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Connect to the community of dancers at the GRAND OPENING of Down 2 Dance!!!!!!!Zouk Dance Workshops7pm Beginner FUNdamentals with Tamara Bliss and FloraUndulations, Isolations and Connection8pm Int/Adv Zouk Skillswith Helen &amp; TonyLateral VariationsThree Planetary Spaces for your being. Auditory Ambrosia served on GAIA and MARS🌍🌏🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍🌏🌎🌍🌏GAIA: For grounded earth energy, nourishment and earthy world music to bring the beats into your heart center. 9pm DJ DravidBRAZILIAN ZOUK KIZOMBA11:30 DJ IZZYWISEWORLD MUSIC: BRAZILIAN, SALSA, CUMBIA, FUNK, TURKISH &amp; AFRICANTOMKO WELLNESS bringing the Brazilian inspired nourishment and refreshments!MARS: Going deep into space to bring otherworldly dance connections.9pm DJ JUANSALSA BACHATA CUMBIA KIZOMBA 11pm DJ JiZOUK FUSIONMOON SKY LOUNGE: Chill space with downtempo music, mellow lighting, massage by Corey Peterson and space to stretch, heal and decompress. Witness dancers on MARS from the MOON.🌚🌘🌜🌗🌖🌕🌖🌛🌙🌑Our evening will ground in with a sound healing meditation to find yourself sitting, laying down or cuddling to collect the energy we have cultivated in our evening of bliss. We will also have a special reading from Shawnrey Notto, author of Sensual IQZouk Workshop Descriptions:FUNdamentals of Isolations to ConnectionMetaphorically moving from isolation to connection as well as in actuality in dance form. Explore the beat of zouk and set the rhythm in your body from your head to your soles. We will play with the nuances of isolations and undulations from the definitions based in bellydance, hip hop and myriad dance styles to find the overlay into Zouk. Techniques will be shared through the lens of anatomical knowledge with an emphasis of keeping the body safe with greater pleasure. The true art of partner dance is communication, let’s explore how to lead and listen to one another and incorporate that knowledge into our dances. With Tamara Bliss****************************************🎼💃🏽💗BiosWorkshops Instructors Advanced Lateral Techniques and VariationsHelen Chao and Tony Brown. They are local instructors known for their focus on zouk connection, sensitivity, and mechanics. Both have been trained extensively in various solo and partner dances, and value being attentive and intentional in their dancing and teaching.Isolations to Connections: Zouk FUNdamentalsTAMARA BLISSOur host of the evening is a life long dance enthusiast with over two decades experience as a massage therapist as well as a dance teacher and performer. Tamara Bliss has trained extensively as a bellydancer and that journey found her exploring other forms of traditional solo dances from Odissi, flamenco, Persian dance, Hula, Balinese, African dance and hip hop. Under the performance name Bliss, fire dance was also a major element in her movement creativity. She has taught and performed at festivals, special events and here in Oakland for workshop series for the past 15 years.Beginning in Sacramento, the delve into partner dance was a journey from salsa, swing and tango before she found blues dance. For the last fifteen years in the bay, blues and fusion has been her base, while continuing to occasionally train in swing, tango and a brief dabble in Kizomba before a pandemic had her dancing alone for quite some time. Her deep dive into Zouk, although recent, feels like something she has been cross training through countless other forms. She has found her calendar filled with Zouk and her body immersed in the embrace of its circular spirals and flow states. Tamara Bliss has produced several fundraisers from Sacramento to the bay to support the arts as well as a handful of performance based events including Heart Quake, Soul Shake and an Electro-Swing &amp; Blues Cabaret always followed by a dance party. Her hope is to continue to empower others to find the joy of dancing and enrich the community by hosting events that nourish the soul as well as create a safer container to express oneself while being embraced. She is Down 2 Dance!!!!! Let’s GO!!!DJ DRAVID<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://m.soundcloud.com/djdravid">https://m.soundcloud.com/djdravid</a>Dravid crossed over from West Coast Swing and Latin dances before making his way to Brazilian-Zouk. Falling in love with the the rhythm of Zouk made him invest in becoming a DJ, training with Lusophone DJs &amp; musicians on the music's history. Dravid brings his love, training and understanding of various genres of music to create an ethereal experience for dancers that transcends musical genres &amp; boundaries, every time he steps up to the decks. