Current State Of Mind

Another Monday, one week after my 39th birthday, there's been a lot of reflection in general.

Wanted to give a shoutout to all the people who shared photos, videos, messages, calls, and bought me digital coffees! If you’d like to buy me some coffees for the birthday, you can do so here!

Just a few more days left of 2023, so crazy that the year is almost done. I feel as I get older, years go by faster, maybe because in the container of our consciousness, more and more years are being compressed.

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Social Dance Reflections

At Elevation, I had some pretty nice social dances. During the Jack & Jill (J&J) warm-up, I got a chance to dance with an awesome follow named Helen Chao. Man, she was sooo good and also sooo playful. She gave me a pretty nice compliment that she remembered my quiet hands from the last time we time a year ago at Elevation.

This insight from her caused me to reflect a bit. What made my hands and frame stand out from other leads? Why do I approach my hands and frame this way? Is it possible to be too quiet?

I don’t know what it is about my dance spirit, but I really try to be as efficient as I can with my energy so I can last longer on the dance floor. This doesn’t mean I won't be playful or musical as creativity and inspiration flow. Rather, I don’t want to struggle to do basic things with unnecessary energy. For the basics, the less energy I use, the less energy I need to use for more complex things.

It’s really a slice of heaven to have a follower that can match the energy in my hands and frame. I sometimes feel like a character from Naruto because some followers really pick up on my energy and hand shape “jutsus” while dancing.

Another fun dance was dancing with Devon, also a very skilled, playful and light follow. I don’t know what it is with advanced zouk follows and these one-legged spins, it’s so crazy.

Devon was using so little energy from my frame to take enough impulse to do multiple one-legged spins on her own. My mind was blown, and this was happening unintentionally. Dances like this inspire me to wonder what’s possible when I level up enough to execute moves like this intentionally and musically!

Dancing with Helen & Devon inspired this corny phrase of, “I don’t have enough paste for all the sauce!” This is what it feels like, I guess, to dance “up,” knowing that your best isn't capturing everything the follow is capable of.

Should this be a t-shirt? Let me know! I can definitely make it happen!

Viral Fusion Newsletter Tangents

If you haven’t read my viral newsletter, you can read it here.

Yesterday I met up with my Melissa for a birthday cupcake rendezvous, and we had some nice conversation while enjoying a nice French apple tart and cupcake. If you are in Austin and enjoy French pastries, check out Rocheli Patisserie.

We were talking about my coding journey and ambition to create and build a product. She mentioned some other BIPOC ambitious co-workers she has had and the work they’ve done to make a place for themselves in predominantly white corporate spaces.

This segues into my point #10 & #11 from newsletter 032:

• Why are we waiting to be let into predominantly white spaces versus creating our own spaces?
• Why is whiteness associated with wealth and prestige and access and beauty and acceptance, and white approval linked with safety and success?

In so many spaces, it’s still common to hear, “The 1st Black X” in a predominantly white space. It seems we have been fighting for generations to be 'let in.' I know there’s also work of us creating our own spaces. It feels exhausting to know that we have to keep fighting to be in spaces.

Is it worth fighting for Black representation in the fusion scene versus creating a different space altogether?

After the birthday cupcake with my friend Melissa, we went for a walk around my old neighborhood, and it’s jarring to see the difference between the newly renovated homes and the homes that are “stuck in the past.”

The lack of wealth and resources for the owners of the homes to gentrify their own neighborhoods until the value is so cheap that it becomes a bargain investment for those who have the wealth and resources.

I'll end it here for this week! I'm grateful for you opening up another newsletter! Peace!

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Song I'm Currently Jamming To

I stumbled across this singer on IG and I really liked the content she creates to promote her music. Check out Time by Paulina Singer.

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Recent Content

• [PODCAST] 111: Interview with William Araujo
• [CAROUSEL] Carousel of the 14 communication channels of a dance class.
• [DANCE VIDEO] Me dancing urbankizouk at Elevation Zouk Festival.
• [FB REEL] A reel showcasing the timezone being updated automatically on WCWD.
• [FB REEL] Me mic’ed up in a snippet during a private lesson.
• [FB POST] Thoughts on a true instructor.
• [FB REEL] Breaking down 90° variations from retrocesso.
• [FB REEL] Converting Basic 2s intro saidas.
• A quirky post from 2018 when I went on a ramble about the fetus vortex.
• A teaching moment from my time in Warwick going over T-Bone entries from saidas.
• A breakdown of the snippet of time I took to build out the recurring events feature with WCWD.
• A reel breaking down a reverse J-Hook Exit from my time in Warwick.
• A reel about missteps in your dance journey.
• A reel of a practice session with Rika in Boston earlier this year tinkering with CCW touch steps rotations.
• A carousel on actively seeking out feedback in your dancing.
• An image of the communication channels in a dance class and the 42 channels being used with the timeframes of before, during, and after a dance class.
• An image showcasing the 6 lanes of kiz.
• The 16-count phrase mapping worksheet is now available for download!

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Photo of the Week

Me and Melissa in front of my old middle school in Austin!

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Dance Meme of the Week

Thank you Harris Kizomba for the meme!

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Cool Video I'm Watching

A video recapping the book of The Millionaire Fast Lane.

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Upcoming Travel

2024

01/11-15: Attending Interfusion Festival (Available for Privates) - Arlington, VA

02/23-24: Neokiz Weekender in Guadalajara - Guadalajara, Mexico

03/1-3: Neokiz Weekender in Roanoke - Roanoke, Virginia

03/9-10: Neokiz Weekend Immersion: Workshops + Party - Denver, CO

03/15-17: Neokiz Intensive - Atlanta, GA

05/3-6: Neokiz Weekender in Edmonton - Edmonton, AB, Canada

05/17-20: Kizowna 2024 - Kelowna, BC, Canada

07/20-24: 8th Annual Neo Kizomba Festival - Austin, TX

10/24-27: Zouk Conexao Festival - Atlanta, GA

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Question Of the Week

What are your end of the year rituals?

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Answer of the Week

Ask me a question to answer in my next newsletter!

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Past Newsletters

You can view past newsletters here.

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‍Dope Dance Resources

• A cool project to create a global directory of dance events for dancers, artists, and organizers!
• Find out how you can thrive at your next dance event with the Ultimate Dance Event Survival Kit.
• Find out how you can organize your dance journey with the Dancer’s Training Journal 1.0.
• Level up your kiz online with Mr. Neokiz!
• Learn more about the Ultimate Musicality Course For Dancers to level up your musicality!
• Get the 16-count phrase mapping worksheet download for free!
• Join me at my urbankiz festival in Austin, July 18-22, 2024!
• The WhereCanWeDance.com Podcast - Check out my dance podcast!

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Thanks for reading!

Thoughts and feedback on the newsletter or on anything covered within are always welcome, just hit reply. The thing I love most about writing this newsletter is follow-up interactions with readers.

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Feel free to forward this to other friends in your circle!

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Charles

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