Interview with Rachel Ramalho

Terence: Hey everyone. In today’s episode of “Two-left feet” podcast, we had on the inspiring and mesmerizing Rachel Romalho. She is a Brazilian Zouk DJ, performer choreographer, dancer band, she does it all. She currently owns a dance studio in Brazil. And this episode, we talk about her beginner stage, you know what got her into dancing. We’re talking about the history of Lambada and Zouk. We also go over some hints and tips on how to improve your lead. This is an amazing episode. I am so glad she came on. So let’s get straight into it.

So I am now on the line with a Miss Rachel Romalho (laughs).

Rachel: Oh my god. Yes.

Terence: You are from Rio de Janeiro. You are a Brazilian Zouk dancer, teacher, instructor, performer as well as choreographer. Is that correct? Yes.

Rachel: Yes. Zouk Addict as you can see here.

Terence: So no, yeah. I’m curious you know, how you doing today?

Rachel: I’m good. I’m good. Actually. Yeah, I’m traveling a lot, working a lot. We have a dance school here in Rio so my two brothers are traveling and doing the tour in US right now.

Terence: You grew up here?

Rachel: Yeah. But I’m here until Tuesday and then I fly out to US to meet them. I have a dance school here with our mom. And we have around 10 teachers working with us, not only for Zouk, but for Brazilian dances. We are quite busy when we come back home to the tour. And yeah, you have like time to rest. No. We keep working at the dance studio. I love it.

Terence: Where you going on Tuesday? What city?

Rachel: So first I go to Washington. Okay. Yeah. I love DC lights. I have a lot of friends there. So my two brothers were working in DC, and this weekend, and then have another Congress in the past weekend. And then we go from that, we have a lot of cities. So we go to New York, we go to Dallas, we go to New York again, get to have Atlantic Congress, we go to San Francisco, go to Hawaii, and then we go to finish in Mexico.

Terence: You’re extremely busy.

Rachel: Oh my god. It’s tiring. So in the year, we pass home around three months. So we when we travel, we go like our own two months, month and a half. So we go to US, we come back we go to Europe at the beginning of the year like two months, pretty much March and April. Or we go to may as well. So it really depends. And then we come back. We stayed pretty much a month and then we go over to the US in June, July, we come back. And then we start again for Europe tour, and then come back to the end of the year in our event in December here in Rio.

Terence: Okay, okay. I want to ask you this. I know you were born in Brazil. Tell me what was your childhood like growing up in I guess Rio de Janeiro? What was that like?

Rachel: for me it was amazing. For me, as other amazing cities, do they have are the dangerous place? Yes, of course. But I love Rio, like have everything in the same place. So the neighborhood that I live I don’t know if you can see where there, beach around.

Terence: Yes. Perfect. Hey, I can see it. Definitely. Yeah.

Rachel: So I love to be here. The friends are forever. So the friends that you make here in Rio like for sure that you can meet in everywhere. And even if don’t have nothing or you don’t have money or have nothing in the life you have best friends. That’s awesome. So it’s kind of cool. Yeah. In with my brothers and my family, like we grew up the huge numbers of friends at the same house. So if our houses was living five with my two brothers, me my mom and my father and the time, 10 people was sleeping there, not only five. So it’s kind of be like my father had at eighteen brothers and sisters.

Terence: Yeah. Your father had eighteen brothers and sisters?

Rachel: Yes.

Terence: So that is a huge family.

Rachel: Yes. So it’s his side of the family. So it was a big family. So we learn how to split everything, how to share, how to have fun with little stuff. You know, we didn’t have any money at the time but if you mix a lot, the egg you can have egg for everyone you know, okay.

Terence: What are some of your best memories as a child growing up in Brazil?

Rachel: was having fun at the beach with my family and my friends. We don’t call summertime here because usually Brazil is really hot and here in Rio is really hot. But, like the weekends for sure. I was a soccer player before. So when you get out of the school, we eat. We go to play soccer. So we’re spending the whole day playing soccer and then we will go into the pool with going to the beach. It’s kind of like doing Sports and having fun with the friends. Didn’t like studying that much. (Laughs).

Terence: Yeah. I’m curious. Did you? Did you grow up in like a dancing household at all? Did your parents dance?

Rachel: No, no, actually. My father was from the sport. He was a swimming coach. Oh, yeah. So I have my mom loves to dance. So they did dance classes I think for one two years. I was 6 or 7 years at the time. So was like just a little bit. We didn’t have like, lead dance in the family. Yeah. Okay. So when our father passed away, my mom into the dance opted for the world to forget, like to forget about it, you know? She wanted something different her life. Some wanted to avoid self-pity too and pity from people, friendly hugs like “Oh my God. Poor woman with three kids.” I was 15 at the time. So my mom entered and she was completely sad at the time because like for 20 years they were together. So, and then she was like, a life again.

Terence: Okay, I do. Yeah.

Rachel: Yeah. So after one year, she was doing a student performance.

Terence: Was she dancing Forro or Lambada?

Rachel: She danced everything. My mum rocks for real. She dances everything. She leads as well. She’s amazing. She’s an amazing dancer and teachers as well. So did the performance and then she invited me to check it out, of course I did love it the environment, the people that was in the parties and kind of stuff because here in Brazil, it’s really common we do a ballroom, a Brazilian party with all the styles together. So it’s not only Zouk or Salsa put everything in the same dance floor and will be like five hours sleeping the rhythms. Okay. So I love it. I love it and her teacher invited me to get it into the team and said “Oh, why don’t you come here and dance with your mom” and I found it funny. And then three months later I invited my brothers to enter as well. So and then our life just turned upside down.

Terence: So you started dancing at the age of 15 or 16?

Rachel: Yeah, when I entered was 16 Yeah.

Terence: Okay. And what did you start dancing?

Rachel: Actually it was forro. I like it a lot.

Terence: If I’m not mistaken forro is very popular Brazil, right?

Rachel: Yes, yes. We have like two main rhythms, which is Forro and Semba because everybody knows Forro here but sometimes they don’t dance but they know the music. We have a popular party here in June/July is Festa Junina? It’s like a farm parties. Like when you cook the food when you put little markets on the street, you know? So we have the amazing food with that typical music. You know, in the north of Brazil, they playing the radio, they play in everywhere. So it’s really common here.

Terence: Yeah. Let me ask you this. Can you tell me do you know much about the history of Forro?

