1. Travel

Originally, I thought the main congress would be at Breda, but it was at Etten-Leur. Turned Etten-Leur was a small town on the outskirts of Breda. It wasn’t a huge issue, just added a little extra journey time!

The whole journey from home (Birmingham) to the hotel (Trivium, Etten-Leur) took approximately 6 hours.

• Flight from Birmingham International Airport to Amsterdam Schipol took 45 minutes.
• The Fast Train from Schipol to Breda for another hour.
• Then Breda to Etten-Leur another 10-15 minutes train ride.
• I then took a taxi from Etten-Leur to Trivium hotel another 5-10 minutes ride.

Half the time I was sitting around waiting for my next transportation. This is the reason why I’ve always prefer direct flights, when possible!

Not having been to Amsterdam in years and trying to find a helpdesk person to ask which train to catch was nowhere to be seen. I ended up browsing the ticket machines and purchasing a ticket to Breda but luckily remembered someone mentions about catching the fast train otherwise I wouldn’t have known!

Was it just me or were there no labels on First Class carriages? I jumped onto the closest carriage and sat down at what didn’t look like First Class! The seats were quite comfortable but the design and color scheme were so retro. Got kicked off First Class and had to sit in between carriages, not that I minded, only 10 minutes left before reaching the destination.

To catch the fast train, you need to purchase a normal ticket to Breda €18.4 then a supplement €2.30.

2. Accommodation

Most of the hotels and hostels were several miles away. You would have to take the shuttle bus otherwise it was a lengthy walk. Fortunately there was only one hotel that was less than 3 minutes walk from the venue! I was lucky to be able to get a room at Trivium as they were overbooked and turning guests away!

I left the do-not-disturb on my door. In the morning they left me a goody bag with clean towels, toiletries, and tea! I needed a top-up, thanks!

The rooms at Trivium were spacious and the service was exceptional. It was so convenient to the congress. I would go to class in my PJ’s and then return back to freshen up and change into fresh clothes. Many friends had stayed at other accommodations and had to purchase an additional shuttle bus ride that ran at on a time table.

The cost-saving (if any) from other accommodations wasn’t significant enough and calculating the waiting time for scheduled buses can’t be justified. I certainly would use Trivium Hotel again if it’s at the same venue next year!

3. Food

Finding decent food was probably one of the most difficult tasks for me. It was like living in the middle of the countryside! The nearest Supermarket was 20-minute walk and the nearest restaurants were limited to Trivium hotel, Macdonalds, or the dining organised at Studio 76.

• Dirk Supermarket – The only supermarket I would say was within walkable distance. Here I purchased all my necessities; water, wine, and snacks.
• Cafetaria Schoonhout – We found a cafe right next to the Dirk Supermarket. It wasn’t great, but at least it was warmish…

• Trivium Hotel Restaurant – Maybe I should have tried the food here!
• McDonalds – Opposite Studio 76. Eat at your own demise! Being a semi-healthy eater, I wouldn’t touch this unless I was really really desperate, like starving level. Do you even know what or how their burgers are made!?
• Studio 76 – I decided to try the lunch and dinner organised at the congress on a Sunday. This went down very well with the lack of decent restaurants nearby. Next time I would probably just opt for the Congress studio lunch and dinner. It was a well-balanced meal with lots of vegetables that I like, plenty to recharge my batteries from all the Zouking.

I was told that there were takeaways that could deliver to the hotels or venue using just-eat.nl!

4. The Venue – Studio76

Registering and getting my wrist band, simple and easy at the reception area of the venue. I do wish they used the plastic wristbands as they did in ZoukTime!-BRNO, way more comfortable, and after 5 days of wear, it gets really tattered up!

With 2 main dance floors and 3 other smaller studios. A total of 5 rooms with simultaneous classes. The main room with the stage was medium in size and had a darker light setting. I really loved the dance floor upstairs and spent most of my time there. The light settings were brightly lit with coloured strobes creating a more cheerful mood. Upstairs were about 1.5 times more spacious than the main stage room. Both dance floors were in excellent condition.

