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The shirt was inspired by the writing on the back of American currency where we see, “In God We Trust” and then I saw a shirt that had the phrase “In Art We Trust”. So I then created a dance version of this!

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Current State Of Mind

Good Monday! I have one more person to discuss from my fantastic dance experiences at Interfusion, and that is my dance with Kimberly Loo. I believe we danced once before back in January 2020 when I was teaching in Hawaii, where she is based. Since that dance and Interfusion, we haven't kept in touch much.

My dance with Kim was super awesome in a unique way. The words that come to mind are malleability, acceptance of authenticity, and comfort. You know when you have hugs, and you feel you can be completely at ease and present? That was definitely the dance with Kim, very cozy in close embrace.

I will share Kim's commentary on our dance on Facebook and my response to her comment.

I felt the coziness in our close embrace, her being a very light follow, our shared sense of musicality, and her non-judgmental nature allowed the dance to flow very freely and authentically. I can remember some very technical parts, musical parts, cozy parts, synchronized breathing parts as well.

I feel like my hugs got a bit better after taking Kuna's micro zouk class, which I'm planning to delve more into in next week's newsletter, and I used some of those new embrace concepts in my following dances where the vibe felt appropriate.

I'm not sure if it's primarily from my experience with fusion dancing that it's very easy for me to create "outside the box" of a distinct dance style and just groove and flow with different dynamics and flows.

With certain followers, this "outside of the box" space can spark some judgment of not being skilled enough, but I feel some other followers can still see/feel the vibe of my skill/experience in my lead and dancing, even though it's not the highest/purest technique level in the dominant dance style at hand.

This is also a great example that it's possible to have a solid base of lead and following technique and still achieve very satisfying dances that could be considered fusion dancing.

This higher level of fusion dancing with solid proficiency in multiple styles has been a rare occurrence in my experience, though.

From this perspective and I definitely see how it’s addicting to find and encounter these moments of blissful highs where the rest of the world disappears.

Thanks for opening another email!

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Song I'm Currently Jamming To

Nao Vou Te Largar by Dalela (which translates to I’m not letting you go)

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Recent Content

• [IG REEL] Private lesson flow with Syrita.
• [IG REEL] Diagramming some kiz steps.
• [FB REEL] Emphasizing intention and direction.
• [FB REEL] Covering a simple turn into a saida entry.
• [FB POST] PSA for male leads and their pockets! Comments are good as well lol
• [FB VIDEO] Demo with Ninja to “One Man Can Change The World” by DJ Chad
• [FB VIDEO] A video from a novice Brazilian J&J dance with myself and Wendy.
• [IMAGE] Connected calendars across WCWD.
• [IMAGE] The easiest hook step to lead.
• [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.

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Photo of the Week

Here’s a photo I took with my friend Isabel from back when I was in Buenos Aires.

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Dance Meme of the Week

This was created by Sara Griess while at dinner in Kansas City.

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Cool Video I'm Watching

A video by Vicky Zhao on getting started with framework thinking.

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Upcoming Travel

See my artist profile at wherecanwedance.com, any artist can create one for free!

2024

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

03/31 - 04/3: Victoria International Kizomba Festival (Hosting the J&Js)- Victoria, British Colombia

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

04/19-21: Lucas & Thayna - Dallas Zouk Weekender - Dallas, TX

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 does community mean to you? What are ideal core values of healthy a community?

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Answer of the Week

What does musicality mean to me?

I feel musicality is being able to showcase that you aren’t just dancing to the core beat of the song, because every song has a core beat. Musicality to me is being able to showcase the uniqueness of each song through your expression and inspiration of that song.

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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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