Rachel: So actually, for us in Rio, we don’t have like, even if you go to the north, the forro is different than what we have in Rio. Yeah, have the roots that they call forro roots. It’s more when you dance on the street. You know, you learn the street, don’t have enough frame, it’s tighter, you know? So it’s like you learned with the life. And we call “forro de vergatario.” It’s like when you learn inside the dance studio, you see that they have some movements that you don’t do. Okay, yeah. It’s like how you were growing up. Lambada, because it was street has that typical movements, and you have Zouk that was built inside of the studio and seeing what is good, what we can change, but now Lambada is like that and we study a lot to grow as well, you know, so it’s like that. Okay.

Terence: And so Okay, so you joined that dance school and did they teach you any Lambada at all?

Rachel: it was about Zouk.

Terence: you joined to learn Brazilian Zouk?

Rachel: Yes. That time it was called just Zouk. After they changed a little bit from Brazilian so as not to fight with another culture.

Terence: It was that Caribbean music? You got started because the radios and like northern Brazil were playing that music right?

Rachel: yes, it was close to our music and culture and they were speaking French but people in Brazil don’t speak French. People from my age they can speak but usually was only music, like in Brazil the most of the music that people listen they don’t know nothing what they are telling you. So it’s about “Oh, I like it”. So it was like the rhythm was pretty much the same and we were able to fit our steps in that kind of way. It suited our moves the same way you are dancing your own steps and have like pop music?

Terence: Yeah. So let me ask you this then. So can you tell me some information about Brazilian Zouk? If I’m not mistaken, Lambada was kind of big at one point in Brazil, right? And then it’s kind of switched over to Zouk. What happened?

Rachel: Yeah, I think what happened was that studios were growing. So the information was growing as well, was passing more and Lambada was pretty much in good books. We knew Lambada in Rio because …… always talking about Lambada. And he always talked about the people from Portugal. So it’s about Brass, GG, like, I love that they’re brothers as well. So the people from Kaoma. So I had the honor to dance with my brother in the Kaoma show. But not the group but the singer … . So Burke was dancing brass, was dancing GG, was dancing, so all of them Philippe Mejia from Sao Paolo was dancing as well. So all the people were dancing Lambada for a long time, you know, so I we had the honor to participate as a Zouk dancers. Yeah, I want to feel that fight before so I was curious how to mix Zouk and Lambada at the same dance because like I was young, and when Lambada was huge, I was one year. But we knew it this song we knew the feeling about how the people was telling all that time was the last fever everybody was dancing on the street you know? Just like we didn’t feel this, so what we had was the Zouk inside the studio and with this we will close our culture. It was like we were learning how to put Zouk and Lambada in the same cup so you can you can drink for the same water. It depends on the music, it depends on which style this music asked you to do it you know, like it’s faster, it’s more clean or you can open more you can hold and it’s like mixing more Zouk or Lambada depends on you. So for me, you really need to study both so you can have more options. About the counting, about how you move your body. So for me if you if you learn both, you can see the difference. But when you see the difference you’re able to mix, so that’s my goal.

Terence: So I’m not sure. Is Brazilian Zouk from Lambada or are they two separate things?

Rachel: so like for me, it’s like Lambada is the mother dance from which we create different stuffs. For me it is the same thing but are different because I cannot tell it’s the same thing and the people who are learning to make a different steps different counting, they don’t have the space you know. So Lambada was one thing, was dancing in different places, the people was more in the fast music and then have the Zouk love that we create different movements. So yes have the difference, but today we can see more that all the people who dance Lambada, dance with people can dance only Zouk, and Zouk dancers dance with people from Lambada. So it’s okay that we can open more our brain. Because for me, I was passing in this two levels for me like Zouk and Lambada, I was going this two different worlds. And then it was amazing. I fell in love with Lambada when I was dancing with GG in Portugal. And then I met brass because of GG. But I was already in love with Zouk because I learned in school with everyone. A…., Paolo Camacho, the “Zoukers” that were at the time. They danced Lambada and have something new. A little bit different, but we can put that the same ballroom.

Terence: okay. That’s awesome

Rachel: It’s like when you have our Semba, we have different styles of music. So have …….. we have ……….. , …………… all of them you can dance Semba du ……….. but now, I think it is the same for Zouk, depends on the music, depends who you dance with, you can have more feelings of Lambada can have more feelings from Zouk, you can hold ………, you can do more ………, you can do more bonekas, So it’s like, it’s up to you to decide. Okay, I have more cards to play. Yeah,

Terence: okay. Exactly. I want to go back to when you joined that that dance studio? Yeah. Tell me, what was it like for you learning Zouk and being on the stage?

Rachel: wow, for me, first was trying to understand the sounds because it was really difficult. And then we didn’t have that much internet at that time when I started. Yeah, so it was horrible. So I really didn’t know what they were telling. But the most difficult part for me was learning how to move the hip. Yes. So because in that time, they was showing that we, we need to step really, with the inside part of the foot, with the inside the so going down, so it was difficult was difficult. Of course, everything changed, you keep studying, but was difficult to feel comfortable.

Terence: That’s weird.

Rachel: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Because the hip was really moving. So I was trying to make that happen. And to understand the convergence that time was difficult. Yeah, how the by works, you know, how you can hold them much. And keep the beat all the time, keep the feeling about the music. That time it was called Zouk love. The feeling was romantic. And then when the Raggaeton came out, it was like, wow, how to put this thing in the Raggeaton. And also you need to change the feeling into the steps to make it work was really difficult, and my mom pushed me to learn as a leader as well because (she always said) if you do something, if you’re spending time in a dance studio, do for real. Don’t think that “okay, I’m here just passing five hour” So she was like, if because have, of course in all over the world have more women than men?

Terence: As all the time. The answer is always more women.

Rachel: Yeah. So if you’re part of the team, you cannot choose “oh, I want to do that class”. Right? So it’s like, I want to pick everything that the teachers can give me. So if I’m not dancing as a follower, I need to dance as a leader and understand my body. It was about not to dance, as a leader was about to understand me, because I want to be a teacher. So I think today, the people are just dancing as a leader, dancing as followers. For me, it’s a goal that you need to pursue if you want to understand better. It’s not to change or something, to understand how to explain better for you, for your students, you need to understand both parts to explain why. Right? Like why you do that? Why you feel like that? Because you need to feel how you say something, then you need to feel but you don’t know what you feel. Right? You know, so it was about this idea in the time. My mom was doing as a leader sometimes, because you want to extend as well. So, in this school, always was normal for women to do as a leader. All the teams in Rio, the schools have more women. It’s normal. So that’s why for me, when I’m learning, I learned both parts. But in the party I was dancing as a follower. Follower. But studying, I was danced as a leader as well. But today, it’s really, really normal. Its balance, like following leader doing this part. So I have two lines, I dance with all the guys, I dance with all the girls, so it’s really cool.

