Zouk – Urban Sport of the Week

Each week we send a member of the USC team to try a new class so you know what to expect. Today our Urban Sport of the Week is Zouk, a freestyle partner-dance from Brazil, with roots in the French Caribbean and a carefully curated playlist that Kanye would approve of…  

What is Zouk?

Brazilian Zouk, or Zouk as it is commonly known, is a dance that started in Brazil and evolved from the Latin dance Lambada. Zouk is all about finding a connection with your partner and communicating through the medium of dance.

Modern Zouk is a concept founded by Jan Lachenmayer in 2011. A long-time solo dancer, Jan stumbled across a Zouk class in 2008 and made it his mission to form a scene here in Germany. His style is a unique combination of traditional Zouk technique with a modern playlist of wall-to-wall bangers.  

What can you expect?

Lotusloft is located in the centre of a labyrinth of outhouses in Berlin’s Wedding district – past a car repairs workshop and a gym and up a flight of dark, graffiti-covered stairs.

But once through the door the contrast is surprising. The space is lofty and vast, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and orchids and blossoms smattered around the room. A lavishly dressed bed takes up one part of the space and a chaise longue lies in another, next to a fully-stocked cocktail bar. This certainly doesn’t look like a dance studio; it looks more like Gatsby’s living room. 

I arrived in time to catch the end of an advanced Zouk class and felt instantly intimidated. The dance-partners were totally natural and seemed to flow without any instruction from the teacher.

Waiting for the class to start I chatted to the other students. They were all very friendly, curious about why I chose to try Zouk and happy to have a new member in the class.  

How was the workout?

I’ll be honest, I am categorically not a good dancer. I have not been gifted with the ability to isolate different parts of my body and move in any kind of fluid motion. Perhaps at 3am on a Friday night I’ll momentarily believe I’m a good dancer, but the rest of the time I’m fully resigned to the fact it isn’t my forte.

So I was really far out my comfort zone with this, especially as it’s a partner dance – other people would have to suffer from my lack of talent.

After a brief warm-up Jan led us through some breathing exercises and basic steps. These are the foundation of the entire Zouk dance and are simple to start with. We practiced these steps for a few minutes, stepping forwards, backwards, left and right and shaking out our arms, legs and hips.

After this it was time to actually start dancing Zouk. I was actively nervous. As a Londoner I’m not used to speaking to people I don’t know, let alone having physical contact with them.

We partnered up and formed a circle. ‘Leaders’ faced into the circle and ‘Followers’ faced the leaders with their backs to Jan. The followers were encouraged to close their eyes, as the idea is that you are guided through the dance by the Leader.

With their hands the Leader moved the Follower’s wrists using subtle sweeping motions so the Followers hands eventually rested on his/her shoulders. I realised that to be a good Follower you must relax, release all tension and allow the leader to guide you. As I said, I’m from London – releasing tension is not something I do easily.

After we’d practiced the wrist to shoulder thing a few times Jan said “High five, switch partners.” The Followers moved clockwise while the Leaders stayed put so everyone had a new partner. This class was catapulting me directly out of my comfort zone.

My new partner led me through an extension of the wrist – hand – shoulder movement with an extra hip-pop required from me. I tried my very best. “High five, switch partners.”

As I made my way around the circle of about nine leaders I slowly began to relax and get out of my head. My fear was that everyone thought I was terrible, which I probably was, but I reasoned with myself that it’s a beginners class after all.

Zouk is pretty intimate. It’s all about communication through dance, so you must be physically connected with your partner all the time. Throughout the class Jan played utter bangers by artists like Drake and Beyonce.

Soon Jan introduced a body roll and incorporated the basic steps into the dance. He explained “You have to think of dance as a conversation. When you have a conversation with someone you don’t just jump into complaining about your parents. You ask your partner how they are, start with small talk, then you get into it.”

I could see his point. I was proud of how far I’d come since the beginning of the lesson – getting out of your comfort zone is always a good thing, even though it’s scary at the time.  

How did I feel after?

Very liberated. Dancing is a joyful thing to do, and the environment Jan has created with Modern Zouk is totally relaxed, inclusive and unique.

Directly after class on Wednesday evening there’s a party in the space where students can listen to Jan’s epic Zouk playlist and practice dancing socially. Jan encourages everyone to come by the space and use it as if it were their own living room. “The only way to get better at Zouk is to practice dance socially.” I wasn’t quite there yet but I have every intention of coming back again.   

Benefits of Zouk

It is of course a great form of exercise, But Zouk is ultimately about building human connections.

The philosophy of Jan’s Modern Zouk is “Dance is life. Life is dance. […] It is about the connection. The exchange of energies. […] The ultimate bliss to immerse into one; freeing our judgements, shattering our egos. […] Dance is a means to access the wisdom of life.”

The Zouk community is very social and a great way to meet new people!  

Don’t forget to bring…

Often Zouk teachers will encourage everyone to dance with each other, so you won’t need to bring a partner.

Think twice about what you eat beforehand… You’ll dance pretty close to people so maybe stay away from the garlic bread.

Apart from that wear loose, comfortable clothes; you can dance in your socks.  

For a full list of classes, events and workshops check out the Modern Zouk website. Urban Sports Club partners with many dance studios in Germany and France. Have a look at what’s on offer in your area.