By Niko Salgado
Discloser: I’m coordinating the comps at YoZouk NYC Congress and wanted to talk about Stricktlys

Have you ever been in a jack and jill and wanted to draw someone and compete with someone you danced with or drew before in a former jack and jill? Well this is the division where you get to choose who you enter with and have a chance to compete together. And at these events you don’t need to choose the same person. Not many events have Strictly Zouk. Here is where you start and choose that zouker. Is it a practice partner? Someone you social dance with? These are opportunities you have to compete with that specific person.

You dance in a format similar to the JnJ. You get judged similar to that of a JnJ finals, and only the leaders wear the bib number. The music is still random and you are dancing in a heated format where all other couples are also dancing, and each song you just rotate your position on the floor.

The first time in the US that this ever happened was at the 2017 Zouk at the Center of the Universe festival in Seattle, which I was a part of assisting with, and here is a sample of that.

More recently, the Brazilian Zouk World Championships also hosted a Strictly. Here is a video from last year.

The next one will take place at the YoZouk New York Congress!  They will feature a novice division and an Open division (where at least 1 partner is ranked higher than novice). Novice dancers can dance up, but those who qualify for Open cannot dance down.

How strictly came about was something in between doing JnJ and routines, where you get to choose your partner, but the following rules also apply:
-You cannot dance with the same partner you are competing a routine with.
-Matching color themes are allowed, but costumes and props are not for outfits.
-Like a JnJ, still no lifts allowed, shoes required.

Additionally, there is a fun Pro/Am Strictly division where students may choose a teacher to compete with.  You must ask a teacher ahead of time and even prepare for it by training with your teacher before the event.  It’s a great way to make some goals and really improve your dance while having fun! And you are given a raw score by the judges to determine placement. As pros can feature students in this division, each pro is limited to 5 students that can register for pro-am(leads/follows). Confirmation with the pro is required, and you should register together. The leaders will be a division separate than the followers.

Info for YoZouk NYC Congress:
https://yozouk23.eventbrite.com