Terence: hey! If you can leave a like and subscribe for the show, that would be amazing.

That makes you such a great teacher as well because you know both sides of the spectrum.

Rachel: It’s like, you don’t depend on “oh, I need to have a partner”.

Terence: you can do it all yourself.

Rachel: You know, so yourself. Yeah, I learned when I was teaching by myself. My whole career. Because it’s a natural, it’s normal. When you’re part of something, because my brother was doing the same thing. He was an assistant as well in ………. school. So he was doing our parts but was not together. So he had his own path. I have my own path. If you were able to put together, it’s amazing, but if we’re not we keep working. So I learned in the school with a woman that she’s amazing. It’s Paulina. So Paulina is a teacher. She had been dancing and teaching for a long time before I was born. I learned from her that she always was dancing alone by herself. She was really strong. But she was a woman, teacher. As a leader, of course, she was a woman teaching as a leader, it’s like, you don’t need to change herself because you’re a leader, or you’re doing this part, you know, so was really good, because she was really strong. She was giving all the details. So I love it. So that people was judging me to do as a leader in that time, was not judging her, because she was amazing. But I wanted to get there, though, some people asked me to stop to do as a leader in the studio. And my mom was like “no, no, no, no. She will be good. Yeah. Don’t matter what the people say. Just go for it.”

Terence: Give it to you mom

Rachel: Yea. For real, she did everything. Otherwise I would have done different stuffs.

Terence: Okay, let me ask you this real quick. For people out there right now who are learning, you know, Brazilian Zouk, and they’re having difficulty, you know, I guess, learning their hip movements?

Rachel: Yes.

Terence: What advice can you give them for that?

Rachel: So first, you need to understand how your legs work to make your hip work. So it’s like you cannot move your hip by itself, otherwise it will not make sense. So you need to learn how you need to step to give the different feelings for your body. So if you pass away from one side, and just have a full weight in your right side and just relax off hip, just like waiting something you have one feeling when you step right away, you have another feeling. So it’s like, how you move your legs, thighs, how you move your knee. So this make you understand different ways to move your hip.

Terence: Yeah. I understand that.

Rachel: Yeah, so it’s like, it’s more about your legs than the hip. The hip will move naturally.

Terence: It says like cause and effect. The way you move your leg affects the hips.

Rachel: Yes, it’s the same like a head movement that people (I learned that people call) head motion. Because I don’t move the head.

Terence: Is the upper body, right? The torso?

Rachel: Yeah, is everything working together that you need to relax your neck, then you have the motion for your head. So I learned that it will be difficult actually to change the name because the people would say “head movement” and people would think it’s to move the head. But it’s something that might change overtime. But I’m trying to use that word, to keep the feeling you know, because it’s really difficult for the Brazilians pass the same feeling that we have in Portuguese to English. Sometimes when we are teaching we use some word that for makes total sense to us. So and then with people, they would be like “what!” So I need to find different ways. So when we are teaching, we ask for some new words, to bring different feelings because sometimes we want to say different stuff at the same movement, you know? So I’m always learning.

Terence: I want to go back to you know when you were 16 and you’re learning to lead. Tell me about you learning to lead? What was that like?

Rachel: Actually it was really difficult

Terence: really, I believe.

Rachel: Yeah, like, but with that I learned how to wait as a follower. Because sometimes we feel that, “oh, they’re not doing nothing.” But if they’re not leading you, you cannot move. So it’s like, we need to understand our own body, and then understand the other person’s body. Kind of like, it’s a really a research in your full body and so what you need to move and with kind of energy you need to pass for that person that is dancing with you. So it’s kind of really difficult, because sometimes, like, I was leading the person that don’t want to dance with me, okay. So, but all the teachers in primary school was amazing, there was a changing partner a lot. That’s why it was not hard for that person that don’t want to dance with you stay like, one minute, just training and then that’s for another person. Okay, yeah. This, all the teachers you need to do. Like, if that person don’t want to dance with a woman or a guy, whatever. You need to understand. They have your own boundaries. So just change partner. Don’t make a big deal. It was really hard that time because the class was really high level, you know, so we need to step up. Otherwise, you don’t show yourself. You’re not there. So I wanted to become a teacher. So I was going to the school like Sunday to Sunday.

Terence: Okay, every day was practicing.

Rachel: Yes, yes. Yes. So, and then after that I entered in …… dance company for six years, it was like, everything about dancing.

Terence: Yes, you are? Well, I want to get into that that time period. But real quick, for people who are beginners in Zouk? What advice can you give them?

Rachel: Like, every best is hard. Dance, as just an activity for your body is easy. Okay, I move here, move there. But being a good dancer is hard. So the first thing, is everybody starts from the beginning. So if the people who you are dancing with are not at the same level as you because this is happening your whole life, it’s not the same level as you, just relax. And, and give the feeling that you are having fun. Okay, it’s for having fun, you know, if you’re so into you, like I need to dance good with this person. You’re putting you’re overworking your mind. You’re not enjoying what you’re doing. So, first advice, don’t give up. Because hot, yes. Because you need to change your own body. So sometimes you think that you’re doing the movement, but your body is not doing. So that’s the problem about the dance floor that something that you think are some things that you need to do. So this takes time to understand what we need to change to make that happen. The dance scene is kind of hard when you enter like, “Oh, my God, everybody here in the party are dancing”. And then I

Terence: and you compare yourself with other people.

Rachel: Yes. But for me, I prefer to dance with somebody that is changing with me. That is feeling that music, like, one step three, step, whatever. But having fun in and just from each sharing the fitness, you know, I share with you three minutes and then Okay, next, you know, it’s like, but needs to be good for you was not only for me, so if, if I keep pushing you to do something that you’re not ready for. So I’m pushing you to jump a cliff. It’s like, it’s not that comfortable for you. So in three minutes and I’m totally cool with whatever you’re trying to do, you know, so and then if I have somebody that dance more, they will have the same boundaries as you, because everybody needs one to improve, one to do something that you don’t know. But everybody starts with the beginning, then. I don’t know nothing. So everything would come with the time for the beginners. Yeah. So don’t give up.

