Inspired by the movie “Shall We Dance?”, Gui Prada started dancing in 2004. But it was only in 2006 that he began to dive deep into partner dance as a work-study trainee at the Jaime Aroxa Dance School in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most prestigious dance schools in Brazil. During his 6 years as a member of the school’s team, he learned all Brazilian partner dances (Forró, Samba de Gafieira, Soltinho, Bolero and Zouk) and Argentine Tango. As he matured more as a dancer, he found he preferred to focus less on the steps and more on turning partner dancing into a relaxing experience for the mind and body.
In 2009, on his first visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was introduced to the authentic tango hug – the close embrace – and all of its complexity and power to create the ultimate feeling of “Conforto, Cuidado e Entrega” – comfort, care, and surrender. After that, he continued learning from other remarkable instructors in Brazil, and eventually researched the close embrace and its application to all partner dances, to convey a sense of well-being, relaxation, and ease of movement between dance partners.
His investigation continued over the years, and through sources both inside and outside of the dance world. These studies guided him to form a multidisciplinary understanding of dancing and connecting in close embrace as a healing and therapeutic experience, and a way to connect with Brazilian culture. Due to its versatility, Brazilian Zouk became the perfect dance to apply this concept and explore the possibilities.
In 2017, Gui moved to Washington DC, and started teaching with District Zouk. It was then that his career as an International Dance Instructor started. Since then, much more has changed as the experience of teaching regular classes and traveling around the world has brought new knowledge and new investigations.
Over the years, Gui developed special workshops called “The Universe Behind the Hug”, Parts I and II, Finding Zouk, Embrace Zouk Weekender, Embrace Zouk Online, Partner Dancing thorugh the Eyes of Non-Violent Communication, and the Leaders Intensive Training, which together toured 20+ cities around the US and the world. Today, Gui is based in Washington DC, US, developing the local community with regular, weekly, and progressive classes. He became a reference in the execution of clean, comfortable fundamentals and its understanding of close connection, both from a physical and mental perspective. Gui is also one of the regular instructors of Alex de Carvalho’s MAC program, where he teaches new instructors how to learn, talk about, and teach connection.