Throughout the world, thousands of Brazilian Zouk dancers performed a flamboyant choreography simultaneously on September 21 as part of the 2nd International Zouk Flash Mob (IZFM).
Over 70 people from Delhi joined dancers with people from Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Perth, Tokyo and 160 other cities to celebrate the International Day of Peace with Brazilian Zouk dance, a beautiful dance form originating from Rio de Janeiro. The choreography was done by Henri Velandia and Claudia Palestini from New York and Brazilian singer Paolo Mac specially wrote and composed the song for this event – The Dance of Love.
Jose Varghese from iDance India who was also the instructor and organiser of IZFM in Delhi says, “It’s a perfect example to show that dance knows no borders. We connected with thousands of dancers across in the world, irrespective of time and cultural difference, all working towards a common goal – promoting peace through zouk.” The team comprised of people from all walks of life like doctors, lawyers, teachers, designers, architects and even
college students.
Jose further added, “Seeing the success of this year I am sure next time is going to be bigger. When we performed the onlookers were spellbound and wanted to join for next year. People really felt that dancing was the best way to promote peace.”
The event in Delhi was conducted at Lajpat Nagar Market, Dilli Haat and Ambience Mall from 1 pm to 8pm.
Apart from promoting world peace, the dancers dedicated their flashmob to a cause close to all of their hearts – women safety and respect for women.
Neelakshi, another instructor and organiser, shared, “We had dedicated the partner-dance to ‘respect for women’. Many women feel uncomfortable and unsafe in the company of men, even in public places. In a cosmopolitan city, it’s not possible and through our close dancing with men we portrayed how men can respect and treat women with dignity irrespective of the physical proximity between them.”
Co-organisers and instructors from Zouk India, Anuj Gupta and Shalini Sen consider IZFM as a perfect way to honour International Day of Peace. They say, the flashmob was inspiring for all as it had people from Delhi and Mumbai who learned and performed a new dance form. Shalini Sen from Zouk India, added, “Brazilian Zouk dance is all about freedom and connection, which makes it a truly a global movement.”
Brazilian Zouk is a dance that originates from Lambada, but is heavily influenced by modern dance and hip hop. The music that is danced on is Kizomba from Angola, Zouk from the French Caribbean, Cabo Swing from Cape Verde, Reggaeton from Cuba,
Arabic songs from Lebanon, and even Hip Hop from
the US.