Terence: That makes sense. So you joined that dance school and you’re practicing. When you graduate from high school, did you want to become a full time dancer at that point? Or did you want to do something else?

Rachel: Oh, actually, when I finished, I was thinking at that time to go into soccer. I was a soccer player. For real. Yeah, I was 16 when I finished. So it was like I either played soccer or I dance. Because I didn’t have money to have to do both. Okay, it was like so I quit soccer into the dance floor. And then I fell in love with dance.

Terence: I’m sorry to cut you off. Now. Why did you pick dance over soccer? What was your thought process at that time?

Rachel: Something that make me feel good. Okay. First, I wanted the soccer world because I grew up playing soccer. And for me, my goal to be a professional. And then if I didn’t have that luck, will be doing the same as my father. Being a coach, like a soccer coach, swimming coach, whatever, doing something about the sport. But when I when my father passed away, it was like, I don’t want to do this anymore. You know, I was like, angry or sad. Yeah. So when I fell in love with the Zouk, with the dance world, I was feeling good again. Feeling alive. Okay, so I change the feature. Like as a soccer, like, something from sport, as a professional dancer, is pretty much the same level as hard work as trainee. So for me, I was doing the same thing that was moving myself it was really hard, like the need to push yourself every day to get better. You know? So I just found myself again in the dance floor.

Terence: Yeah. Amazing. So you chose dancing over soccer and then you decided to join the dance company for six years? Is that what you said?

Rachel: Yes, yes. So we were in the ….. School already. So for one year, I and my brother were seating in the chair, watching the company rehearse. Because my goal is to, if I look for something, then there are no, that’s good I want to put myself into it, I will be there for you to watch me that I want do that as well. So my mom just said, “If you want, just try it.” So we were young and in the studio, so we didn’t have space to enter. So for one year, we were watching them rehearse, trying to do as in the corner, this movement and this movement, you know, in general, she always was like, look to the side like what they are doing no, keep doing everything. And one day, she was like, “You guys really want to dance?” and we answered “Yes, yes. Yes”. And she said “okay, stay in the corner. Try it. Maybe you can enter.” it maybe. All right. So yeah, yeah. So because in the company, there were dancing like a lot. And it was new was like one year and a half in the dance world. So for me, it was everything they were doing was new. So I was a soccer player, so I was not flexible at all. I’m big at the chest because I was a swimmer. So it was like, everything was saying no, for me. I was trying to put different stuffs in my dance skills. So we entered, thanks to God was working hard. So was six years in his company traveling and doing shows a lot, rehearsing five hours a day, this kind of thing.

Terence: Real quick, real quick. I want to ask you this. For people out there who, who? Who maybe were like you, and struggle with their flexibility, what can they do to improve that?

Rachel: So we have some classes here in Rio? The dancers in the US have more options, actually. So you can do some classes that work on your own flexibility, you know, so it’s like, a here it’s for Flexi, I don’t know, we have the same name in English. But have one teacher here that is called “Cia Massa”. All the dancers here in Rio love to have classes with her, because she push you to be good and to have more flexibility. So in your own time, you do the same classes at the same room with somebody that is a ballet dancer for 20 years. And you have only one year of dance and you are trying to impress. Every time that I was doing class and I was like, always feeling pain, of course, because I was not flexible. I’m not that flexible, you know? So. So I was doing some exercises. I was like, in every time I would looked at the clock, you know, like, oh my god. Yeah, she every time she was like, Rachel, don’t look to the clock. They’re not going fast. Because you are looking at “Oh my god”. But yeah, I have a lot of classes that can improve your own flexibility and push more. If you want to really make shows, you need to go harder, like as do ballet. Do classic with flexibility. Do hip hop, do any type of class. To improve your own body. You need to keep doing something that will be giving you more movements. We have a lot of classes. In the US, it is easy. So it’s important to improve more different type of dances to give you your body that you really want in that specific dance rhythm like Zouk.

Terence: I think we’re just saying that doing different dance styles, it really will help you understand your body more and control it in everything. So that makes a lot of sense. I definitely understand that.

Rachel: Yeah, here in Rio, all the people who was dancing Zouk, they learn in the dance studio. So, but it was not only one dance. We entered the dance to do to learn dances. So also, when you are part of the team here in a dance studio, you don’t have choice. You learn Bolero, forro, Cochin, Zouk,….etc.

Terence: that’s so awesome that you learn all that.

Rachel: That’s why a lot of people are amazed how we do Zouk, but actually, it’s not about Zouk, and it is about dance. So if you understand some rhythms, Brazilian rhythms, like Bolero that’s everything about to wait. Waiting and doing your style like with your leg with something, that holding, this has the feeling in Zouk as well. So to create Zouk, all the dances came in different points. Yeah. So for me, that’s why the people understand better I know that US and Europe a lot of people only learn Zouk. It is not a problem but you need to open your mind that it’s much more for your own body than only one style.

Terence: Because each different style can teach you something different right? The style that Salsa is going to teach you may not be the same thing that Zouk going to teach you, so that makes a lot of sense.

Rachel: What we need to understand is we have only two legs and two arms so the movements are not that different. In Zouk there are different because we have a lot of movement for the sides, but except for exceptions, you do most of the moves in all the other dances. But how you do it that really makes you understand which rhythm it is. So for me, it’s you need to understand how that works, not “I need to go one step forward, one step back”. So that’s why for me when you learn a lot of different styles of dances can give you different feelings and then you can use only Zouk because we have different feelings in different songs. So if you can create different feelings for the same rhythm that Zouk, you have you go, because one song is romantic, one song is like it’s happy, one song It’s fast. One song is low, one song is sad, one song is so emotional. So you need to create the ceiling as well. Right? It really depends about your energy in how you do that movement. Because when you can make different ways.

Terence: I want to know, can you tell me about your six years on the dance scene? What was that like for you?

Rachel: When I was 16?

Terence: No, you said you spent six years on the dance company, right?

Rachel: yes

Terence: What was that experience like for you?

Rachel: For me, it was like my college. I had six years to do everything that you can do with dance like dance for one hamburger, or this for nothing. Only dancing. So was never about money when you go in this world like to work. First. It’s about the passion. And in years later, you understand how to make money with the thing that you know.

