zouk too hippie? 02:05 The definition: it's a practice 07:00 Weight transfer drills: we're all hippies 08:08 It's not what people wear 11:23 Can a point chaser be spiritual? 14:50 A tool for connection 15:45 Is the name itself appropriation? 22:25 The Chinese Olympic ice dancers 27:21 The Tuesday-night spiritual practice 30:00 Same class, two names 30:51 The things are what we are Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep12 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Why is the festival you bought never the event you get? Because most Brazilian Zouk festivals are designed from the fear of not being able to pay for them. Gui Prada and I open the organizer's books. I'll put my hands up first. I've lost money on BraZouky Festivals. Some years we didn't pay the bills. We take from here, go from there, we do some magic. And we still never sold a day pass. Gui named the pattern: you start with an intention, a small, intimate event, and right behind it comes "how am I gonna pay for this?" Then the plane tickets arrive: "Maybe we open 10 more spots. Maybe we do a party pass." The event you announced is already gone. What actually breaks an event's promise: → The quiet pivot: "Let's just sell more followers tickets. Nobody's gonna know. Who's gonna know? Nobody's gonna know." We never did that. We see it a lot. → The napkin math: if your budget is not a spreadsheet with multiple tabs, you missed real costs. On one small weekender we spent $500 just on Uber. That's five passes. → The word "intimate": there is no such thing as an intimate event with 50 people in the room. My cap is 30, with pre-selection. The ones who keep their promises prepared before they promised: money saved like a club, before the event exists. Gui taught at one of those. The peace of mind exudes around, and for once the intermediate room was actually intermediate. The big takeaway: an event designed from fear will drift away from its own intention. An event designed from a real budget and a clear intention can stay small, stay honest, and sell out at premium. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: the fear that drives organizers 02:18 Gui's epiphany: intention first, fear second 06:51 My BraZouky receipts: four countries 08:00 The 'BraZouquinho': underpromise, overdeliver 12:55 No such thing as intimate with 50 18:06 The party-pass death spiral 22:17 The club account: money before the event 26:51 We don't need a festival in June 30:23 Napkin math vs the spreadsheet ($500 Uber) 32:10 The Bali dancer who sold out on intention 34:24 Ask AI, then dig: see the monster first Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep11 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Is Brazilian Zouk an addiction? I think for a lot of us it is — and I say that as someone it nearly broke. In this ZoukNerds episode my co-host Gui Prada and I talk about the body of the dancer. The strapped knee, the strapped shoulder, the wrist, the people massaging each other at every festival. That is the community telling on itself. For 10 years I ate painkillers as if I was drinking water. I wasn't sleeping. Any lesson, any call, any hour — it was a yes. That burned me out, and in 2016 I quit dance for a whole year. What I came back understanding: it was never the dance. It was how I dealt with it. So how do you know your love for the dance has tipped into addiction? Try the self-advisor test: if a friend told you everything they've been doing to their body, would you say "keep going, you're fine"? People freeze. We can't say it to a stranger, so we shouldn't say it to ourselves. Then there's the gambling parallel. We keep feeding the machine for the dopamine hit of one great dance, losing and losing until we win. Pace yourself instead. Rest a few weeks, then go all-in on the one weekender that connects with your soul. Gui says it best: "I cannot give more. What I received right now is enough." Understanding what is enough is the search for a whole life. Dance is our tribe. It can't be our only tribe. Reach out to your Dancers Anonymous, and notice how big a slice of your life this really owns. Listen, follow, and share this with the dancer who needs to hear it. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:28 The body of the dancer: strapped knees, shoulders, wrists 01:45 The inability to stop 02:32 The self-advisor test 05:57 10 years, painkillers like water 07:16 I quit dance for a whole year 08:45 Why teachers can't say no 12:24 Dance as your only tool 16:03 It's a gambling addiction 16:13 Music FOMO, people FOMO, event FOMO 21:05 Falling asleep on the floor 24:48 "I cannot give more" — enoughness 26:42 The Michelin sushi spoiler 29:31 What does dance fulfill for you? 30:31 Healthy here, not struggling to be here Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep10 | ZoukNerds Podcast
