Zouk

Want to have a party? Music, please!

That seems to be the way the word zouk developed in the special variety of French spoken in the French Antilles of the West Indies. Zouk means "party," but it also means a kind of dance music developed for partying. It is light and lively, blending modern technology with traditional instruments, rhythms, and melodies.

Zouk music took a roundabout way to reach English. Musicians from Guadeloupe started zouk not in the West Indies but in France. In the late 1970s, the group known as Kassav began playing what they called zouk in Paris. In the late 1980s, zouk became known in England and in the United States. By 1993, it was well enough known that the University of Chicago Press could publish a scholarly book on zouk, by Jocelyne Guilbault, asserting that zouk is an important component of world music.

Like any other music, zouk is hard to describe in words. It is based on interlocking rhythmic and melodic patterns rather than a dense sound where all instruments play simultaneously.

In Brazil, the zouk rhythm is used to dance a Brazilian dancing style, however, with movements more suited to the music. Zouk Lambada is usually very fast and frantic. Unlike that, the zouk in Brazil is often slow and sensual, enabling many steps and turns.

Zouk Classes

Instructors:
Jean-Claude & Anel

Wednesdays 7pm - 8pm
Zouk Performance Course (8 Weeks)

Wednesdays 8pm - 9pm
Zouk Intermediate (Casual)

Wednesdays 9pm - 10pm
Zouk Social Hour