Terence: Exactly,

Rachel: yes, but six years of training and everything. One day I did a danced with little umbrellas, like really colorful, that the people keep playing with that but do we movement that we do like that you cannot think about it that how hard it is. Moving up and down, like bending your full leg and going up and playing that kind of class and I had I was like, “you guys are crazy”. For real, my legs cannot make this. So I learned a lot of different dances and skills. I’m not a forever better at all but that gives me something different of words. So ……. was dancing, all the style that you can imagine. And he was creating different stuff as well. So he created a show. They call Viva Brazil was amazing was doing this show for a year and a half we traveled the world. The show was in Germany for one year as well. So it was huge. It was about our culture, was about how the Brazil was born. You know? So about the Portuguese, about the indigenes, about everything. So with that we learnt about our own bands not only about ballroom dance, you know, was about dancing because in Brazil, I would tell you what, like, we were not born dancing. In Russia everybody do ballet, you know? But in Brazil it’s not like that. We are dancers because we love it. We have that classes that in some countries aren’t really common. You go to the college, but you go because you are dancing. You have a huge dance world. In Brazil, it is not like that. We don’t have that much competitions. Our ballroom is really, really tiny. We don’t have that much competitions. You know? We are not professionals. So when you enter in this word that you learn a lot of different styles for years and training in different stuff, it’s amazing. Like, you don’t have this opportunity in college. So that’s why I can say that I’m not a specific dancer but I’m able to do everything, you know? Not that flexible (laughs), but I’m able to dance whatever dance. It’s about how to move your own body that I give to me that I always say to him like he did he create a professional Zouk dancer, a professional Bartlett dancer. He created a dancer. Even without the skills in ballet or contemporary dance, we are able to understand our own body and do your show, everything? Of course. If you want to prove do ballet, do other stuff, but understand and create the movement that people want? And the feeling.

Terence: So I’m curious what happens after you left that dance company? What happened? How old were you at that time?

Rachel: Wow, at that point, I was 18 years. So, two different stuffs happened. When we were out of the company, we open our own studio. Yeah. After six years and we felt we were done, we needed to do something more. We opened our studio in Rio. We opened with Chiamarusha’s name. After a while, we was having a chat with him that we want to put our family name. Because you want to have something about our own history. Yeah. So he said, “Okay, fine. Let’s make it work”. So we change our name. So the name of our studio was “Ramalhos”. So after we got out of the company, we entered really in the teaching world, okay. Okay. It was only about performance was teaching as well. But the main work was about performing and training. So after six years, we opened our own studio, and then we enter about teaching skills to put on pretty much you know, how to create your own team, how to do your own parties, how to create your own choreography without the person behind you saying “do this, do that,” So, six years later, we opened a studio in completely different skills. Lately, yeah, I was learning everything over and over again. I yeah, yeah. So when you open your own studio, you realize that being a good teacher is not enough.

Terence: Okay, I believe it. I believe it.

Rachel: Yeah, it’s not enough. So and when you open your studio, you’re a good teacher, you need to keep in your mind that you don’t know everything. It’s impossible that a person knows everything. So your own team needs to learn for other people as well. So in the 14 years I have spent in dancing, it’s like everybody has something to give to you even if there are new teachers. It doesn’t matter if they are a new teacher or old teacher, everyone have a different point of view. So you can improve your own skills teaching and dancing in creating your own team, so every time that I go to Adriana’s house, you know her?

Terence: I know her. I love her

Rachel: she and Mia are like my family. Yeah, we pass like at least one week and a half in the house. Amazing and we kept studying and talking about how to improve your own dance studio because we both have our dance studios but we wanted to think in different ways how to get better. But me and Paloma, you know, they don’t have a studio. They are building some artists to work with the name as well. So like, have a different ways to work. But then studio usually ask your time. Okay. So you need to have your own team. Yeah, you have at least three teachers. Now I have around ten.

Terence: wow. It’s slowly growing.

Rachel: 10 teachers in one studios, like, it’s a lot. This is a lot. But all of them have a difference even when they are teaching the same rhythm. They kept studying together because one thing it’s about your own style, our own skills, what you prefer, what you like. The other thing is how to put this close to what that that’s cool says. You know, so it’s really difficult to build what that school says, okay, you know, what you’re looking for in that studio.

Terence: But I want to ask you this, going back to when you first opened up their studio, what was it like learning to teach? What was that like?

Rachel: So like, I was teaching in Chiamarusha’s school already. So we were already teaching in the school. But when you open your own, you have the all the weights in your hand. When I started teaching, I was young but some older people had issues with my age.

Terence: Exactly. I know, I understand.

Rachel: So it’s like, you need to prove yourself every day and keep studying. So a lot of people were doing classes with somebody that have pretty much the same age or 30 something and then have two young people like me, my brother, but there you go. And so was dancing as well. My mom was, like, the same age, but all of that was my two brothers and I was like, yeah, you know, the people push you first. “Oh come on! You’re too young. You don’t know. Right? Because we know that all the teachers was older than the students or the same age group on the same level, you know, in what, one? Someone that really young entering this in this area. That’s not that open for young people, you know? Yeah. Oh, you’re a teacher. Can I come on? So it was really hard. We rented a place that we used on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We grew into having 100 students in only two days. It was amazing. It was difficult to build but we got we got there.

Terence: you said two days you had 100 students?

Rachel: Yeah. Not working, working with two days for one year. So we got around 100 students.

Terence: open only Tuesday and Thursday. I get you. That’s impressive though.

Rachel: That was really good was really good. Because in that time that people doing more classes was not, didn’t have a lot of dance studios. You know, like today we have a lot. Now it’s easier to get students. It was amazing to start this new career? Yeah. As the owner of the school owner of your own path, you know, don’t have someone telling you “now do this. Do this choreography. Make this happen” I need to make it happen because my team need me. So it’s, it’s completely different.

Terence: what are some lessons from dancing you’ve learned that you’re able to translate to your everyday life?

Rachel: First of all, for me, I wanted to give the feeling that what the dance gave to my mom. She felt safe. Really happy. And with two friends, because you know that when you enter in the dance word, you met me today but you’re already, my friend. You can come to my house. So it’s kind of like everybody, that enter your dance to go into your dance class, they have your own problems. And there in that place, need to be a safe place. So it’s like, you need to show them first that they need to step up to open the arms to have somebody inside that they don’t know the name. But they need to feel comfortable. So the first thing that I learned is that first, she’s safe. Here, it’s good for you. You know, it’s nothing that you need to be afraid of. You need to be like, just alert that you need to improve. But you don’t need to be afraid.

Terence: Okay. Okay. Yeah.