I'll put my hands up here. A lot of the time, dancing Brazilian Zouk, I'm just listening to the tum, ta, chick and going for it. "Oh, good BPM, I can dance to this." That's autopilot, dancing to the sound of the machine, and it's most of what we call musicality: hitting the structure, the ones, the fives. There are whole layers under that we're not touching. Gui was trained the other way. At Jaime Arôxa's school, you learned to be affected by the music: follow the cadence of the voice, sing along, move until the song gets into your body. His goal: "I want the music to get to me." So what does musicality in Brazilian Zouk actually mean, past the beat? Why we get stuck on the beat: → The classes: we teach footwork, timing, frame, and connection. Music connection comes years later, in workshops built for teachers and Jack and Jill. → The history: Brazilians connect to the percussion, and most Zouk songs are not in Portuguese. We couldn't reach the lyrics, so we grabbed everything else. → The reward: we call the dancer who hits all the numbers "musical." The dancer feeling the layers is dancing within the music. In DC, Gui watched 40 dancers. One face was really feeling the music: the Kizomba dancer, new to Zouk. "Oh, I know this song. It makes me feel a certain way, and I go this way." He couldn't dance Zouk yet, and he was the most musical dancer in the room. The big takeaway: timing is communication, and rhythm is the first layer of connection. Once you have the rhythm down, listen beyond it: melody, instruments, and eventually the vibe. And train it on your own, from day one, no apologies. Chapters: 00:00 Opening highlights 01:32 Intro 04:32 Teachers want the timing down, then can't get you out of it 08:32 How Jaime Arôxa taught musicality 10:27 Autopilot: dancing to the sound of the machine 11:55 Why musicality workshops skip the basics 16:05 Heavy, airy, viscous: words for what you feel 17:57 Hitting the structure isn't musicality 18:54 One guy in 40: the Kizomba dancer's face 20:14 Why Brazilian Zouk got taught rhythm-first 24:29 Timing is communication 29:51 Most dancers don't dance enough on their own 35:19 The challenge: Lateral to all the songs Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep09 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Where are the Brazilians in Brazilian Zouk? Gui Prada went looking in Sydney and found them at the Forró social, not at our Zouk Social. Gui was three weeks in Sydney, dancing Zouk every Friday, missing what he calls the squeeze, not a hug, a squeeze. Then somebody took him to the Forró social, and in the waiting area all he could hear was Portuguese, Portuguese, Portuguese. A small branch of Brazil inside of Sydney. At the Friday Zouk social? One other Brazilian, besides him. I lived the other side of this. In Perth, my Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, and Forró students wanted to know the country, the music. Some started learning Portuguese. My Zouk students didn't, because the dance stopped carrying that part of Brazil. Why Brazilians abroad skip their own dance: → The music: Forró has its deities: Dominguinhos, Gonzagão, Gonzaguinha. You know what you're gonna get, regardless of the DJ. A Zouk social? You only hope for the best. → The money: I went to Australia as a student immigrant. Some weeks I couldn't afford the bus, so I walked. A Forró party is the whole night for 10-20 bucks. Zouk asks for a months-long course. → The tenderness: The Brazilian followers we had in DC left the scene saying, "The guys are too serious. They don't look at me." In Zouk you earn the hugs, the cuddles, the squeezes. At a Brazilian party you get them whether you would like it or not. So I asked Gui: did we, as community leaders, sell out the dance? The big takeaway: Brazilian Zouk became so international that a Brazilian walks into our social and doesn't find Brazil in it. They find it at the Forró. That explains why they are missing from the Brazilian Zouk communities. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:43 Gui in Sydney: missing the squeeze 03:20 The epiphany: the Brazilians are at the Forró 06:31 Reason 1: the music stopped being ours 09:56 Reason 2: one class vs months of courses 10:29 Reason 3: you know what you're gonna get 13:24 Did we sell out the dance? 20:00 Rice and beans: two kinds of Brazilians abroad 22:09 Reason 4: money, visas, and commitment 29:12 Reason 5: missing the tenderness 32:18 The double-edged sword of going international Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep08 | ZoukNerds Podcast
