Renata PeçanhaTalk · History of Zouk
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ZOUKUNITY
History · 5 years special
Five years ago, a handful of people decided Londrina deserved a congress. In July we celebrate the only way we know how: dancing until sunrise, with the people who have been writing this story from the start.
July 17–19, 2026 · Hotel Sumatra · Londrina, Brazil
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17—19.07.2026
Hotel Sumatra · Londrina, Brazil
5years of history
18hof workshops
18hof social dancing
0km of commuting
Classes, competitions, parties and rooms under one roof: Hotel Sumatra. You walk up to your room in flip-flops. The pre-party (Lambaile) and the Pool Party take place at partner venues, minutes away.
What awaits you
Not a
Not a
congress.
A reunion.
Five days where the dance floor becomes home, strangers become partners, and you leave dancing differently than you arrived.
Learn
18 hours of classes
Fundamentals, neo zouk, musicality, elastic, boneca, lamba3, transitions and creativity — Zouk and Lambada side by side, from the pillars to the daring.
Listen
Three talks
History of the Music with Rhawann, History of Lambada with Didi and Patrícia, and History of Zouk with Renata Peçanha. Every day at 3pm.
Compete
Official Jack & Jill
Both councils: BZDC for Brazilian Zouk and LWDC for Lambada. Beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Feel
Pre-party, three parties and an after
It starts Thursday with the Lambaile. Then Origens, Baile dos Sonhos and Zouk Unity: História, with a DJ battle in between. And it closes at the Pool Party, to cure the dance hangover.
Watch
Choreography Project
Seven performances that sum up why we do this. Free entry — bring the people you love, even if they don't dance.
Stay
Everything in one place
Sleep at the Sumatra: no 4am ride home, soaked in sweat, in the July cold. From the dance floor to your pillow is three minutes.
The theme · History
Before it was
Before it was
your dance,
it was theirs.
You learned the lateral from someone who learned it from someone else. That line didn't start with you — and it doesn't end here. In 2026 we pull the thread back.
1990s · Rio de Janeiro
The music changes. The dance reinvents itself.
With lambada being censored, dance floors turned to Caribbean Zouk from the Antilles. Renata Peçanha and Adílio Porto adapted the movements to that musicality: a new embrace, a new technique and many influences. That's how Brazilian Zouk was born.
Afterwards
The branches: LambaZouk, NeoZouk, Rio Zouk
Porto Seguro keeps the fast, circular root. Mafie Zouker opens NeoZouk and brings the remix to the floor. Each style is a different answer to the same question: how do you lead someone without ordering them around?
2026 · Londrina
Five years of Zouk Unity
And this is where you join the journey! Renata, Didi and Rhawann won't only teach — they'll tell where it all came from, in talks open to every attendee. Bringing these names together is genuinely unexpected: you only see it at Unity!
Line-up
Who is
Who is
coming
Eight couples and artists across 18 hours of workshops. Three of them open a talk at 3pm, on where Zouk and Lambada came from.
Didi e PatríciaTalk · History of Lambada
RhawannTalk · History of the MusicDJ
Val e VanessaDJ Val Clemente
Mafie e AnnaDJ Mafie
Iago e Vanessa
Leo Bruno e Hila
Nina e Matheus
Official DJs
- Montini
- Kakah
- Auler
- Zen Eyer
- Zé do Lago
- Val Clemente
- Mafie
Choreography Project
- Bruno e Luana
- Ryan e Juli
- Denilson e Lívia
- Léo e Laura
- Kaylane
- Jaque
- Chrys
The nights
Three parties.
Three parties.
One chapter
each.
All at Hotel Sumatra, starting at 11pm. At the door: R$ 100 each. All three together, in the party package: R$ 250.
Friday · Jul 17 · 11pm
Origens
Every story has a beginning. A night to celebrate the roots of Zouk and Lambada.
Saturday · Jul 18 · 11pm
Baile dos Sonhos
Pack your favourite pyjamas. A Unity classic, light and full of magic. At midnight, the DJ Battle.
Sunday · Jul 19 · 11pm
Zouk Unity: História
The night that closes five years. Wear your best look and come be part of this chapter.
Friday · Jul 17 · 10pm
Choreography Project
Seven performances before the Origens party.
- Bruno e Luana · Ryan e Juli · Denilson e Lívia
- Léo e Laura · Kaylane · Jaque · Chrys
- Free entry
Monday · Jul 20 · 2pm to 9pm
Pool Party
The official after. Two floors, sun and a pool.