Rachel: But for me safe place is the first thing that come to my mind. And happy place as well. Because you don’t dance because you want to be angry.

Terence: Of course not.

Rachel: you dance because you want to smile, you want to really laugh with the partner, you’re a dancer, and of course have a romantic songs. But even that, you can do something that gives you a smile. So for me, you need to be patient because you we don’t have the same clock. So my clock is different than somebody that’s dancing with me. So sometimes it run faster, sometimes run slower. Yeah. So I have my own problems to work on. So sometimes that people are too picky, come on! It’s two different person.

Terence: Exactly. Yeah.

Rachel: So it’s more important to create a perfect environment. Perfect place for you to come every week. Three days a week, four days a week. Feeling really good in that place. So that’s that we will once viewed every time that we travel, because we teach in different places every time. But for me, my goal is not to remember “Oh my God, I learned only I just learned this movement. For humans, first we feel. So if you always remember if you feel like if you felt like angry if you felt scared. If you felt like happy, something like that, you know? So, for me, you always about feeling first and then about thinking? Yeah, if you’re so good, you want to do this for whole life. Right? So that’s environment that we want to create, in every place that we go and every class that we teach.

Terence: Yes. Awesome. I want to I want to ask you a couple more questions. Do you have time?

Rachel: Yeah, sure.

Terence: Hey, awesome. So I have friend and she she’s a big fan of yours and she wants to know, I guess? Are you able to, you know, put into words, the differences in how people dance Brazilian Zouk in Brazil, and how they dance in the US like, how are they different? Or are they similar?

Rachel: No, they are no similar. Now, I think the group for us are understanding more our culture. So we always say this, when we say like, “Oh, I’m Brazilian,” and you open your arm and give me a hug”. But when you say “I’m Swedish”, you shake hands. They did the same in Sweden. Why? Because we put the boundaries. Actually, the Brazilians, we are more open to hug, we are more open to say what we are feeling. And this for us is natural. But you can learn of course, a lot of Brazil now not that open. A lot of Brazilians are not that comfortable with the hug. But we have this feeling that it’s okay to learn. When we say that we need to hug someone in US. Sometimes they misunderstood. But a lot of them misunderstood as well, that one that you understand that you need to be open, they open too much.

Terence: Okay. I understand.

Rachel: So, one thing is to feel uncomfortable with the hug to dance. To dance. It’s only dance because I don’t do nothing more than dancing with my brothers. A lot of people say that’s really romantic. It’s really sexy. I dance with my mom need to be as sexy dance with my brothers or with somebody that I don’t know. Because one thing I don’t put my sexuality in the person. I put my sexuality for me for myself. I thence for me to create something the energy with you. It’s not for you.

Terence: Okay, it’s different.

Rachel: when you look for something that can scare you, when you try to reach that person really fast. So creating a hug, creating the energy about just feeling comfortable with the hug, it’s about not that difficult thoughts that you put in your mind “Oh my god, oh my god, I’m embracing someone that I don’t know their name” and feel comfortable. Also with that doing your own? We have so much to think about it. About our legs, about the movement, we cannot think about being sexy for somebody.

Terence: you focus on everything else.

Rachel: Yes. So for me for myself, I hug I create the feeling but it’s about dancing. If you find somebody that dance world, it’s completely different. Okay, because in every job, you are able to find somebody to have a relationship with. The dance world is closer and that’s why people need to understand the boundaries. The line between sexy. The dance is already sensual. Sexy, it’s about. I’m trying to be sexy for you. The dance is sensual. For me, Tango is really sensual. So that’s important part. But people misunderstand sexuality with sensuality.

Terence: are you saying that the people in the US try to sexualize everything and they try and make it sexy? Is that the difference?

Rachel: They try to sell everything. This is true. US makes everything sells. So sometimes they change a lot. So we have the dance so good. They create as another dance, another name, another thing only to sell the same thing. You can see this in every place. In the zoo world. I think that the people in the US there are amazing. For real because they explored this really fast.

Terence: yes. It’s got a population.

Rachel: Yeah. It’s like I loved going to US. I really feel at home when I go to US. Because in Brazil, we don’t have a specific face. Brazilians can be Indian face. But then in Brazil, you have a lot of different culture as well, because have a lot of different people.

Terence: Exactly.

Rachel: Right. So as Americans, sometimes they are tougher to understand as American, but as they open the mind is only a dance, everything is fine. You know? So but in US, we see a lot of foreigners as well. So we have a Latin feeling the same class, you have American feeling. How to put this different words together, that we need to face these only events. You need to bring yourself I cannot pick your soul and say okay, you need to do this. No, you need to feel comfortable doing this. So you have your own time to understand how to be comfortable, okay. It’s not trying to sexualize stuff, just dancing, the dance is sensual. And then, you go into here because you feel comfortable with here. I cannot push you to do more than that. I just can show you that if you go with this side here, maybe you’ll like it. You know? Yeah. So I cannot push the people to say that you need to do that. No, because in Brazil didn’t talk about how to hug, feel, and breathe for real. Zouk talks about feelings that you feel when you do this type of movement. It was understanding. When we say breathing, we say how to hold and let go. It’s not breathing in self. You know, like this thing that happens a lot. For me, it’s not about Zouk, it is about dancing. When you create something about breathing, it is that not about Zouk, it is about dancing. For me, Brazilian Zouk is around the dance. What do you do for the sites? It’s perfect. But you need to understand that it’s not Zouk. It is something that you study to improve your own dance. That you create the ballet, that you create the contemporary that you can create hip hop classes, everything and relaxing classes. Yes. Breathing class. Yes. But it’s about dancing. Not Zouk. Okay, no. So my point of view, I respect everyone. But one thing is Brazilians Zouk dance, the other thing is what you can do with that. You can create more, yes, you can bring new styles to it. Yes. But you cannot lose our main structure that makes this Brazilian Zouk. So two years ago or maybe three, I was I was feeling that in US, I was feeling that the dance was going to another side. That was not Brazilian Zouk that we were used to listening to.

Terence: They’re going to Americanize it. That’s going to happen.

Rachel: We understand that, of course. But I always understand that we are strung together. So the Brazilians and the amazing instructors that we have in US and have Europe, they work together, because everyone has something different to give.

Terence: Yeah, we all benefit from it. Yeah.

Rachel: Yeah. So it’s like that but you need to understand and respect the history.

Terence: let me ask you this real quick, still on comparing Brazil to the US, are there certain other certain I guess body movements that you all do in Brazil that you don’t see over here? The stuff you teach in Brazil, is that the same stuff you’re seeing being danced over here?

