Good Lifestyle

If you like dynamic and sensual dances, this list is for you. For several years now, a style called Brazilian zouk has gained popularity, in which the couple performs head and body undulations, soft turns and fluid movements, and maintains at all times a connection that really raises the temperature of the place. This dance originated in the 1990s in Brazil as a variation of the traditional lambada, inspired by the original zouk of the Antillean islands. It has steps similar to those of kizomba and bachata and is not limited to a single musical genre (you can even dance to R&B, hip hop and even electronic music). Here we leave you 6 videos to inspire you.

1. Rick and Larissa in Atlanta

This video was recorded in 2019 in a class taught in a hotel in Atlanta, United States, and published by the Zouk Atlanta channel (which can give you an idea of how popular this dance is becoming in that country). We can see professional zouk dancers Rick Torri and Larissa Secco offering a demonstration of the sensuality inherent in this style. Torri is a choreographer and director of Dance ImPar Dance Studio in Florianópolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Secco is one of the most prominent professors in this Brazilian study.

2. Pedrinho and Paloma at the Rio Beatz Zouk Festival

The Rio Beatz Zouk Festival is an event that seeks to promote the teaching of this dance through workshops and parties. The 2024 edition was held in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the couple made up of the renowned Brazilian zouk teachers Pedrinho and Paloma performed there, who travel the world giving workshops in which they teach the latest techniques of this dance. Here you can see how they adapt their choreography to the rhythm of “Vênus (feat. Aísha)”, by the Rio hip hop and neo soul singer-songwriter Filipe Papi.

3. Anderson and Brenda at Zouk Embodiment

Anderson Mendes and Brenda Carvalho are two Brazilian zouk teachers who travel the world teaching their personalized dance technique, focused on relaxing the body and creating connections. For them, zouk is almost a meditation. This video was recorded during the Zouk Embodiment 2024 retreat in Bali, Indonesia, where this couple showed, to the rhythm of “Slip” by Elliot Moss, how with zouk you can let yourself go and create completely improvised choreography.

4. William and Paloma at the Warsaw Zouk Festival

Yes, zouk has reached places as far away as Poland. The Warsaw Zouk Festival is an event held every year in Warsaw and brings together dancers from all over the world. In 2022, William Texeira, an award-winning Brazilian professional dancer based in Madrid, Spain, joined Paloma Alves, owner of the Entre Passos Dance Studio in Rio de Janeiro, to exude sensuality to the rhythm of Amaarae's afrobeats, with their song “Sad Girlz Luv Money (Remix)”. There is a reason they are considered two of the best dancers in the industry.

5. Marck and Melyssa at EverZouk

EverZouk is an annual Brazilian zouk festival held in Seattle, United States. Marck Silva and Melyssa Tamada are two renowned teachers from São Paulo who were guests at the 2024 edition and exuded sensuality and energy in this presentation with the song “Solitude” by the French electronic music band M83, demonstrating that zouk can adapt to different genres. Under the name M&M, this couple has participated and won medals in multiple international competitions.

6. Michael and Aline at Bachaturo Festival

As you may have already seen, zouk shares some elements with bachata. For this reason, this style is present at the Bachaturo Festival, one of the largest bachata dance festivals in the world, held annually in Katowice, Poland. In 2017, the Brazilian couple Michael Boy and Aline Borges, who have won several world championships, gave an improvisation performance using the late Swedish DJ Avicii's version of the classic “Feeling Good.”