I'll be honest. I walk into a social and I pick who to dance with in about three seconds, and most of the time I don't even decide it. My body decides for me. In this episode of Brazilian Zouk podcast ZoukNerds, Gui Prada and I pull apart that decision nobody talks about: the hidden social hierarchy I see in every dance community, including the ones I run. Why does everyone sit in the same spot every party: → Find the DJ. The teachers are right there. We call it the red carpet, and the dancers who most want to be seen sit around it. → The opposite corner stays dark on purpose. Gui put his hands up here: without his current position, that's exactly where he'd be. → Back at Jaime Arôxa in Rio, they trained the older ladies to stand and move a little, to show they were ready. We went straight to them. No mistake. But the harder question is who I actually invite, and why. We landed on five reasons, and the first one is the one I least want to admit: → Attraction. Not hitting on anyone. A subconscious pull I don't even notice. → Respect and age. I'm 38. A 22-year-old is too young for me to feel comfortable asking. → Ability. Some of us leaders are like a dog that wants to free run in the park. → Closeness to power. Are you friends with the organizer? That's the big one. → My comfort zone. The big takeaway: I've stopped trying to dismantle the hierarchy. The friendliest scenes don't either. They transcend it while staying in it. I leave my group for one dance, then come back. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: back in the same room, one year later 01:30 The hidden hierarchy nobody talks about 02:00 How you scan a room the second you walk in 03:50 The red carpet: where the DJ and teachers sit 06:00 The dark corner vs the main floor at Taiwan Zouk Festival 08:06 Alisson's three modes: unknown, invited teacher, local dancer 13:31 Jaime Arôxa: training the ladies to show they're ready 17:00 The five things that decide who you invite to dance 20:18 Comfort zone and the age gap 25:41 Closeness to power: the politics of the floor 34:21 The takeaway: transcend the hierarchy without dismantling it Co-host: Gui Prada ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep07 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Brazilian Zouk costs me sleep. I'm in Taiwan right now and I've finally built a schedule that lets me rest. The rest of the year? Time zones, late socials, weekends that bleed into the next week. 23 years in and I still pay for it every Monday. In this Q&A episode, Gui Prada and I read Veronique Dupont's question from our ZoukNerds Facebook Group: what is the ONE biggest benefit of dancing Brazilian Zouk, and the ONE biggest disadvantage? Both of us landed on the same disadvantage. The benefits we picked are different. And the deeper answer doesn't show up until minute 12. The first cost is the easy one: your sleep. → Touring life means no schedule. Time zones, different weather, different bed every weekend. → Teaching ends at 10:30 p.m. By the time you close, eat, wind down, it's 1 a.m. The festival weekend pushes that to 4. → My current answer is the Chunked Travel Schedule. Three or four weeks on. Two months of recovery off. We are not the crazy 20-year-olds that started this. For me, the benefit is mental and emotional exploration. Teaching is not lecturing. It's workshopping with whoever shows up that night. For Gui, the benefit is the people. His 15-year-old self in Rio didn't know people from São Paulo. Now he records with me in Taiwan for listeners in Sydney, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia. The closing reframe: the deeper disadvantage is what the dance exposes in you. For Gui, shyness. For me, perfectionism and the 10-15 extra iterations I need as a non-natural dancer. This dance is not therapy. It is highly therapeutical. