Learn the Shim-Sham!
Learn the Shim-Sham!
Sept. 29th - Oct 1st.
Join us for a community rich intimate weekend of Zouk classes and dancing with the world-renowned DJ Kakah each night where we transform spaces in Olympia for epic parties.
Friday: Start the night off with a beginnner zouk class from Deblin Mcknight and Felipe Meger at Equal Latins, this venue is a fantastic restaurant and bar, with an excellent dance floor in it's own room. Then we transition into our weekly Friday Salsa & Bachata dance party (Zoukable music will be played). At 11pm we transition to the 3rd floor of the Olympia Eagles overlooking the bay where we dance Zouk all night with cherry picked DJ's including Dj Kakah.
Saturday: From 12-3pm take workshops from world renowned instructors. Take a break, regain your energy for the main dance at 9pm in the Olympia Eagles Grand Ballroom. This is where our hard work goes, to bring you a magical night you wont forget.
Sunday: Two more hours of workshops with world renowned instructors in the afternoon.
Want a little risk at 6:30pm? If all pans out we will send you details for a bonus renegade Zouk dance in Olympia at sunset. Then our main event for the night is back at the Eagles where we will make a lasting impression.
DJ Kakah
Eagles Grand Ballroom
The talent
DJ Kakah
DJ Kakah is internationally known for her music work with Brazilian Zouk, Bachata and Kizomba. She not only remixes songs but also produces original music for all dance styles. Her songs already surpass 30 million views across streaming platforms. A successful career that comes from years of training in music and dance.
Ana Paula Gomez
She started her dance journey at 6 years old, studying Ballet, Classico, and Jazz for 6 years. At the age of 12, she took a break as an academic dancer and dedicated herself to music and theater. Ana is recognized for their technique, a quality of their shows that mix elements of Lambada, Zouk and other dances, and versatility in the social to dance various styles of music, she has focused on all existent styles of Lambada and Zouk, aiming to offer students a 360 degree panorama of what happens in the zouk community. Since 2016 she has traveled around the world as an instructor and international artist from Lambada and Zouk, and have passed through 18 countries in Europe, Oceania, Asia and South America.
Za thomaier
He trained in ballroom for years, which includes over 24 different partner dance styles. He has been teaching and competing for over 10 years. Along the way, he discovered a love for social dancing that was almost as addictive as competing for him. When he discovered West Coast swing and Zouk where you could compete while social dancing it was a dream come true. Za competes in the All-star division of West Coast Swing and the intermediate division in Zouk. He travels the world spreading joy and love of the connection, music, and love of this dance. Za has several jobs and business in the dance community. He is an event producer, DJay, community leader, and professional partier. He is the founder of Zouk Addicts Anonymous, Founder of the West LAB, Co-founder Late Night Swing, co-founder of Future Zouk North West. Za believes that partner dancing is essentially the expression of oneself, and then sharing that with another person.
.jpeg)
DJ way
Julia Way (aka DJ WAY) fell in love with social dancing in 2003, progressed through Lindy hop, blues, fusion, and Brazilian Zouk, and started DJing 10 years later. Since then, she has been found spinning tunes wherever and whenever she can along with organizing events for her local Denver Zouk community. From sheets of ice high in the Rocky Mountains, to geodesic domes perched on precipices, to the ballrooms of New York City, she is determined to find those songs that make people jump up and dance. So get ready for some chunky beats and funky treats for your dancing feets.
Deblin McKnight
Deblin McKnight is one of the co-owners at VMAC and lives for dance. Deblin joined VMAC shortly after it opened and immediately fell in love with the community and environment. She joined teams and continued to thrive on and off the stage. Currently, Deblin operates the Zouk & Bachata program at VMAC. She focuses on social dancing technique and knows how to lead and follow.
In addition to teaching classes and directing performance teams, Deblin participates heavily in community building. She is a board member of the Rose City Salsa & Timba Festival, Director of Eclipse Zouk Marathon, and Co-Operator of PDX Bachata. In addition to major events, she also organizes Weekender events that focus on a specific artist and their style. She enjoys teaching, training and hiring other amazing artists to grow the dance community in Portland.
Register now!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are moving the main dance party with DJ Kakah to a daytime event. Tonight's social will be a practica starting at 9 p.m. and ending earlier than expected. The price of the practica will be a suggested $5-$10 donation. Thank you so much for being flexible with us!