ZoukRush 2023 with Gui & Brenda

ZoukRush May 2023 Schedule

Zoukrush Full Pass

Zoukrush Workshop Passes*

• Each workshop is 2-hours long.

• Zouk Workshop passes are available only until 7 May 2023! After that, workshops fees will be $92/workshop (2 hrs).

• Do note that fees for the workshops will be charged according to the number of hours that workshop is scheduled for, regardless of how many hours you actually attend.

Frequently Asked Questions

• About Gui Prada and Brenda Carvalho

  Gui Prada and Brenda Carvalho grew up together as dancers. They studied at the same dance school for many years in Rio de Janeiro with intense training, doing classes from as early as noon to as late as 1am sometimes. The training included all Brazilian partner dances (Samba, Bolero, Forró, Soltinho and Brazilian Zouk), Salsa, Tango, Ballet, Jazz, Afro, and other movement arts to help in their development as social dancers. As a result, they really enjoy training for long hours and now, years later, they’re finally getting together to tour Asia and to facilitate their own intensive training.

• About Gui Prada

  Inspired by the movie "Shall We Dance?", Gui Prada started dancing in 2004. However, it was only in 2006 that he really began to dive deep into dance as a work-study trainee of the Jaime Aroxa Dance School in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most prestigious dance schools in Brazil, which trained some of the most renowned dancers in the country. During his 6 years as a member of the school's team, he learned all Brazilian partner dances (Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Soltinho, Bolero and Zouk) and Argentine Tango. As he matured more as a dancer, he found he preferred to focus less on the steps and more on turning partner dancing into a relaxing experience for the mind and body. In 2009, on his first visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was introduced to the authentic tango hug - the close embrace - and all of its complexity and power to create the ultimate feeling of “conforto, cuidado e entrega” - comfort, care and surrender. After that, he continued learning from other remarkable instructors in Brazil, including Fabiano Vivas, Kelly Reis, Érico Rodrigo, Guilherme Pimentel, Lídio Freitas and many others; and went on to research the close embrace and its application to all partner dances, with the purpose of conveying a sense of well-being and relaxation between dance partners. His investigation of the close embrace continued over the years, and through many sources both inside and outside of the dance world. These studies guided him to form a multidisciplinary understanding of dancing and connecting in close embrace as a healing and therapeutic experience. Due to its versatility in movement, music, speed and approach, Brazilian Zouk became the perfect dance to apply this concept and explore the possibilities, which he has been doing since 2016, when he attended the first Zouk Retreat in Valencia, led by Xandy Liberato, Brenda Carvalho and Anderson Mendes. After that, his research on partner dancing took a new direction, as he continued working to seek for the application of the concepts explored at the retreat in different ways by using the references of the other Brazilian partner dances. Currently, he develops the idea of partner dancing as a true social and bonding experience, having dancing in close embrace and the mastery of basics as the focus point. Over the course of the years, Gui was able to develop and improve this concept through workshops called “The Universe Behind the Hug”, Parts I and II, Finding Zouk, Embrace Zouk Weekender, Embrace Zouk Online, and the Leaders Intensive Training, which together toured many cities around the US. Gui is based in Washington DC, US, developing the local community with regular, weekly and progressive classes. He became a reference in the execution of clean, comfortable fundamentals and its understanding of close connection, both from a physical and mental perspectives. Gui is also one of the regular instructors of Alex de Carvalho’s MAC program, where he teaches new instructors how to learn, talk about and teach connection.

• About Brenda Carvalho

  Brenda has been dancing professionally since she was 20. She is an international artist, multidisciplinary researcher and researcher of movement. Using dance as a tool for self-knowledge, healing and self-awareness, she experiences and inspires people around the world to get in touch with their state of presence, connection, flow, grace and power. Her training is vast and full of studies that go beyond movement, such as non-violent communication, neo tantra, emotional intelligence, Eutonia, the De Rose method, dance therapy, in addition to training in ballroom dancing with Jaime Aroxa and the development of her own method, together with her partner of 12 years, Anderson Mendes da Rocha. Together they are pioneers in deepening connection and expansion of consciousness within the world of Zouk and their demonstrations of this form of dancing inspire and attract hundreds of people to the world of Zouk. She is the creator and organizer of the only Brazilian congress that combines the use of Zouk as a tool for self-knowledge and other human development tools, Beyond Dance. As well as retreats and immersions that propose a more humane and integrative look at social dance.

• Demos & Performances

  https://youtu.be/pCOnGdENt80

  https://youtu.be/SBZl0sGi-KA

  https://youtu.be/jBKibOh9b_E

  https://youtube.com/shorts/0-bEUvwihJg?feature=share

  https://youtu.be/lwTGsEiAqBI

  https://youtu.be/pzl0wHAafmY

  https://youtu.be/CSbibdichK0