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Followers Weekend w/ Devon & Elena

Feb

10

-

Feb

12

Fri, Feb 10 at 12:00 AM to
Sun, Feb 12 at 12:00 AM
Washington, District of Columbia
🇺🇸 United States - North America

This February we’re bringing you a different kind of weekender focused on solo technique for followers. (Don’t worry leaders - we have some for you too!)
We'll have the fabulous guest instructor Devon Near-Hill coming to us for the weekend, plus our own Elena Rovito.
FRIDAY
- Partner Workshops (2.5 hours)
- A Practica
SATURDAY
- Solo workshops (3.75 hours)
- A panel discussion on confidence, connection and self expression
- Partner Workshop (1.25 hours)
- Social Dancing Party
- A Special Performance by JT Swing Team
SUNDAY
- Solo workshops (3.25 hours)
We included workshops on key concepts that help you grow as a dancer, understand Brazilian zouk technique, improve your own expression and connection with partners.
Check out the schedule, invite your friends, get your tickets, and join us!
SCHEDULE
*** FRIDAY EVENING ***
8:30 pm - 9:30 pm
>> TEACHER: Devon
>> TOPIC: Frame Games (Partner workshop)
>> LEVEL: Open
>> DESCRIPTION: Every teacher conceptualizes frame differently. The reality is, there’s a spectrum of possibilities when it comes to how we physically connect in a dance partnership. The goal is choice! Unlock new avenues to send and receive impulse through the upper body in these playful workshops!
9:30 pm - 11:00 pm
>> TEACHER: Devon
>> TOPIC: Translating Lambada to Zouk (Partner workshop)
>> LEVEL: Intermediate
>> DESCRIPTION: Have you been interested in trying or doing more lambada? Have you wondered how Lambada relates to the Brazilian zouk we dance today? This workshop is for you! Devon will break down Lambada on zouk timing ("on the slow"), including the most common lambada techniques and patterns. She'll also show how they can be danced on lambada timing ("on the quick") to help you be able to translate the two, use these techniques in either dance, and become a more versatile dancer.
11:00 pm - 12:00 am
>> Practica
 
 
*** SATURDAY DAY ***
1:15 pm - 2:30 pm
>> TEACHER: Elena
>> TOPIC: Legs & Levels (Solo technique)
>> LEVEL: Open Level
>> DESCRIPTION: How efficiently do you use your legs to dance? If you’re not sure about that answer, come find out as we work through how to engage different areas of our legs in basic movements. Then use this wizardry to explore momentum and level changes!
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
>> TEACHER: Devon
>> TOPIC: Head Movement Conditioning (Solo technique)
>> LEVEL: Open
>> DESCRIPTION: Stretch, strengthen and lengthen! This class will be an hour of nonstop drills working from the ground up. Leave class more balanced and confident in your head movement!
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm
>> PANEL DISCUSSION: Elena, Devon & District Zouk Team
>> TOPIC: Confidence, Connection, and Self Expression
>> DESCRIPTION: Learning a partner dance and finding your own voice and comfort in it is a process for everyone. We want to take this opportunity for an open discussion so you can learn more about our instructors and get tips from them about your own journey or any questions or challenges..
4:15 pm - 5:45 pm
>> TEACHERS: Elena
>> TOPIC: Pizazz and Personality (Solo technique)
>> LEVEL: Open
>> DESCRIPTION: We don’t *just* follow movements - we like to DANCE the movements! This is the workshop to explore developing your voice as a follow. We will touch on the different ways you can add unique flavor to your dancing through musical interpretation, body movements, and emotion - then practice incorporating those elements with a challenging combo.
 
*** SATURDAY EVENING ***
8:15 pm - 9:30 pm
>> TEACHERS: Devon
>> TOPIC: Wi-Fi for Brazilian Zouk Dancers
>> LEVEL: Open
>> DESCRIPTION: Ever wanted to know why everyone looks so happy doing airplane arms at each other? Discover the magic of wifi danced “on the slow”. Integrate traditional lambada movements into your brazilian zouk without missing a beat!
9:30 pm - 1:30 am
>> Brazilian Zouk Social Dancing
>> DJs: Afrodeshiak + WarHoll
10:30 pm
>> Performance by JT Swing Team
 
*** SUNDAY ***
Our Sunday workshops will dive deeper into more intermediate/advanced techniques. In order to benefit from these Sunday workshops, we recommend that you have some familiarity with head movement technique.
3:15 pm - 4:45 pm
>> TEACHERS: Elena
>> TOPIC: Torsional Styling
>> LEVEL: Open
>> DESCRIPTION: Styling is a hot topic for the zouk follow. While there is no one “right” way of styling, Elena has found that using torsion as your best friend yields flowy and (eventually) effortless results! We’ll do a deep dive into torsion in our basic steps and how to use this momentum to manipulate our arms into a graceful aesthetic.
15min Break/Practica
5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
>> TEACHERS: Devon
>> TOPIC: Spectrum of Following
>> LEVEL: Open
>> DESCRIPTION: Are you a spontaneous flickering flame, or do you change to fit each container like water? Are you heavy like earth or light like air? This class will explore different ways of following leading up to an intro to following in head movement! Adjusting the way you follow allows you to dance with different kinds of dancers as well as maintain safety in your dance!
5:45 pm - 6:45 pm
>> TEACHERS: Devon
>> TOPIC: Head Movement Ratios
>> LEVEL: Intermediate
>> DESCRIPTION: Harness the tools to break down any head movement! Movement-based exercises to help you cognitively and physically understand rotations on all planes.
 
 
 
SAFETY PROTOCOLS
Participants must either:
- Be fully vaccinated with the bivalent omicron booster
- Present a negative rapid COVID test taken the day you come (a photo with the date and your ID is sufficient), or
- Wear a mask
Note: for this weekender vaccination is not required, but if you’re not vaccinated you must either present a negative test or wear a mask.
 
 
TICKETS
Full Weekend Pass (includes all workshops and socials):
- $135 until 2/5
- $155 from 2/6
Friday Workshops & Practica:
- $35 until 2/5
- $45 from 2/6
Saturday Pass (includes workshops and party):
- $70 until 2/5
- $85 from 2/6
Saturday Evening Workshop & Social:
- $25
Saturday Evening Social Only:
- $18
Sunday Pass:
- $50 until 2/5
- $60 after 2/6
 
LOCATIONS
Edgewood Arts Center
3415 8th St NE, Washington, DC 20017
 
ABOUT OUR INSTRUCTORS
Devon Near-Hill is a teaching and performing artist who currently teaches at the Denver Zouk School in Colorado. Her movement background includes bellydance, ballet, salsa, and modern dance. While earning her BFA in Acting at USC, Devon fell in love with Lambada and Brazilian Zouk and has since been exploring it's depths. Devon won second place in the 2018 LA Zouk Festival Semipro US Brazilian Zouk Open competition as the first female lead to ever compete. She feels lucky to have trained and taught with Jerry Lai, Gilson Damasco and the Renata Pecanha USA team. Her lambada dreams came true when she shared the stage in Key West with Jessica Lamdon, Romina Hidalgo and Braz Dos Santos. Devon teaches her Efficient Follow curriculum online and internationally with the goal of creating versatile, embodied, and intentional movers. She is excited to move with you!

Instructor

Devon Near-Hill

Instructor DJ

Elena Rovito

Coming soon!