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Join ATX Fusion at Balance Dance Studios (Studio 8 in the Bravo building) on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month!+ Want to get in to ATX Fusion events for free? Volunteer for a 30 minute shift checking folks in at the door! Sign up for a shift here: https://calendly.com/austintxfusion/30-minute-door-shift
**October 6th: Zouk Theme Night with Amy Morrow & Krystyna Lopez**
Amy will teach a Zouk themed class at 8pm, then she and Krystyna will step into the DJ booth with sets that will be Zouk-able but also suitable for many other dance styles!
SCHEDULE:
8pm: Class with Amy Morrow
9-10pm: DJ Amy Morrow
10-11pm: DJ Krystyna Lopez
PRICING: $10 before 8:30pm, $15 from 8:30pm onward. Both card and cash are accepted at the door.
**CLASS TOPIC: ROOTS OF ZOUK ?**
**CLASS DESCRIPTION FROM AMY**
Know this: at the heart of it, if you read nothing else—we will dance for a full hour, embodying the rich history of every step. This is a living, breathing experience, not just a lecture!
I LOVE ZOUK. IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.
? Like anything that I love, I want to really get to know it to love it. Let’s de-mystify Zouk Fusion and be a little bit radically revolutionary. Angela Davis defines radical as going to the “root.” What is the root of Zouk? I’ve been traveling the world asking this question to as many people as I can and I come back to Austin with more questions than answers, but several fascinating stories.
WHAT’S THIS SESSION LIKE?
? This guided session is a hands-on, deep dive into the living history of Brazilian Zouk, all the way back to West Africa, and into our fusion social dance today. We will experience different moves paired with music and find our unique expression through this embodiment of history.
LET’S TALK FUSION.
? Let’s have the conversation through movement. This summer I bumped into my Palestinian/Lebanese friend from Brazil on a remote mountain on a tiny island in Greece. She looked me square in the eyes and said, Zouk? No one calls it Zouk in Brazil. That’s a European thing. In Brazil it is Lambada, only Lambada.
MAKING HISTORY!
❗This week world-wide dancers established the first-ever Lambada Dance Council in collaboration with the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council. These are groundbreaking historic times, so let’s look into the history!!
FRENCH WORD FOR A BRAZILIAN DANCE BALLERINAS ADOPTED?
? Zouk is a French word for party, that is a music genre from the Caribbean that while Lambada music started to fade in popularity after it went viral in 1989, dancers in Brazil started dancing to Zouk music, but doing Lambada. At every Zouk dance I’ve attended around the world, I have yet to hear a Zouk song! Why? We are going to find out together. Don’t even get me started on European ballerinas co-opting the dance and adding a bunch of white-centric aesthetics…more questions about that.
SO WHAT IS ZOUK??
? Zouk moves actually come from other dances like Lambada, indigenous folk dances of Brazil and West Africa, and Samba. And then you have the added layer that these non-zouk “Zouk” moves are appropriated by other dance forms such as Sensual Bachata that started in the Dominican Republic and developed in New York and is now world-wide.
A LITTLE SEED OF TRUTH IN THE ROOT
? What is left after the commodification of a dance form? A tiny seed of truth that will help us find our way back to the roots. It will make your dance more juicy, embodied, playful, and full of gratitude that it actually has survived erasure and still exists in its evolved form today!!
**ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR**
? Amy Morrow is a master teacher, choreographer, and festival producer known for her relentless pursuit of the radical roots of social dance. She DJs Fusion socials in Austin and Barcelona, seeing social dance as a community-centered microcosm of humanity. In May 2024, she launched an innovative initiative with Osei Bonsu, training visually impaired students to DJ Brazilian Zouk socials at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. As the Executive Director of Fisterra, Amy manages five social dance cultural heritage projects and leads initiatives such as The Theorists, Draw Together, Urban Echo, XYZ Atlas, and REST Fest, having produced over 100 movement workshops worldwide.
Morrow’s journey is gently guided by the ever-evolving conversational invitation to ease into the dance, exploring partner dance as the anthropological art of hugging. Her introduction to social dance began with Lindy Hop on her grandparents' farm, dancing Blues in living rooms amidst a warzone, spinning to Salsa at a Garba house party in Jackson, swaying to Bachata on a rooftop in Ahmedabad, and discovering Kizomba with We Can Dance Blind in Dallas. Since April 2023, she has fully immersed herself in Brazilian Zouk and Lambada, dancing with eyes closed and arms wide open, every day, in every city she visits. Her deep exploration of the living history of these dances has earned her an invitation to present at the Psychology and the Other Conference at Boston College in September 2025. Wherever she goes, Amy finds a sense of belonging through movement, always seeking the magic in the mundane and inviting others to join her on this transformative journey.
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LOCATION:
We are now hosting our events at Balance Dance Studios! We are in Studio 8, which is located in Balance Dance Studios' Bravo building, just across the parking lot from their main building. The building we'll be in says "Bravo" on it. If the building says "Balance" on it and has a front desk, you're in the wrong place. If you're driving and using Google Maps, you can put in "Bravo Dance Theater, 4000 West Gate Blvd," but this won't work if you're taking a rideshare.
PLEASE NOTE:
Venue does not permit alcohol. Please feel free to BYO other beverages, especially water, dancing is a physical activity after all!
Only soft-soled dance shoes, socks, or bare feet are allowed on the studio floor. Please do not wear street shoes, heels, or hard-heeled shoes on the studio floor, as they will damage it. Help us keep this beautiful venue in great shape!
If you're feeling under the weather or ill, please don't attend! Take care of yourself, and avoid bringing a contagion to a crowded space and dance partners you care about.
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+ Want to get paid to DJ? Want to get paid to teach? For either, reach out to us via email at: [email protected]
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SAFETY AND FEEDBACK:
Please read our Consent Policy, Code of Conduct, and Consent Incident Protocols and Procedures at this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1njq_HesKi3wLKO5CTgrEUzi-pTt-A9hTxx6xzdcFxJA/edit?usp=sharing
Feel free to leave any feedback using our online comment card:
https://forms.gle/AmKi56GG8pUYdDWs6
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WHAT IS FUSION DANCING?
Fusion is an improvisational partner dance where there's a lead and a follow that isn't confined to or defined by one style. Fusion dancers tend to be familiar with the basics of more than one partner dance (Blues, Tango, West Coast Swing, Brazilian Zouk, Lindy Hop, etc.)
Some examples of Fusion Dancing:
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Balance Dance Studios, 4400 West Gate Blvd, Austin, TX 78745, United States,Austin, Texas