5. Classes

With one particular goal in mind for this Congress, my aim was to focus back to basics and applying techniques. I am at that stage where learning more combinations would not make me a better dancer.

Why I Would Always Choose Techniques Over Combination Classes

Techniques are more conceptual that requires understanding. I tend to remember these type of classes because it engages the creative part of my mind. By visualising the different ways it can be applied, even with little practice, I can somewhat pull it off during a dance.

Spoilt For Choice

Every class I attended was packed! There were so many teachers, techniques, and combination classes, at times I just couldn’t make up my mind. It ended with several last-minute changes of plans!

I did find myself misled by the naming of some technique classes such as “Swing the Hair”, “Owning the Music”, “Being soft and Gentle”. My reason for saying this was because the materials taught didn’t quite fit in with the topic title. Instead it was more like a combination class with very little technique explanation and more about hammering out a sequence. Completely opposite of what I intended to learn.

“Connection with Modern Dance” should have been labeled as a Technique class rather than a Combination! I really regretted not going to this class because I thought it was a Combination and the entire day everyone was raving about how good the class was! “Oh Man!”

The downside of having lots of teachers and classes simultaneously was choices became sacrifices. There were many classes I wanted to attend that ran at the same time. It can be regretful when a class chose didn’t quite meet expectations, then you wished you had attended the other one!

Teachers And Classes That Helped Me Progress Toward My Goals.

Freddy and Andressa “Musicality” – The clearest and most well-explained class I’ve attended at this Congress. I can see why Ying rated them highly as Teachers. Thanks to them, I’m starting to experiment with leading moves at different speeds depending on accent changes within a song.

A useful concept learned; In slow songs when it gets slow, you do faster movements. Fast songs when it speeds up, slow down the movements! Obviously you dance in accents, not at the same pace which can get very boring. I’ve tested this technique out and it works miracles on the dance floor!

Dadinho and Kelly “Footwork” – Kazuyo recommended that I check out one of their classes. This guy’s footwork… Completely on another league of his own. It was mind-blowing when you see how ‘sick’ those street dance footwork works with Zouk.

Kamacho and Joanna “Circular Moves” – I’ve always like Kamacho’s circular movement techniques. I find them particularly useful on crowded dance floors.

Pasty “Connection with Modern Dance” – I had to add this even though I didn’t attend the class. So many friends were raving how good it class was. Stop making me feel bad people! Listening to the other students’ explanation of ‘breathing synchronisation’ and after some experimentations applying this technique on the dance floor, I was surprised how well it worked! You can feel the pauses through breathing in and when a fast spring action movement is going to happen when a deep breath about to be released.

Every teacher has their own unique flair that makes them different yet great. Try out as many teachers as possible and find the ones that will inspire and lead you to discovering your own unique dance style. Just remember, a good dance Teacher will be ones that make you feel excited and want to dance!

Omg!

Unfortunately there were a few classes that didn’t do anything for me, as I have forgotten what was taught already! I have a terrible memory when it comes to combination classes, my brain just never engages these type of classes very well.

There was one class that I will never forget, not because it was great, but because of how badly it was managed.

There was a shortage of followers because of a ladies’ styling next door. There were no directions from the teacher on how the class was going to run. I was left standing in between the couple for a good 10 minutes. After that I gave up and sat down, 5 minutes later he remembers to rotate. By then, I’ve already missed out the entire quarter of whatever being taught, and continuing would be pointless.

I have never been made to *feel* this way ever in all my congresses and classes. This was my first time trying and will be my last time attending any of his classes. It completely drained me of all enthusiasm and a session that could have been produced elsewhere.

Finish With A Bang

Surprisingly, Monday’s Classes were awesome! It didn’t go as planned on paper, but instead we had different Teachers every 20 minutes focusing on different techniques. 