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: Veronique's "one thing only" question 01:05 Alisson's benefit: mental and emotional exploration 02:14 Alisson's disadvantage: sleep schedule and touring life 03:10 Gui's benefit: the people you'd never have met 03:30 Gui's 15-year-old-self gratitude anchor 04:57 Gui's disadvantage: the resting part 06:40 The Chunked Travel Schedule 08:24 Gui's Rio-shyness disadvantage 10:18 Alisson on perfectionism 11:16 The 10-15x learning iterations confession 12:53 Closing reframe: the dance is a mirror to your fragility Co-host: Gui Prada Listener question from: Veronique Dupont — ZoukNerds Facebook Group ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep06 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Brazilian Zouk has a leader shortage problem at every social — and no organizer has solved it, including me. I've run BraZouky with strict ratio control for years. Some years we hit 1.1 to 1 at sign-up. The social still tilts the same way every night. In this Q&A episode, Gui Prada and I read Billy Lou's question from our ZoukNerds Facebook Group. He's in a leadership course and asked us: what are the "wicked problems" in the Brazilian Zouk scene right now? This one was easy. I think about it every day. Here's the pattern I see at almost every social. Leaders arrive at 9 p.m. to warm up. Same leaders already taught or took four classes that day. By 1 a.m. they are gone — body, mind, feet. The followers who came late see fewer leaders and tell me the ratio was terrible. I controlled the door. I cannot control who walks through it at what time. The leader shortage is not a numbers problem. It is a load problem: → The early-leader trap: leaders show up first, dance non-stop, then crash. Same body that taught at 11 a.m. → The late-follower complaint: followers arrive in the second half, blame the ratio, study harder for next time. → The silent mental load: a leader is running music, floor craft, space, and the lead at the same time. Gui calls it making 30 dishes from the same ingredients. You either repeat yourself or you cook yourself. The leader shortage is mirrored upside down on the follower side. We call this the Reverse Learning Curve: leaders find it hard early and easier over time, followers find it easy early and harder over time. The follower who tells me she's "still not getting many dances" — she is not under-training. She is over-training. Gui's line is, "what if you try a little less hard?" The big takeaway: Maybe the wicked problem is not the ratio. It is what we think is "enough" to walk into a social. Leaders feel they need to master everything. Followers feel they need to be flawless. Both stay home and we count chairs. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: Billy Lou's question about "wicked problems" 00:43 What is a wicked problem? Why it applies to Brazilian Zouk 01:32 BraZouky's ratio experiment and why it still fails 02:33 Why leaders arrive early and burn out by midnight 04:18 The follower-arrives-late problem 05:54 How taxi dancers and volunteers help 06:35 The marathon case study: even with even tickets 07:21 Why leaders disappear to the lounge 09:02 Why most dance scenes are run by followers 11:11 Why beginner leaders rarely buy festival passes 12:31 Mental exhaustion: the silent load leaders carry 14:00 Leaders as cooks making 30 plates 15:00 The classroom paradox 16:40 The cultural layer: Asia, Japan, Brazil 17:45 The Bolsista system at Jaime Arôxa 19:30 The reverse learning curve 22:14 Why followers fall into the "try harder" trap 22:31 Wrap: what we think is "enough" Co-host: Gui Prada Listener question from: Billy Lou — ZoukNerds Facebook Group ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep05 | ZoukNerds Podcast
Most Brazilian Zouk scenes don't need more socials. They need more Practicas. And the reason most Practicas fail comes down to the DJ: songs that don't end. In this Q&A episode, Gui Prada and I read a question from Star Bolton in our ZoukNerds Facebook Group. Her school changed their practice time from a Spotify playlist to a DJ set list. Followers started going home without dancing. I learned this the hard way running Practicas at District Zouk. The fix is simple. Most teachers get it wrong because they try to make practice feel like a party. Why beginner Practicas need songs that clearly end: → The cue problem: Brazilian Zouk is the only major social dance whose DJs blend songs together. Beginners can't tell when to thank their partner and change. → The marathon trap: when songs never end, followers get stuck with one leader for 15 minutes. Other beginners don't dance at all. → The boring-leader fear: leaders already think they're "not interesting enough" for a long dance. Clear endings give them a moment to change partners without feeling rejected. If you've ever sat at a Practica wondering "is this song still going?", that's a setup problem, not a you problem. Beginners don't need more awareness. They need clearer music. The big takeaway: A Practica is not a mini-social. It's a different format with different rules. The music has to do half the work of teaching beginners how to change partners, rest, and try the same move with three different people. Chapters: 00:00 Intro: Star Bolton's question from Hawaii 00:42 What's the Practica problem with blended DJ sets? 01:18 Why long marathons hurt beginner followers 02:20 What's a Practica vs a social dance? 