Where Are the Brazilians in Brazilian Zouk? (S06 Ep08)

Where are the Brazilians in Brazilian Zouk?Gui Prada went looking in Sydney and found them at the Forró social, not at our Zouk Social.Gui was three weeks in Sydney, dancing Zouk every Friday, missing what he calls the squeeze, not a hug, a squeeze. Then somebody took him to the Forró social, and in the waiting area all he could hear was Portuguese, Portuguese, Portuguese. A small branch of Brazil inside of Sydney. At the Friday Zouk social? One other Brazilian, besides him.I lived the other side of this. In Perth, my Samba de Gafieira, Bolero, and Forró students wanted to know the country, the music. Some started learning Portuguese. My Zouk students didn't, because the dance stopped carrying that part of Brazil.Why Brazilians abroad skip their own dance:→ The music: Forró has its deities: Dominguinhos, Gonzagão, Gonzaguinha. You know what you're gonna get, regardless of the DJ. A Zouk social? You only hope for the best.→ The money: I went to Australia as a student immigrant. Some weeks I couldn't afford the bus, so I walked. A Forró party is the whole night for 10-20 bucks. Zouk asks for a months-long course.→ The tenderness: The Brazilian followers we had in DC left the scene saying, "The guys are too serious. They don't look at me." In Zouk you earn the hugs, the cuddles, the squeezes. At a Brazilian party you get them whether you would like it or not.So I asked Gui: did we, as community leaders, sell out the dance?The big takeaway: Brazilian Zouk became so international that a Brazilian walks into our social and doesn't find Brazil in it. They find it at the Forró. That explains why they are missing from the Brazilian Zouk communities.Chapters:00:00 Intro00:43 Gui in Sydney: missing the squeeze03:20 The epiphany: the Brazilians are at the Forró06:31 Reason 1: the music stopped being ours09:56 Reason 2: one class vs months of courses10:29 Reason 3: you know what you're gonna get13:24 Did we sell out the dance?20:00 Rice and beans: two kinds of Brazilians abroad22:09 Reason 4: money, visas, and commitment29:12 Reason 5: missing the tenderness32:18 The double-edged sword of going internationalCo-host: Gui PradaZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/Episode: S06 Ep08 | ZoukNerds Podcast