Based in Phoenix, Elena found the essence of Brazilian Zouk completely irresistible at the end of 2018. While dancing, competing and teaching in Ballroom, she was drawn to Brazilian Zouk as a safe space: for the people, the culture, the love, and the flow.
Having been a part of the Ballroom world as both a student for 4 years, and an instructor for 1 year, her background spans all dances that were available for her to learn throughout the last 10 years, including but not limited to Latin dances like Bachata, American Smooth dances like Waltz, Rhythm dances like Rumba and Cha Cha, International dances like Foxtrot and Jive, as well as social dances like Argentine Tango, Night Club 2 Step and both East Coast and West Coast Swing. She uses ALL of those dances and awareness of their techniques to build a beautiful Zouk repertoire in both dance and training techniques.
After her first full year immersed in the dance, 2019, and her first full Zouk Congress in December of that year, she realized she wanted to bring this beautiful dance and feeling, community, joy and love into as many lives as possible. Since then, she studied in the MAC training program in 2020, Zouk MX teacher training in 2021, and then Bruno and Raiza BRIC methodology, to complete teacher training later this year. Elijah, her original inspiration into the dance, along with his dance and teaching partner, also offered an opportunity to learn to teach in the local scene, to help with the Foundations classes in the Phoenix community as it was quickly growing.
Currently, she continues her studies under her ever developing local mentor and teaching partner, as well as constantly learning at different events and from different instructors from around the world. She helps to host the artists that visit Phoenix, helping to provide the local scene with weekender event, while teaching Weekly Group and Private classes, both alone and with the Zouk Phoenix Teaching Team.
“I’ve found that dance does more than move ones body, and more than create a fun social atmosphere to be around people. Personally, it has helped me create awareness of what feels good, in movement, in connection, in musicality. It has helped me speak up when I need something different. It has helped me become present in the moment while listening and patient. Best of all, though movement therapy, and now in almost every zouk dance, it has helped me allow space and flow to let my walls down, to be more of myself, to love more and to find more joy in life, and a way to share it too! Through all of this, it helps me find growth in absolutely every part of my life, as I strive to be better in every way.
I’d like to be able to combine my health based skills (Pharmacist Analyst by day), dance based skills (Dance Instructor by night), people skills and work ethic skills to do whatever it takes to make any scene I teach in successful and happy and thriving! I strive to make every class I teach, successful, in some way, even if it’s through our perspective of ourselves and the world, not only the pattern we happen to be dancing."
Ogarocious
bought 1 star.