- DJ Montini · DJ Amanda Castro · DJ Lari Diz
- Indoors: Zouk · Outdoors: Funk
- Open cooler — bring your own drinks
- R$ 50 in advance · R$ 65 at the door
Schedule
Five days,
Five days,
hour by hour
The warm-up
PartyLambaile · Official pre-partyUntil 4am. Off-site — R. Amélia Riskallah Abib Tauil, 1045. R$ 35 in advance · R$ 50 at the door.
The roots
ClassZouk in Essence: the fundamentals that transform your danceVal e Vanessa
ClassThe structure of Lambada: knowing its fundamentalsLeo e Hila
ClassThe pillars of Neo Zouk: where it all beginsMafie e Anna
TalkHistory of the MusicRhawann
Break
ClassElastic: control, dynamics and applicationRenata e Rhawann
ClassThe base of Lambada: technique, energy and identityDidi e Patrícia
J&JMeeting · Zouk and Lambada BeginnerFollowed by Lambada and Zouk Beginner prelims
ShowChoreography ProjectFree entry
PartyOrigens
The magic
ClassIntegrating Lambada into ZoukIago e Vanessa
ClassDynamics in motion: control of time and energyNina e Matheus
ClassThe art of Lamba3Leo e Hila
TalkHistory of LambadaDidi e Patrícia
Break
ClassPre-movement: communication before actionVal e Vanessa
ClassBoneca: from origin to executionDidi e Patrícia
J&JMeeting Intermediate and Advanced · PrelimsAnd the Zouk and Lambada Beginner finals
PartyBaile dos SonhosTheme: pyjamas
DJDJ Battle · Zouk x LambadaZé do Lago x Kakah
The celebration
ClassBuilding possibilities through creativityMafie e Anna
ClassZouk Needs YouVal e Vanessa
ClassTransitions and turn combinationsIago e Vanessa
TalkHistory of ZoukRenata Peçanha
Break
ClassAdding spiceNina e Matheus
ClassThe energy of LambadaDidi e Patrícia · Leo e Hila
J&JFinals · Intermediate and AdvancedZouk and Lambada
PartyZouk Unity: História
J&JWinners announced
The after
PartyPool Party · After Zouk UnityUntil 9pm · DJ Montini, DJ Amanda Castro, DJ Lari Diz and special guests
Two floorsIndoors (Zouk) · Outdoors (Funk)
Open coolerBring your own drinks. R. Pedro Bertoluci, 410 — Parque Industrial José Belinati.
Competition
Why watch it
Why watch it
on stories
when you can
live it here?
This year the challenge doubled: the classic official BZDC Jack and Jill for Brazilian Zouk lovers and, for the lambadeiros, the official LWDC Jack and Jill.
01 · Draw
Prelims
You dance with several randomly drawn partners, to songs picked by the DJ, and you're judged individually. Nothing is arranged in advance.
02 · Fixed partner
Final
Here you're paired with a single partner and the couple is judged together. This is where improvisation becomes conversation.
03 · Ranking
Official points
Made the final and scored? Your points go into the council registry and count towards levelling up on the world scene.
Levels
Beginner · Intermediate · Advanced
In both rhythms. Beginners run on Friday and close on Saturday; intermediate and advanced decide on Sunday, at 6:15pm.
Before you sign up
The basics of the rules
Dance shoes are mandatory (socks or bare feet mean disqualification). No lifts, no costumes, no props. You're judged on timing, technique and teamwork — not memorised choreography.
Register for Jack & Jill
Registration is open on Danceplace. Pick your outfit, train hard and get your heart ready.
Tickets
Choose
Choose
your place
in history.
Recommended
R$ 475,00
Full pass
- 18 hours of workshops (Zouk + Lambada)
- Talks with Renata, Didi and Patrícia, and Rhawann
- All three official parties
- DJ Battle and Choreography Project
- Access to the Jack & Jill competitions
Nights only
R$ 250,00
Party package
- Origens (Friday)
- Baile dos Sonhos (Saturday)
- Zouk Unity: História (Sunday)
- DJ Battle included
- At the door: R$ 100 per party
Extras
Before and after
- Lambaile · pre-party, Thursday
R$ 35 in advance · R$ 50 at the door - Pool Party · after, Monday
R$ 50 in advance · R$ 65 at the door - Choreography Project · Friday
Free entry
Prices subject to change by ticket batch. Accommodation at Hotel Sumatra is booked separately, directly with the hotel.
