4 Takeaways from the Iago & Vanessa Michigan Zouk Weekender
It’s been a couple of weeks since our trip to Michigan for the Iago & Vanessa weekender but we’re still riding the high from such a great time - huge shout out and thank you to Ania & Justin of Zouk Mitten (how’s that for a great name?) for curating such a lovely event, and for Iago & Vanessa for sharing all their wonderful knowledge and energy with us.
Watch the recap below, and keep scrolling to read our favorite little zouk knowledge bombs we all learned over the weekend:
Shoutout to Topher of @todu_media for capturing all these lovely moments!
The Coolest Thing I Learned at the IV Weekender Was…
Nate: New “Turn Structure” Rules
My favorite part of the Iago and Vanessa weekender was definitely learning about “turn structures.” I loved how it took out the ambiguity of how many turns the follow should do during a free spin.
When Iago said "I don't apply 5 newtons of force to get one spin and 10 newtons of force to get two spins" he instantly became one of my favorite zouk instructors.
By using the timing of the turn instead of the amount of force or "intention" given, it makes it really clear and leads to some awesome turn combinations!
Dani: Our Frame of Reference for Turning
First of all, I normally I hate working on lambada-influenced content because I really struggle with having to adapt to a different timing system (I’m a slow learner!) and I get frustrated that I can’t keep up with the rest of the class. This was the first workshop(s) that I could really enjoy different lambada-inspired elements (we worked a lot on “circular” movements as opposed to dancing in lines like we do in traditional zouk) without being overwhelmed with dancing on different timing.
One of the coolest things we talked about was how “how many” turns a follower completes depends on your frame of reference! For example, for a “simple turn” (return) at the end of a bonus/boomerang, we typically think of the follow doing a single turn to return to facing the leader (from the perspective of the follower, they are doing a single turn). BUT if the leader is moving, this could actually mean the follower completes more or less turns. For example, if the follower is completing a simple turn to the left, here’s what would actually happen
leader remains in place: follower does a full 360* turn to face the lead
leader travels to the follower’s left (same direction as the follower is turning): follower does more than one turn (360*+) to be able to end facing the leader
leader travels to the follower’s right (opposite direction as the follower is turning): the follower does slightly less than one turn (<360*) before they return to face the leader
This can make the dance feel much more dynamic and give the leaders even more control over how “spin-y” (or not) the dance feels.
So now I’m excited to learn more (and, gasp, maybe try to revisit learning lamba-timing variations…).
Lydia: Feeling the Flow
One of my main takeaways from the weekender was the idea of finding the flow of the steps throughout the various structures. This especially applied to the lambada turn structures we went over. While I had learned the double turn structure specifically with Iago and Vanessa before, we went over other variations and places to put the turn structure in. As long as I kept the flow of the steps, I could maintain my footwork and keep the timing of the dance.
I admire the fact that Iago and Vanessa teach in a way that expresses ideas and concepts rather than one particular move. With the concept of the turn structure, we could play and explore other places to put in the turn structure. This flow was beautiful to experience and left me wanting to learn more about the lambada foundations they execute so well.
Mike: Variety Within Zouk
An idea that helped me understand zouk better was the explanation of soltinho as the foundation of lambada/zouk. Iago & Vanessa went into depth of how soltinho is used in the dance with turns. They also explained that you can do common movements and their reverse (or mirror) version as well. This along with traveling in open positions created a tremendous amount of variety that allows for creativity and the use of space in demos and performances.
Once these simple movements are understood and combined with bonus, chicote, Iolo and playful stops and body movements, you can elevate your dance to another level!
Want to Learn More?
Stay Up to Date on the Michigan Crew’s Events
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Learn More from Iago & Vanessa
Follow Iago & Vanessa on Facebook or Instagram to catch what other events they’ll be teaching at (we’ll definitely be dropping in to some of their workshops at the Zouk Conexão festival in Atlanta coming up in October!), or check out some of their online lambada courses available through Zouk Lab.
