I must admit, I was a bit hesitant to move back and join the NY Zouk scene after having been a part of the Buenos Aires Lambazouk world for so long. I thought, “What is it going to be like? Is it even going to be a big enough scene?” Memories of five years back flashed through my head of when I had first tried Zouk in NY after having seen it at a club in Rio for the first time. After seeing this sensual and exhilarating dance, I just new I had to learn it somehow. Back in New York, when I looked up events and classes online, everything brought me to Kim Rottier, an extraordinary person with so much ambition and love for bringing the dance to NY that no one else could possibly have done it better. Though she and her classes were incredible, the scene itself was so small it gave me no motivation to continue, or maybe I just didn’t give it a chance. A year later I moved to Buenos Aires.

I had already been taking classes and going to socials here and there since moving back to New York, but FFZ was a great way for me to officially meet everyone (or almost everyone) and I absolutely did fall…in love with the US Social Scene and it’s people.

When I arrived to the first Friday night event, I walked into the restroom to see girls getting ready. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming, even those I had never met before. Those three days of classes, events and rushed lunches to get back in time for workshops really gave me a chance to get to know everyone and to see what Zouk here was really all about: a group of amazing people all joined together by one incredible passion.

I started realizing that I feel more a part of the Zouk scene here in NY than I ever did in Buenos Aires and I’ve only been back for about six months. Perhaps its because it’s a much smaller scene, which makes it easier to get to know everyone, or perhaps it’s the people that make up this scene who make you feel instantly welcome. Whatever the reason may be, it’s definitely helped me with the transition of moving back and having to, once again, start a new.

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The night events were absolutely beautiful, and not because of the large hall we did not have or the decorations we did not need, but for the wonderful energy and pure happiness you felt as soon as you walked onto that dance floor. The first couple of hours were all about meeting up again, as if we hadn’t all just seen each other about three hours earlier in classes. Girls would compliment on each others outfits, groups would gather in front of the FFZ sign to take funny pictures, while others just went straight to dancing.

As the night would go on and the number of people on the dance floor ascended, so did the heat. Crowds of women could be seen standing in front of the fans with their hairs blowing all over the place, trying to catch their breaths while chit chatting at the same time. Though our shirts were drenched in sweat and our hair all over the place, no one seemed to care at all.

I took a moment to lean against the wall to catch my breathe. As I looked across the dance floor to see all of the sweaty, smiley and happy dancers, I heard a faint voice next to me say, “Nossa, mas isso é muito bom, não e?” I turned to my right and saw Greice Ferreira standing next to me doing the same exact thing I was: looking out across the dance floor with that beautiful white smile she has and her eyes glowing with happiness. I looked back out at the room of people with the same drunken smile and said, “É muito bom mesmo.”

Photography by: Marie Di Raimondo