Congress guide
Come
Come
prepared.
Everything we wish someone had told you before your first congress.
What to pack
- Dance shoes — and a second pair, because the first one will be soaked.
- Spare shirts. One per block of classes. Changing your shirt is the greatest act of love on a dance floor.
- A small face towel, deodorant and mints.
- A water bottle. You'll sweat more than you think.
- Knee pads, if you use them. Tape or a brace if your ankles have a history.
- A real coat. July is Londrina's coldest month: it averages 18°C with lows near 9°C. You leave the party boiling at 4am and walk into the cold.
- Good pyjamas for the Baile dos Sonhos, and swimwear for the Pool Party.
Floor etiquette and consent
- Anyone can ask anyone. Leader, follower, veteran, beginner. Invite people of every level — especially whoever is standing alone in the corner.
- "No" is a complete answer. It needs no explanation, deserves no insistence, and is not about you.
- Turned someone down? It's kind to wait one song before dancing with the person right next to them.
- Don't teach on the social floor. Nobody asked to be corrected. Offer a smile and a thank you, not technical feedback.
- Intimate moves, dips and risky turns require mutual agreement — spoken, or read carefully in your partner's body. When in doubt, don't.
- Check over your shoulder before leading. The floor belongs to everyone.
- If you drink, know your limit. Hygiene is collective care, not vanity.
First congress? Read this.
You'll look at the floor during the first party and think everyone dances better than you. Everyone has thought that, including the people teaching.
- Don't try to do all 18 hours of class in perfectionist mode. Pick three things to take home.
- Sleep. Seriously. Someone rested on Sunday enjoys more than a wrecked hero on Saturday.
- Ask someone to dance in the first 10 minutes of the first party. After that it gets easy.
- The 3pm talks are this year's worst-kept secret. Go.
Hotel Sumatra: getting there and what's inside
R. Senador Souza Naves, 803 — Centro, Londrina/PR. On-site restaurant, breakfast included, parking, gym and a 24h front desk. Classes, competitions and parties all happen inside.
- From the airport (LDB): about 5 km, roughly a 10-minute drive. Uber and 99 work well in the city.
- From the bus station: about 1 km. Walkable with light luggage.
- Special rates for attendees: download the event voucher.
- Block sold out? Call or message the hotel at +55 43 3374-9238 to check for cancellations.
- Want to share a room or Airbnb? Join the congress WhatsApp group and sort it out with the crew.
Off the dance floor
Londrina
Londrina
between
parties
The city has one of the largest Japanese communities in inland Paraná, and a lake in the middle of it. Use your mornings — classes only start at noon.
Eat
Where to eat
Karuby YakinikuJapanese BBQ, 5 min from the hotel · R. Espírito Santo, 1246
KabutoOver 30 years in business · Av. JK, 1394
DachôAll-you-can-eat Japanese · R. Goiás, 1731
Churrascaria ChimarrãoWhen the body asks for protein · Av. Tiradentes, 3165
PandorBeloved French bakery, on the hotel's own street · R. Sen. Souza Naves, 1326
Gigantesca PizzariaThe city's biggest pizza, downtown · R. Fernando de Noronha, 790
DonatelloPizza and Italian pasta since 1997, downtown · R. Benjamin Constant, 1778
ApizzNaturally leavened dough, with vegan options. Worth the trip.
Burger jointsChicohamburger, Bullguer and Burger X for the late-night bite.
Lago Igapó kiosksSausage sandwiches at sunset. Cheap and mandatory.
Explore
Where to breathe
Lago IgapóLandscaping by Burle Marx, a bike path and the best sunset in town
Londrina History MuseumIn the old railway station. Fits this year's theme.
Metropolitan CathedralSteps from the Sumatra
Bosque Marechal Cândido RondonShade and green in the middle of the city
Rua Prefeito Faria LimaWhere Londrina's nightlife happens, when we're not at the party
July weather
Cold and dry. It averages 18°C, lows can drop to 9°C and afternoons reach 27°C. Dress in layers: light to dance, warm to leave. And bring lip balm — the air gets very dry.
July 17–19, 2026
Let's become one 💜
Five years from now, someone will tell the story of this edition. Would you rather hear it, or be in it?
Get my passR$ 475Full pass
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