About Us

Io amo zouk (I love zouk)

we love zouk and are excited to share it with you!

AmoZouk, short for “(Io) amo zouk,” or “I love zouk” in Portuguese was born out of our obsession with Brazilian zouk. As a team of instructors, we have more than a cumulative 35 years of experience in training dance, and are excited to share our learnings with you.

AmoZouk is part of the greater Zouk Minneapolis community, and we hold our students and instructors alike to the Zouk Minneapolis Code of Conduct.

The amozouk Instructor team

Nate Enos

Dance Background: Zouk
Zouk was Nate’s first partner dance when he started training in Boston in 2016. An engineer by education, Nate enjoys breaking down the biomechanics of zouk to focus on the fundamentals of being a clear and comfortable dancer - especially for students with no previous dance background. Nate appreciates learning from a variety of instructors to learn the “best” of each of their techniques to mix in his own dancing to become a more well-rounded dancer (think the Ramalhos’ magical hips, Gui’s comfortable hug, Jerry Lai’s elastic responsiveness), and breaking down these techniques to teach to others.
BRIC Level 1 & Level 2 Certified
Dani Enos

Dance Background: Zouk, Salsa, Bachata
Dani has been dancing zouk, salsa, and bachata for more than 10 years. Dani taught with Nate for ZOTD in Boston, and has continued to teach with Nate since they moved to Minnesota.
As a professional contortionist and flexibility coach (how’s that for a cool fun fact?! Check out her website, Dani Winks Flexibility) Dani’s approach to teaching is focused on understanding our anatomy and breaking down the biomechanics of what each component of our body is supposed to be doing during a movement.
BRIC Level 1 & Level 2 Certified
Mike Lerum

Dance Background: Zouk, Salsa, Bachata, Ballroom
A longtime salsa dancer (and instructor), Mike has been training zouk for 7+ years. It’s no surprise Mike worked in sales consulting, because his enthusiasm helps him connect with his students quickly and make them feel comfortable in any dance environment. Mike prides himself on helping his students set (and achieve!) their dance goals. Most of all, he believes in inspiring students through positive reinforcement and living what he teaches.
Mike is also unofficially responsible for all the dad jokes. #sorrynotsorry
Lydia Engle

Dance Background: Zouk, Ballet, Heels
Lydia discovered Brazilian zouk in 2020 but quickly excelled given her extensive dance training background. In addition to zouk, she’s spent over 9 years training ballet, tap and jazz. Lydia loves sharing her passion for zouk with others, especially drills from her more classical training to help zouk dancers feel more balanced and controlled.