Zouk Ecstasy

ZouXtaZ. Zouk Ex ta Zee – Zouk Ecstasy… get it? It literally took me until the last workshop of the congress to work that one out. And that is only because someone told me. It is an accurate portrayal though – A congress in the packed paradise of Phuket, Thailand over 4-7 January was my jam this summer. Preceded by a New Years Eve Latin party on a boat in Bangkok Harbour, it was a congress to remember. And I thought you might like to know about what you will be in for when you come for your hit of ZouXtaZ next year. Because it is awesome. It is affordable… and it is addictive!

I was lucky to spend my Thailand time with Xarjie and Mark – you would have seen them in past photos or on my facebook page:

Mark, Xarjie and I deciding what to eat

We got to Bangkok a few days before NYE to explore and eat our way around. We got to meet Angy, the congress organiser, Ben and Diala (our mates who were also instructing), and meet a bunch of the other workshop teachers at a house party. For some reason I didn’t have my my dance shoes so my bare feet got a bit worn out before the congress started.

First tip for young Zoukers: When you go somewhere for a dance congress, ALWAYS have a pair of dance shoes on you!

We attended a special ZouXtaZ social – here I had a lesson with Ange and Petter, the Viking DJ from Norway. This time I remembered my dance shoes, but I managed to wear massive holes in them. This meant that I had to brave the craziness of RMK to find another pair before heading to Phuket. RMK is one of the tackiest, busiest malls in the city. Avoid it at all cost. Unless you need to buy emergency shoes.

Second tip for young Zoukers: When you go somewhere for a dance congress, ALWAYS take spare pairs of shoes with you!

New Years Eve

Bangkok Party Boat

NYE was celebrated on a Latin Party boat in Bangkok Harbour. It made for a few interesting moves but it was stable for the most part. Perfect weather with a slight breeze made dancing wonderful. There were demos and an amazing ‘contact improv’ dance by Susana Campesino from Spain. I’d never seen flow and styling quite like it. Inspirational.

We squeezed in a few extra hours of dancing on the boat – it was scheduled to finish at 01:00, but we didn’t have to get off until after 2! Getting a cab/uber/scooter/tuk-tuk back to the hotel was a whole different challenge, so I didn’t get home until after 3 despite only being a 15 minute drive away.

A couple more lazy days of eating and we were soon at the crowded airport again. Not to go home, but to head to Phuket, the island destination of the ZouXtaZ congress.

A dose of ZouXtaZ

Between 4-7 Jan, a large Australian contingent danced with artists from Spain, Canada, Singapore, Brazil, Russia, Norway, the Netherlands, UK, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, China and Korea. I hadn’t heard of many of them before; but I think that is mainly because I am relatively new to Zouk. Quite a smogarsbord of dancers and styles with attendees from all over the world made for some great workshops and dances!

One of the best things about Zouk is that no matter where you are from or what your native tongue is, everyone at a congress understands the language of dance. I had some wonderful dances with people I couldn’t otherwise communicate with. We bridged any cultural difference through the connection of dance.

Imagine a world where everyone danced: we would understand each other without dialogue and connect as humans through compassion.

That is what is so cool about ZouXtaZ. About congresses in general. The other best thing is that it is an epicentre of experiences: Dance instructors from all over the world there to spread their unique style and technique. And epic parties to practice our new moves.

My Faves

There are so many different types of instructors instructing so many types of Zouk. While most of the instructors were great, three stood out above the rest for me: Caney and Junyan from Canada and Cheryl from Singapore.

With Caney and Junyan after their amazing workshop

Caney and Junyan have a very technical approach to instructing Zouk. They explain the moves in terms of ballet (but in a way that non-ballet dancers such as myself understand it). They brake down each component and explain it in so much detail I just wish I recorded the class so I could replay it to myself on a loop. Every night. Until I subsume all the knowledge. Alas, I did get a super cool video of their demo I will have to share on my Facebook page.

And Cheryl. Well. Her style and class is amazing. She instructed a ladies styling workshop packed full of options for follows to incorporate into their dance. She must have spent a large portion of her decade of dancing experience teaching because she OWNED the workshop! This chicka will blow your mind: she is a professional Zouk,

Not my greatest picture, but Cheryl looks amazing after her workshop

Salsa and Bachata dancer, owns her own dance school in Singapore (Cheryl Wu Dance), studies, and is a ripe old age of 18. Now let your ego recover a bit. Yes. Eighteen. As soon as she mentioned being in Australia for Brazouky we asked her to stop by Canberra for more workshops: so she will be in town 22-25 Feb! I’ll be booking my private lesson in for sure!

The Parties

Beach Party place

I had never danced on a beach before the Friday night party. Needless to say it was more challenging on my soft feet than expected! In front of a Jamaican bar and packed seafood restaurant there were lots of onlookers creating more of an atmosphere. Slowly the dance floor was overcome by the tide and people moved upstairs, but I went to rest before the epic weekend ahead.

Partying on: either really early or really late

The Saturday night party at Kata Sea Breeze resort (the same place of the workshops handily) was different to what I am used to. When I arrived the music didn’t really sound like Zouk to me. Some people were liking it and dancing, but it just didn’t fit my groove. Which is fine. Some technical issues ensued, but when the music came back on it was much more dance-able for me. I had a super RnB Zouk dance with Max Ahmed (Singapore) who turned out to be one of the instructors – so I made sure I was at his class the following day.

If Saturday was the warm up then Sunday was definitely the main event when it came to parties. The music absolutely rocked. Each of the DJs put on an amazing set that allowed a variety of Zouk styles. The energy in the room was great. Feeling the groove I don’t think I stopped until the venue closed: 2.5 hours after it was scheduled to finish!

The People

The people at ZouXtaZ were amazing. Some I had met in Prague at my very first Zouk congress, some were my awesome housemates (yep – our entire household went to Thailand together), others were friends I hadn’t met yet. All are people I want to dance with again.

Thanks Angy Conc for putting on such a great Zouk event. The effort you put in resulted in a fun, relaxing and chilled event with some really great dancers and people. I for one will be back for another hit of ZouXtaZ: hopefully these crazy cats below will be too!