03:08 Why clear song endings help students change partners 04:55 The "I'm a boring leader" anxiety, explained 05:31 Why Brazilian Zouk DJs blend more than other dances 06:44 The District Zouk class experiment with set songs 07:08 How experienced dancers still get caught by good transitions 09:25 Why we ask DJs to phrase clearly early in the night 11:15 Practicing with at least 3 different partners 12:16 Most scenes don't need more socials. They need more Practicas. 13:00 Treating beginner students fear-free for retention 13:47 How Practicas drive community growth 14:15 Wrap and listener thank you Co-host: Gui Prada Listener question from: Star Bolton, Hawaii — ZoukNerds Facebook Group ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/ Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/ Episode: S06 Ep04 | ZoukNerds Podcast
What If Your Teacher’s Style Isn't For You? Ever taken a class and thought, "Man, this technique just doesn't feel right for my body" ? Gui and I are hanging out in Taiwan to tackle an awesome question from Emily in our Facebook group! Emily asks: "How would you feel if a student said, 'I know you teach it this way, but I'm sticking with my own way'?" The Short Answer? Go For It! Honestly guys, as teachers, we are totally fine with this. You Know Your Body: If you found a way that keeps you safe and balanced, keep doing it! The "Why" Matters: It's a huge turnoff when teachers just say, "That's wrong," without explaining the mechanics. Safety First: The only time we'll step in and correct you is if your technique might actually hurt your knees or neck. Style vs. Proper Technique Gui brought up a fascinating chat he had with Alex de Carvalho. Alex says there are really only three base styles from the ground up: Traditional Zouk, Neo Zouk, and Lambada. Everything else? That's just personal expression. My "style" or Gui's "style" is just how we choose to express the dance. Put On Their Glasses Even if a teacher’s vibe isn't your favorite, learn from them! Are they teaching a visual shape for the stage, or a sensation for a crowded social floor? Put on their glasses and try to understand their background. The Big Takeaway: Don't follow one teacher blindly. Grab the tools that feel good to you, and build your own unique dance. Ever tweaked a teacher's move to fit your own body? Let us know in the group!
Does Dance Reveal Your Inner World? Do you feel like the way you interact with your dance partner reflects your inner world? In this episode, Gui Prada and I are together in Taiwan to tackle a deep question from our Facebook Group! Our listener, Victor, asks if Zouk reveals what you need to work on in your personal life. Spoiler alert: 1000% yes. The Mirror on the Dance Floor The Good & The Bad: Dance is a massive mirror. It highlights our empathy and joy, but it also shines a harsh spotlight on our insecurities, perfectionism, and need for validation. From Chairs to Zen: Gui shares a hilarious (and slightly scary) story from his teenage years to show how social dancing actually taught him patience and presence. The "Belonging" Trap: We discuss how easy it is to use Zouk to fill an emotional gap. It’s natural to want to belong, but when dance becomes your only source of validation (or your only strategy for human connection), it can become a disguised addiction. Navigating the Phases of Dance Victor shared his own journey: moving from a strict "technique" phase to a "fake spiritual" phase (where he judged others for not having the "right" intention), and finally stepping away when he realized he was just seeking acceptance. Dance is the Messenger: Dance is highly therapeutic, but it is not therapy. If Zouk triggers anxiety, jealousy, or insecurity (like after a stressful Jack & Jill!), take that message and do the internal work off the floor. The Big Takeaway: Don’t let the things dance reveals push you away from the community. Acknowledge the message, do the personal work, and return to the floor from a place of joy, not need. Has dance ever revealed something surprising about yourself? Share your story with us in the comments!
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