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, DJ Dravid certainly makes his rounds. He has played at dance festivals &amp; clubs in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic and Poland.DJ IZZY WISE<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://linktr.ee/izzywise/">https://linktr.ee/izzywise/</a>Hailing from San Francisco, Izzy Wise is a multi-instrumentalist and DJ who produces eclectic dance music that bounces from West Africa to the West Indies, and all points in between.For more than a decade Wise cut his teeth in San Francisco, DJing at parties like the legendary Afrolicious night and landmark venues like The Independant, Monarch, and 1015 Folsom. He has played bass and horns in many groups performing styles ranging from Turkish, Balkan, Cumbia, Brazilian, Salsa, Funk, and more. His pursuit for unique rhythms and melodies has led him to the jungles of Nicaragua and fabled islands lost in the Caribbean Sea.When he's not making field recordings and playing in live groups, Wise releases music on imprints like Délicieuse Records, Lips &amp; Rhythm, Mule Musiq, and Cafe Anatolia. His dedication in the studio is unwavering and his original output often reflects a well-blended taste of global dance music, disco, boogie funk and house.Wise also plays live with a variety of instruments that he works into his energetic performances.His sets are best described as funky underground ethnomusicology courses with hypnotic grooves. Host of the Hi Life Party, a pop up global music party dedicated to all that is beautiful in the world. In 2024 Izzy Wise pushes onward in search of fresh sounds to share with us all on late nights and beautiful sunny days.DJ JUANEver since he can remember, Juan Washington has loved all things music and dance. Juan grew up in California’s East Bay in the 1980’s, and at 4 years old he was watching his brothers breakdancing with the other neighborhood kids. He took up street tumbling at the age of 5, took martial arts classes in elementary school, became dedicated to breakdancing in high school, along with joining the cheer team, and studied: swing, hip-hop, jazz and capoeira.Juan started DJing while he was in the Air Forced stationed in North Dakota, where he DJed for mainstream dance clubs and weddings. After moving back to California, Juan took a break from DJing and immersed himself back into dance. He liked learning Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia, and Kizomba. In 2015, he found the Fusion Dance community and started DJing again in 2017. DJing is such an important part of Juan’s creative expression, he is always on the hunt for new music that will challenge and inspire the dancers. He’s not afraid to take risks or think outside the box. He enjoys blending EDM, Trap and culturally diverse World Music to keep everyone on their toes (pun intended)!DJ JIBudding DJ from the bay. Loves to melt your hearts and fill you with the joy of dance.Actively involved with Brazilian Zouk in the Bay Area for the last 2 years which began his exploration with providing the soundscape to fulfill this need in the community. His sets are inspired by world music, with prominent influences from India, Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean.Shawnrey NottoShawnrey is a #1 Amazon bestselling author on sensuality &amp; Joy, an America's Got Talent talent contestant, nude art model, and dancer-choreographer with over 4 million views on Youtube, so self-expression of all forms is her thing, whether it's through words or through the body. She spent a lot of life being shy, scared and disconnected from her body &amp; pleasure, until one day when she found healing and her voice through dance, and now she has helped over a 1000 people reclaim their joy, pleasure, and full self-expression.People often tell her that she gave them permission to live their most fully- expressed, joyful, sensual lifeCorey Peterson CMTTactmassage.comSince 2005, Corey has been helping others heal from injury and tension. With steady 5 star reviews on yelp for twelve years, he has been serving the bay with exceptional bodywork with his private practice Tact Massage. Corey Petersen studied at the Alive &amp; Well Institute, among his modal influences are Deep Tissue, Trigger Point, Accupressure, Myofascial Release and a thorough knowledge of structural anatomy and kinesiology.Donica Tomko<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.donicatomko.com/about-donica">https://www.donicatomko.com</a>Donica, Holistic Nutrition Coach, Medical Intuitive, Kundalini Yoga Teacher, &amp; Priestess of Isis.