Rachel: Yes. Okay. Yes, I would tell you that Zouk grows so fast and so and a lot of people from US are traveling to Brazil now and so I have a friend in town she from Hawaii now and she is a first time here in Brazil and I was asking her this weekend if the feeling here is different. She was like yes. And she travels the whole us to vent as well. It’s like why because you’re here to dance you’re here to have fun the music have more be so even in have time to have it slowly songs it’s kind of things. Usually the music is more Zouk, have of course you Americanize, you put pop music, and you put “Zoukable” songs. Right, right. But the feeling about the body that move the people have higher energy. And I went to a lot of placing in the US, and the energy is so low in the parties. Wow. And like I was missing something. It was I’m open to say every time that you guys go to Brazil, go to the biggest party there, there you see the thing there’s just different so you’re missing something here is not a problem that you give this spinning to be closed. But the problem is the only that you know, so only electronic music. Come on. Why? Because if you go to Brazil, we don’t do that. So if you’re doing a Brazilian dance, you need to respect the music as well. Yeah, not only Brazilian songs because we don’t do that. But we do it with Reggaeton we do with Zouk Music, We do with everything. We do music without strong beat. Yes, we do. But we need to respect that the default, the main one has beat. So you cannot create a soup glass we without beat.

Terence: right.

Rachel: so that for me that if you want to change something, it’s fine. But you need to say to something else. Okay, right. Right. Right. You know, so, but I want to know it was only electronic. It you go to Mafi Zouka, he is my friend, and I love him. He created amazing songs.

Terence: I’ve heard of him. I’ve heard of him. Definitely. Yeah.

Rachel: But at the beginning, he was giving these new feeling for us. He was creating popular songs with to be right here. And I really right for us. The music was too fast. And in French is really out for our culture. The friend songs was not touching. Only, like the new generations. I know. We grew up in Brazil listening to American musics and pop music, everything that change. So we were trying to feel comfortable and feel different with different music. So he was giving us different that’s why he created new songs, you know, otherwise we’ll keep picking music from radio. Okay, so he’s part was amazing to give music that are really popular and we can dance Zouk with that. But the people misunderstood that. So, yeah, so it’s like, one thing is when you bring new music, new American music that you create the feeling. And the other thing is, if you only do parties with that, only with electronics without any voices in a singer, but for me, it’s completely out of our culture. We can dance to it, but it’s not our main music.

Terence: I want to ask you, um, Can you give me that maybe three of your favorite Congress’s like, three in Brazil and three in the US?

Rachel: Okay, wow. So in Brazil, of course, I would say my congress. Ramalho Zouk Festival. It’s on Decembers. It’s the one before the Christmas. It’s a festival, that’s why I don’t call it congress. I don’t want to do a huge Congress. I did, like in 2012 2013. But I prefer something smaller. It’s inside our studio and we have a barbecue. The huge pool is like, cool. It’s really cool. So it’s more like a family. Like it’s more it’s about dancing. It’s about doing the classes and creating the same thing at the same time. You know I love being part of its (1:22:22). It is amazing. It is in January. They call it the Rio Zouk congress. And it’s always in January. It’s a huge event in three huge ballrooms. The package is really huge. So the other event in Brazil that I love is the KAKA event. She is my other half in the DJ part.

Terence: Yeah. Like, what is that call?

Rachel: So now the event is for Zouk. Because he’s in Fortaleza. So the next one will be will be happening in 2021. So it will be amazing. So check it out, because it’s really good. So it’s for Zouk and it’s in Fortaleza will be in January.

Terence: Tell me what give me your top three events in the US Congress and festivals. Which ones have been your favorite?

Rachel: Wow, so some events that I really love to go, it’s in Atlantic City. It’s close to New Jersey. The name is “Zouk in play” and it’s really cool because it brings different feelings that only the classes and the rooms can give. The beach as well. It gives me nice feelings. I really enjoy to go to San Francisco. It’s really cool. It’s nice to have a nice body and it’s amazing. I love “Zouk me SF” July I think it’s 16th of July. Okay. Yeah, this weekend. It’s really cool. “Zouk me SF” in San Francisco’s really nice. The other one. I would tell you that’s for real in US. I have other ones that I go like DC Congress is really nice. I have a lot of friends there and it’s really cool.

Terence: which Congress is that?

Rachel: so this is a Zouk congress. It’s just this past weekend. The one that I love and I attended a long time ago was New York Zouk Festival. But I need to tell you that “Zouka Maxi” in Mexico, it’s “wow!” Yeah, that’s awesome. So they’re proving a lot different so every year they’re proven in doing better and better because like for me like the environment is just incredible like a Mexico to be played Academy going around walking around have a nice food, nice drinks, the beach is really cool. The people are more I will tell you happy just because they don’t need to pay attention everything they are doing. They are having fun dancing. They have classes and have a lot of things happening where we have four days of classes, after which we have nine days of parties.

Terence: that’s awesome.

Rachel: it’s hot

Terence: of course Mexico is going to be hot.

Rachel: So for me is the main Congress that I really enjoy to go. I have a lot of other events that I try to prioritize but I’m going to Europe so I cannot go but I know that Zouk heat that comes up in April in DC as well, is just amazing. So I have a lot of events that are incredible.

Terence: That’s awesome. Yeah. Let me ask you this. I’ll ask you a couple more questions. I don’t want to take up too much more your time. But um, can you give me one tip that can make someone a better dancer immediately?

Rachel: Immediately do classes.

Terence: simple as that

Rachel: Yeah, because a lot of people try to run away that, “oh, I learned going to the parties”. You cannot run away that. Of course you do it. But to do well. I you need to understand. Right. So now the internet’s really fast. You can open a video “Oh, I want to do this movement” and then you just do it. Of course. I learned one Lift from the internet. But I was hurting myself. And then when I did the class to improve intend to stand better with someone that really understand doing lifts, I was like “Oh, my God”. It was different from what I was thinking about it. So one thing is what you see is completely different from when you work and when you feel Of course. So a lot of people run away that this responsibility to understand and to dance better is inside of these classes. It’s

Terence: You learn the proper techniques. That’s why dance classes are always important.

Rachel: Yes with different persons. It’s cool.

Terence: Let me ask you this. I’m curious. I was talking to someone who was an M-Zouk dancer. And have you heard about M-Zouk?

