Your path at Oaktown Zouk
Find your next
Zouk class.
The right level should challenge you to grow while keeping you, your partners, and the whole class safe.
Weekly classes
Thursdays at Oak Grove
Keep deepening your foundations.
Students are welcome—and encouraged—to take two consecutive levels at once, continuing to deepen their foundations as they progress to the next level.
Leveled classes cycle through 3 Level 1 modules, 6 Level 2 modules, and 8 Level 3 modules, each covering different topics. Even if you have taken a module before, there will be new variations taught, so you are welcome to take it again.
Why we level classes
Challenge, care, and space to grow.
Leveling helps us offer everyone the best experience: content that stretches your skills, safe progressions for every body, and a class that can keep moving together.
The four-level pathway
Start where you can move with confidence.
Open a level to see the skills you should feel comfortable with before class.
Level 1Core FundamentalsOpen to all!No approval needed
Your starting point
No experience or partner required. Come ready to learn the timing, movement, connection, and community that make Brazilian Zouk special.
Level 2More Complex FundamentalsStudents should be confident in L1 contentInstructor assessment required
Level 2 foundations:
- Traveling Simple Turn
- Abertura: Side to Side
- Basic Step
- Lateral
- Lunge/Abertura & Simple Turn
- Fundamental Brazilian Zouk Timing
- Viradinha
- Ioiô
Level 3Intermediate-AdvancedStudents should be confident in L2 contentInstructor assessment required
Be confident in all Level 2 prerequisites, plus:
- Balão / Fundamental Head Movement
- Undulations / Waves
- Balanço
- Frame Fundamentals
- Soltinho Fundamentals
- Close Embrace Fundamentals
- Reverse Lateral
- Bônus
- S-Turns (aka Ochos)
- Gostosinho
- Isolations
- Stationary Isolations & Undulations
- Chicote
Level 4AdvancedStudents should be confident in all L3 content and have explicit instructor approvalTaylor, Tony, or Helen approval required
Be confident in all Level 3 prerequisites, plus:
- Omnipresent Timing
- Fundamental Musicality
- Torsion
- Elasticity in Connection
- Dynamic Frame
- Cambré
- Pião
- Dynamic Balão
- Tilted Turns
- Bate Cabelo
- Frango assado & mergulho
- Wifi Fundamentals
- Advanced Soltinho
- Boneca
- Viradinha Variations
- Traveling Isolations & Undulations
- Illusions
- Raul
- Side whips
- Fundamental Solo Body Mechanics (1)
Level 4 readiness
Ready to assess for Level 4?
Level 4 dancers are comfortable with all Zouk fundamentals and show solid control of weight transfers, torsion, and other body mechanics.
They also transition safely between core head-movement families: Balão, Frango assado, tilted turn, Chicote, side Chicote, and Cambré.
A good check-in
- Can I keep a smooth Balão while dancing a basic step and a lateral solo?
- Can I transition from Balão to Frango, back to Balão, and into a tilted turn with connection?
- Can I consistently prepare my body as a follow—or my partner’s body as a lead—as I enter and exit head movement comfortably and safely, even with a less-experienced dancer?
- Do I feel confident in my footwork for all my Zouk basics?
Connect at 6:30 PM before the first class, schedule ahead, or meet us during practica for an assessment with Taylor, Tony, or Helen. One of these three instructors must approve Level 4.
Not quite there yet?
Practica is where your growth plan begins.
Talk with an instructor during practica about the best path toward your goals. Signing up for one-on-one feedback in a facilitated practica is a great way to build a personal growth plan.