All About Comfort Workshop w Gui Prada & District Zouk

As more restrictions are lifted in the DMV area and around the US, social dancing is resuming everywhere. Most of us have spent more than a year dancing very little though - with a limited amount of people or not dancing at all, and either dancing in a very limited space or with a space all for ourselves. Overall we know that many of us are anxiously or excitedly thinking about when we’ll be back into social dancing again. To prepare us for zouk social dancing again, we’ve prepared this workshop to go over some of the dynamics that will help us comfortably connect with each other. We’ve heard people jokingly wonder ‘How do I invite people to dance again?’, ‘How many songs should I dance?’, ‘I think I forgot how to touch another human being besides the ones from my pod,’ and we know there is some truth behind them. With that in mind, we’re excited to offer you an opportunity to get some valuable information and knowledge to help you get back into social dancing. We believe that social dancing is the heart of the community. It’s why most of us train so much - to be around our community, having fun, and enjoying the pleasure of dancing and the art of moving together. In this 3-hour workshop featuring Gui and our District Zouk Team, we’ll talk about: - Consent and Safety - including inviting someone to dance, respecting people’s spoken and unspoken boundaries, gauging people’s experience and leading and following accordingly; - Use of Space and Floorcraft - we’ll talk about adjusting your dance vocabulary to the space you have around you, taking care of your partner’s back while dancing; - Social dance etiquette - what makes a social dance experience enjoyable or not; and - Comfort - we’ll share with you the secrets and tools to create a comfortable dance regardless of your experience, dancing in close embrace, and creating a relationship of trust with your partner. This will be a dynamic workshop that will count on the participation of our entire District Zouk Team. In it we have experienced dancers that have social dancing in their lives for a very long time. They have experienced and seen it all and can’t wait to share with you the knowledge they have gathered over the years. After our 3 hours of learning, we’ll have 1 one hour to dance and put everything in practice. We want to see DC be not only the nation’s capital, but also the nation’s Brazilian Zouk capital! WHEN Saturday, July 31 1:30-5:30pm For information on the other activities during the weekend, see the Back to Zouk Weekender event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1409716079408365 WHERE Glen Echo Park Spanish Ballroom Back Room 7300 Macarthur Blvd Glen Echo, MD 20812 REGISTRATION - $50 Lot 1 (limited tickets available) - $60 Lot 2 - Limited number of Workshop Combo tickets available for Saturday and Sunday workshops for $110 - Get your tickets at: https://www.danceplace.com/index/no/9693/Back+to+Zouk+Weekender--Washington_+DC-United+States-Brazilian+Zouk+Dance+event HOW WILL IT WORK - No partner required. We will rotate partners during the class. - If you prefer not to rotate during the class, you can join with a partner and stay with them throughout. PREREQUISITES - This workshop is open to anyone with some Brazilian zouk experience. SAFETY PROTOCOLS - Proof of vaccination required (must be two weeks from last shot). If you haven’t already verified your vaccination status at one of our events, we’ll ask you to show your vaccine card or a photo at your first class. - Hand sanitizer will be provided. - Short symptom survey via Danceplace: https://www.danceplace.com/covid/screening UPDATE ON MASKS As of Friday, 7/30, masks are required for everyone for all of our events this weekend. We appreciate your cooperation with this for everyone's safety. ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR Gui Prada started dancing in 2004 inspired by the movie "Shall We Dance?". He began to dive deep into dance in 2006 as a work-study trainee of the Jaime Arôxa Dance School in Rio de Janeiro. Jaime Arôxa, one of the creators of Brazilian Zouk, was the head instructor and was a mentor for the most accomplished dancers in Brazil. During his 6 years as a member of the school's team, he learned all Brazilian partner dances (Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Soltinho, Bolero and Zouk) as well as Argentine Tango. After he left the school, he continued dancing and learning from other remarkable instructors, including Fabiano Vivas, Kelly Reis, Érico Rodrigo, Guilherme Pimentel and many others. Since then he has focused his training and research on taking the best of each of these dances and applying it to the close embrace, with the purpose of conveying a sense of well-being and relaxation to dance partners. In 2016 he attended the first Zouk Retreat in Valencia, led by Xandy Liberato, Brenda Carvalho and Anderson Mendes. After that, his research on partner dancing took a new direction, as he continued working with Brenda and Anderson to seek for the application of the concepts explored at the retreat in different ways by using the references of the other Brazilian partner dances and Argentinian Tango. As a result, the importance of the basic steps and concepts became evident, since it is through them that all dances reach another level. Gui is looking forward to sharing his technique and training with students here in Washington DC to help them improve their basics, comfort and confidence on the dance floor.