How to train zouk.
The hardest part of training zouk is finding someone to train with. This is especially difficult when you are starting off, and worse if you are a lead. A beginner follow can be of value to an experienced lead because it reveals the errors in a responsible leads conduction, but a beginner lead who doesn't yet know how to signal a movement could make a follow even worse off.
In short, a beginner lead has an unfavorable payoff matrix, where you won't have much to offer- "beginner lead hell" - but if you manage to push through this, you make it into "lead heaven".
Basically, if you are past the hardest part, and have a training partner you probably are already good enough to know how to train zouk. If you're still stuck on the hardest part, might I recommend paying someone to train with or having more money, because Zouk is a luxury sport for leads. A beginner follow can have an amazing time with a good lead with just the basics; but a beginner lead, with a good follow is not the same experience.
I don't know what's harder, standing on the street corner and begging for money or getting someone to commit to a time to train with you when you are a beginner lead for free. There is shame in both (getting rejected) but at least I might make some money from begging.
For the first 3 months, the only people who would dance with me, were my professors that I was paying, or people that didn't know that I was beginner. I learned how to confidently ask people for a dance - this would lead to me getting one song'd (typically you would dance 3 songs with a person, 1 song is considered rude at least here in Sao Paulo), that person then wouldn't accept another dance from me or make eye contact. Basically, I had to eat the crumbs off the floor and pay until I could finally get good enough to be training worthy.
It took about 9 months for someone to actually ask me to train. It was around 6 months that I could get someone to train with me, and I was taking privates nearly every day and going to socials every night.
This is the why there are 2-3 follows for every lead in Zouk. Not everyone is built to push through the shame and challenges of getting rejected all the time. I remember oftentimes asking follows for a dance and them politely telling me their feet hurt or that they were resting, only to find them dancing fully recovered 30 seconds later as they danced with someone else. My advice is to not take it personal, and even more concretely to ask a good lead to lead you and take you for a ride. I had the privilege of having an excellent female lead, show me zouk and take me to "Narnia" (the mythical zouk land of timeless unparalleled sensorial and spiritual pleasure).
Ok, now to discuss how to train, I think the most common mistake people make is to just put on music and dance for an hour. For me, what I do is I like to watch the videos I recorded of classes and privates that I took before training. I also like to ask before training what that person specifically wants to work on. I will then suggest 2-3 things to train for 20-30 minutes each like how to transfer weight up to down, or down to up in the open lunge or dancing for 20 minutes only in close hold, or working on exploring different bonus / soltinho variations.
It's absolutely arduous work and not that fun, but what's really the benefit I think to this is that when you do go to the social, you don't have to think anymore about your private or whatever you worked on because you already trained.
If you're starting out, even if you do train diligently, socials may not feel pleasurable as zouk is not yet natural. You might be counting the time, or remembering steps, or focusing on frame, or their connection. This is all completely natural.
Another big miss I see often here in Sao Paulo, Brazil specifically is people taking privates and NOT training when they are definitely good enough to train. There seems to be this idea that more privates = zouk growth. But humans are simple, and zouk is an art/skill. It's one thing to read a book on painting, it's another to pick up the brush and paint. Zouk, and dancing, is the same. Taking a private is the book, and training is actually painting, you need to do both. You really need to study and train zouk so that not just your mind understands, but your body too.
All this talk on training makes me want to go train. Talk to you next time!
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If you are a lead trying to learn zouk, consider checking out Zouk Refugio's learning immersions in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We offer a network of English speaking training partners that offer immediate, helpful feedback. We have zouk from zero program starting this October 2025, please reach out for more information!