"I know, I've done this already." Every Brazilian Zouk teacher hears that in privates, and I ask the same thing back.
"Okay, you've done it. But do you know it?"
"Oh no, yeah, I know."
"Do you know? Because if you knew, we wouldn't be correcting this."
Then Gui told me the one that stuck. Hours of privates on Lambada, learned so much, never practised any of it. "Couple months went by, it's almost like I didn't do the private lesson at all. I forgot everything."
What we get into:
→ Don't book me to buy a move. Someone points at a video and Gui usually just says, "this is a Ioiô," you already know it.
→ Three missed classes at District Zouk is four and a half hours, warm-ups, rotations, everybody's input. Gui asks it straight, "you wanna substitute that for one hour?"
→ My students book me like a physio, "Alisson, I need a health checkup." Once a month is my floor, and weekly only works if we're integrating.
→ "I wanna get better." Better how? Gui asks that every time, and it turns a drifting hour into a working one.
→ A follower came to him losing her balance, told her ankles were weak. It was never her ankles, she was moving her weight forward too fast.
This one I keep chewing on, because I've done it as a student. Gui says people ask for what they think you want to hear, not what they actually want. Nowhere to hide in there, you know?
The big takeaway: we know everything that we know, but we don't know what we don't know, and you are the one who can tell us.
Chapters:
00:00 Opening highlights
01:14 Intro: what a private lesson is actually for
03:44 When someone asks you to teach a move
10:11 The Q&A before the first dance
12:54 Why the problem is rarely mechanical
15:09 I forgot everything I learned
20:34 How often to book: the health checkup
23:19 One hour can't replace three missed classes
26:40 "In Salsa we do it like this"
28:28 What to keep from your old dance style
31:19 Empty cup or full cup
36:05 "Tell me what only you do"
40:21 When a private goes wrong, say something
44:04 What does better mean to you?
47:14 It wasn't her weak ankles
50:04 Choosing the teacher who fits you
Co-host: Gui Prada
ZoukNerds: https://www.zouknerds.com/
Alisson Sandi: https://www.alissonsandi.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zouk.nerds/
Episode: S06 Ep17 | ZoukNerds Podcast