Rachel: Yeah, yeah. It’s a little different. But he was telling me about the Brazilian Zouk dance Council. What is that? So Brazilian Zouk counsel is a group of teachers.

Terence: are you one of them?

Rachel: at all I do parts off in the jacking Jews we judge we do but have six main structures that runs this course otherwise would be a mess of course, because all Brazilians want to run this course. We try to give some rules to support this path because in Brazil, we don’t have a structured way to teach Brazilian dance, understand like that. You cannot do competitions. When this people traveling here visit, they understand that we need something more professional in area. So if you go to jack and Jill in West Coast wing, in ballroom, it’s completely different than you go to jack and Jill only for fun in Brazil because we didn’t have this professional skills in dance work. So we need to learn from somebody. So the Brazilian concept is that it’s giving the not for Brazilians only, but for the people who run Zouk communities, not to teach like this person or that person, but to have some boundaries and limits to understand better our own culture. So we have to do jack and Jill that running around the world to have the same points need to be for Brazilian Zouk culture, otherwise, it’s his another type of deal, another type of competition, you just need to understand that, you know, so. It’s amazing to have, because you can understand better and have some limits, otherwise the people will jump in, and how can you say that it’s Brazilian, if you don’t have any group to actually say, “Oh, come on. This is Brazilian”. Because a lot of people from Holland claim Brazilian Zouk was born in Holland.

Terence: that is crazy

Rachel: Yeah. So if you don’t have Brazilian costume emphasizing it’s ours and it’s our culture, that’s when everybody can join respect the culture. Okay, so for me Brazilian Zouk shows the best path to go.

Terence: I’m curious when you talk about jack and Jill competitions. What’s your opinion on jack and Jill competitions? How do you feel about those?

Rachel: So I like to watch. As artists I realized that it is not to increase my points because I think the teachers have a lot to give and when they dance together. When you switch partners, so I was doing jack and Jill in Prague with vault. So when we got into a place it was amazing because people were having fun with right show off was just dance. We have different bodies because our lot of teachers Zouk teachers have different styles. So when you switch like you’re dancing with some somebody that is a teacher as well, but have events completely different you right? We are there to try to match. So it’s kind of difficult. It’s really difficult. Every teacher gets so nervous in interest to jack and Jill as well. So I love to judge and I love to participate. It’s fun. No, it’s good. And that and I think that all the students like it as well.

Terence: I was watching this video you did at the Madrid Zouk Bachaka Congress was like all of you are just switching in and out to that one song. Do you remember that? You see my video? Yes, that was that was really cool. That was awesome. I thoroughly enjoy that one.

Rachel: So it’s really amazing that like, I’m able to dance with my brothers. And, and we’re learning how to dance like two guys and we’re women respecting the difference between them because would they go have a different dance than him after this them? Even when I’m leading I think I am. I have half of this too. And having all my body cannot do some more explosive hand that is more like faster and the other was more perfectionist above the body, and then more tall so he created different type of movements and not to have a different type of skills he loves to do cambrares. So it’s like, everyone is different, even having the same family in the same dance. So we try to give this feeling for the students as well. Even when we born in the same family, they sing the same dance, we have a different dance. You know, it’s really cool. And when we switch a lot, so it’s kind of fun. So yeah, so when we were switching. We did the demo with the students as well. So this is how we did our class and was so we were three and I was leading.

Terence: So you’re talking about a different video. It was a different

Rachel: No, no. I was talking about a different video as well that we was switching with the students not only with us. So I have the video that we are doing together, me and my two brothers and I have another video there. We’re switching with the students. That video you are talking about, we did it in Kaka event. And it was for the Madrid Zouk Bachaka. We will be going to Madrid in September so you need to check it out.

Terence: So Madrid is where M-Zouk is. Do you know anything about M-Zouk?

Rachel: I’m not close to the M-Zouk stuff. We know its opening, its happening. But we don’t talk the same methodology. I understand.

Terence: I understand. Yeah, yes. Different. Yeah. I want to thank you for today. I’ve taken more than enough of your time. I really just want to thank you so much, you know, for taking the time to talk to me today.

Rachel: I want to say that these M-Zouk brothers, when I was in Barcelona, they opened the studio for me, my brother to sleep there. It was all, too. So I’m saying that. We not parting out. But we respect that it is completely different and I think have a market for everyone, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I just want to say that. That’s why I have Brazilian Zouk council to say “okay, this is what we think”. And every school have a different methodology as well. All right. So it’s like, let’s have fun.

Terence: I just had a M-Zouk dance on the show. It is a beautiful dance. It was. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rachel: yeah it is amazing. If they created M-Zouk for some reason, so they want to show something that we don’t show. So it is cool.

Terence: Let me ask you this. Real quick. Tell me what are some of your upcoming events in the near future?

Rachel: So now I’m going to US for this. We start the tour in the DC festival and we enter on the 18th. Then Capital congress. So it this house event that my friend Ashley, who is doing a lot of amazing things in district Zouk in Washington, she opened the door for Zouk and we have been teaching Zouk for two years already. It’s also been a huge event for Salsa, and it’s been running for 15 years. So it’s amazing. So we are starting in DC. So from DC, we go to Solace in New York. And from there we go to Dallas, Dallas, we go to Atlanta Cassini for that event that I told you is a complaint and then we go right away to San Francisco then San Francisco then Mexico. And then Brazil for a week and then go to Europe.

Terence: Oh my goodness. Extremely busy. So real quick, let the people know, how can they get in contact with you?

Rachel: on Instagram it’s “the Ramalhos Zouk”. So we have our brand have a lot of shirts and different stuff. So we have a lot of amazing clothes as well. Zouk is not only about the things the three of us do. We also have classes that we do with amazing dance teachers as well. We include not only the work done by us three, we also include other important stuffs about us as well. We have “Renato Ramalho”, “Rodrigo Ramalho”. On Facebook, it’s “the Ramalhos” as well. So you find us everywhere.

Terence: so when I when I post this on YouTube everything I’m going to make sure I put all your contact information.

Rachel: thank you so much. Thank you for contacting me for this. I’m really glad.

Terence: yes I really appreciate I can tell you know you’re very passionate and you love you know everything was in Zouk so I thoroughly enjoy this myself I want to say thank you so much Rachel.

Rachel: Thank you I’m really passionate. Zouk community for me is my life so I will take care of and help and everything that people want

Terence: thank you so much Rachel. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Rachel: thank you. “The Ramalhos baby!”(Laughs)