Flowing in Brazilian Zouk's Close Embrace - Gui & Kelsey - Kissing by Bliss (DJ Max Blacksoul)

Teaching partner dancing is much more than teaching fundamentals, patterns, and poses. Teaching partner dancing is also the act of guiding people into the discovery of their bodies. It is the noble task of putting humans in touch with their most valuable asset, bringing awareness and value to a simple weight transfer or a mere forward step. But more than anything above, teaching partner dance is the act of guiding people into the discovery of their bodies through the acknowledgment of somebody else's. In a society moved by status, where closeness lost its place to distance, partner dancing restore the natural order of having humans communicating through their bodies and movements.

Another fascinating aspect of teaching partner dancing is that it puts us in contact with the masculine and feminine energies, regardless of gender. The structure and the fluidity. The organization and the spontaneity. The protection and the tenderness. The assertive and the creative. One inevitably leading into the other. When we partner dance we are constantly in tune with one of these characteristics. In most cases, the leader's role embodies more the masculine and follower's role more the feminine. Like a river, the leader provides and creates the riverbanks where the follow can flow peacefully, like water. In the silent communication of the dance, the leader creates the clarity and the organization, suggesting where to go, letting the follower creates the how to go, showcasing the beauty and potential of their movement. Throughout history, humans have celebrated the power of life and creation through art in its many forms. We have the opportunity to celebrate it with our dancing, bringing into our bodies the representation of the complementarity of these two innate energies.

Exploring the possibilities of dancing in close embrace allows us to appreciate the simple things in dance at another level. Everything matters to make the dance feel comfortable and flowy as the partners travel around the dance floor. Most of all things, the understanding of how far each other's body can go and the ability to adapt at every single step are two amazing tools we learn by simply staying close to each other. In this dance, the last of our Embrace Zouk Weekender, we tried to showcase the movements we taught during the long 12 hours of classes and its possibilities in size and range. After watching I saw more than that. I also saw the masculine and the feminine energies in motion. I saw myself as the riverbanks that helped Kelsey to flow. The protection that brought tenderness. The blank canvas, where beauty was painted by the Queen of the West.

Thank you again for all those who participated and thank you, Kuna, for the idea of lights. Made everything better, more special and beautiful.

Enjoy😌