Zouk Retreat vs Festival: Two Opposite Worlds (S06 Ep13)

<p>What&#39;s the difference between a Brazilian Zouk retreat and a Zouk festival?</p><p>In this ZoukNerds episode, Gui Prada and I go down memory lane to the events that marked us, and they could not be more opposite.</p><p><br></p><p>Gui&#39;s first Brazilian Zouk event ever was Xandy Liberato&#39;s first retreat, in Valencia, 2016. Invitation only. On arrival day, the exercise was simple: look your partner in the eye, one touch on the shoulder, one on the arm. Gui started sobbing in front of a stranger. The stranger cried too. Eight months later he flew to the Warsaw Zouk Festival and danced with four people in four days.</p><p><br></p><p>My version: Brazil Central in Brisbane, an old museum building, all the masters from Brazil. That event is the reason I made a rule when I created BraZouky: &quot;This event will never be in a ballroom or in a community center that has no personality.&quot;</p><p><br></p><p>Why did the same dance feel like two opposite worlds?</p><p><br></p><p>→ The retreat: everything organic, everything subtle, fire day, water day, air day. Solid basics in the room, so &quot;the only way were to go deeper.&quot;</p><p><br></p><p>→ The festival: a vodka stand, a club room, songs Gui had never heard. He sent a friend an audio message: &quot;Look what they&#39;re listening to. How do I dance to that?&quot;</p><p><br></p><p>→ The etiquette: in Australia it was one song, high-five, change partners. Third song is a marriage.</p><p><br></p><p>If your first big festival disappointed you, Gui found the answer years later. The retreat was a very specific container. A very intentional container. The festival was never trying to be one.</p><p><br></p><p>The big takeaway: a festival is not a broken retreat. They are different kinds of events, and intention is what made one of them feel like another world.</p><p><br></p><p>Chapters:</p><p>00:00 Intro: the events that stay in our heart</p><p>01:06 Gui&#39;s first: the Valencia retreat (2016)</p><p>05:09 Brazil Central: an arts festival, not a ballroom</p><p>07:36 Prague: the social that never stopped</p><p>12:00 Day zero: the sobbing exercise</p><p>15:18 Time, immersion, and the able body</p><p>18:03 All styles, all good</p><p>21:00 Third song is a marriage</p><p>23:27 Studio socials vs the fish market</p><p>28:38 Let&#39;s spill the tea: Warsaw</p><p>30:12 Four days, four dances</p><p>32:40 A very intentional container</p><p>36:10 Like going to the opera</p><p>37:24 What&#39;s new is what we remember</p><p><br></p><p>Co-host: Gui Prada</p><p><br></p><p>ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/</p><p>Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com</p><p>Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/</p><p><br></p><p>Episode: S06 Ep13 | ZoukNerds Podcast</p><p><br></p>