Arkkanjo with a head roll ending with a gentle hand cross wrap around the ladies’ neck that allows us to control back and forward head movements while ladies stand upright.

Leo & Becky did an awesome body isolation technique at a push of the button then leading on the way back up into a reverse body roll.

Kamacho & Joanna did an awesome lady’s leg to hip then to the chest leading technique.

Adilio demonstrated the latest upcoming trend of a lady back against the front of guy movements.

These were very useful since it got my mind engaged therefore I will never forget what was being taught. This fast track session was the icing on the cake for me. It helped solidify all the techniques I’ve learned so far within this congress.

Master Classes

This was the first congress I’ve ever been to that had ‘Master Classes’! I could understand the reason why they would introduce such classes.

Most ‘Advance Classes’ were taught at levels lower than they should be. This was due to the fact that too many attendees would not be able to cope if they truly taught advanced materials. Even if there were a universal way or method of efficiently measuring the level of each student, Teachers wouldn’t reject students for this reason. This problem had been around for years with no simple solution around it yet.

I suspect their way forward was introducing ‘Master Classes’ where they would strictly teach high-level materials. The sound of it can be frightening enough to put off most students but the most confident and competent dancers.

I wouldn’t participate in any of these as it was ‘back to basics’ for me. However, having spoken to fellow Zoukers who attended these, many had mixed feelings. Some felt that it wasn’t quite a Master Class level while others found it challenging.

How I Choose My Teachers

One way to learn any sort of skills quickly and efficiently is to choose the right Teachers. Teachers with poor teaching will impact your learning and produce negative effects instead.

So how do you choose the right Teachers? My simple way in two easy steps.

1. Firstly you’ll have to identify which Teacher you think teaches well. The only real way to do that is to try them out for yourself. You can ask friends, but what works for them may not work for you.
2. Secondly, Wait a week, month, a year later. Do you clearly remember what they taught you without a reminder? 

… That’s it! You still need practice so when you are dancing you don’t need to recall the memory on how to do it.

Okay, there may be a little more than that… A few other things you may want to look out for and examples of what good Teachers do.

Being so packed in all the classes, sometimes the Teachers forget that the students further out would have their view obscured by the front row. Dadinho and Kelly was the only teacher that constantly kept this in mind and would kindly ask the students at the front row to sit down and demonstrate again for the people at the back rows. The thoughts and considerations really made me respect them as Teachers. 

Freddy and Andressa, their English were very good, so explaining in a way we understood was easier for them. However, being a clear English speaking Teacher wasn’t the reason that made them good Teachers. What I felt made them shine was their explanation had structure. They would demonstrate what to do, the common mistakes, and what not to do. Freddy would explain the men leading techniques, and Andressa would explain the ladies’ following techniques. They worked well as a team providing as much insight as possible without over-complicating things.

Having been to quite a few congresses now, there still seems to be a common problem with class management. There doesn’t seem to be any set of guidelines or basic teaching methods across the board. I have highlighted some of these issues on a separate blog. How many of these have you encountered?

6 Common Mistakes Dance Teachers Make At Congresses/Festivals

6. Parties

It’s very amusing how security was checking everyone whether they’ve brought water or drinks into the venue. usually at clubs and parties they would be checking for drugs or dangerous objects!

When I initially went to the bar to be served and tried to pay in Euros, it turned out they only accept tokens that can be purchased by the cloakroom.

Thursday

As I entered the venue, seeing so many dancers, the thumping of the bass line, and the sound of Brazilian Zouk music. I want to dance! Still feeling nervous about not having danced since ZoukTime!-BRNO, I had to find that ‘unlucky’ lady who would have the worse dance ever with me! My first dance had always been terrible and hoping once I got that out the way, the rest of the night would get better. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case… I danced like %$£% throughout! There were so many accidents and near misses that I wanted to pack up and go home! It turned out I wasn’t the only one who had a bad night though…