Our Values – What Makes Us Different

Safety

For many of us, Brazilian Zouk is one of the most caring and conscious communities we are a part of. Unfortunately, we know that our community is not without its flaws. Often, unsafe or inappropriate behavior is overlooked in the name of keeping the peace. This festival aims to break this cycle and to create an environment in which our boundaries will be respected and those who do not respect boundaries are held accountable. This means only working with artists who value consent and taking care of one another’s bodies. This means not tolerating any dangerous or inappropriate behavior at our events. And this means being available to our community members to intervene and stand up for their safety and boundaries when necessary. To understand more about our policies, please read the Austin Brazilian Zouk Safety Committee’s Policies and Procedures. The Art of Movement and the ABZSC encourages you to report any unsafe or inappropriate behavior to any member of our team or using this reporting form.

Technique

Part of what makes Zouk so incredible is its attention to precise technique and body awareness. Divergence prioritizes technique over patterns and encourages our instructors to dive deep into the nitty-gritty details of anatomy, feel, and lead/follow communication. Our workshops are an hour and a half long to allow instructors time to dive deeper into the technique of the concepts they are teaching. Furthermore, we believe in hiring high-level artists to pass on high-level information. We all know the feeling of walking into an advanced workshop excited to learn something new only to leave wondering if you accidentally walked into the wrong level. Our instructors won’t hold back so consider yourself warned! We want you to leave feeling challenged and satisfied. But fear not, beginners, we will also have a fundamentals track in addition to our challenge track to cater to all experience levels!

Health

While festivals always nourish the soul, they often take a lot out of our bodies. We decided to design a festival that would allow you to take care of your body while also soaking up as much dance as possible. This includes designing a schedule with sleep in mind! We all know sleep is crucial for our health but our FOMO often wins the battle. This festival works with your body instead of against it so that you have the energy to learn and dance for hours on end! With over 40 hours of learning and dancing, you won’t be missing out on anything! Check out our unique schedule here!

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Let’s Party in Austin, TX

Divergence Zouk Festival is the first ever Zouk Festival in Austin, Texas and we all know it’s long overdue! We have an incredible local Zouk scene, incredible local instructors, incredible local students, and now all we need is you!