Thanks for everyone who came out to the Free to Move Dance School Open House on Friday, Sept 6 before the Hurricane. Sharing the after class improvised demo I did with my student Keisha. Classes are starting up again for the fall! Join us to learn Kizomba/Urban Kiz or/and Cuban salsa www.freetomove.ca, info@freetomove.ca Calling this demo co-creative kizomba because it's a word that means a lot to me, and after watching it back, I didn't know what label I should give it, it' definitely closer to urban kiz, but not quite really... I'm not a big fan of putting dance or people in boxes. So this is my self expressions all using techniques under the kizomba umbrella to express the song through movement, feeling and dance while sharing with and listening to my partner the whole time (hence the co-creative part) Enjoy I had fun in this one!

Freestyle Demo to Urban Kiz/Semba mix with Brigitte and Keisha of Free to Move Dance School, January 2019 at Haliete's Bachata Night in Halifax, NS. Thanks for all the support and so many of my student coming out to the event! And thanks to my student Keisha for agreeing to be my demo partner! It was my first Kizomba demo leading outside of my own studio. Although I have performed a lot over the years it has been mostly as a follow, I have only lead in group performances. I do social dance about half the time as a lead, but it feels really different, and more nerve wracking, performing as a lead in front of people, especially demos, which are improvised, as it was the case here. Here is to going outside my comfort zone more often this year and sharing more of what I do! Brigitte Aucoin For info or classes: www.freetomove.ca info@freetomove.ca

Demo with Charles Ogar during his Urban Kiz Workshops in Halifax, NS in June 2018. Urban Kiz, Kizomba, Tarraxa, Cuban Salsa www.freetomove.ca info@freetomove.ca

Free to Move Dance School & Co-creative Kizomba Brigitte Aucoin & Student/Practice Partners: Nikki, Keisha & Simon Kizomba/Urban Kiz/Semba/Tarraxa Practice clips from Fall to Winter 2018/19 These clips are from practice recordings to check on our progress. They are improvised with something in mind, like keeping the flow, creativity or perfecting pivots. As we are always practicing but rarely share what we do, I thought it was time to give a glimpse into our practice process through some of our favorite moments from the last 6 months. I am grateful for the Kizomba community, my students and dance practice partners. I wanted to dance kizomba in my city. So, still learning how to lead, I started teaching what I knew 5 years ago. Since then I have been traveling for training a few times each year and practicing in between, bringing myself up and along with it the community. As it's a partnered dance but I teach alone and don't have a designated partner, the only way I have been able to progress as a dancer, teacher and be able to build a community is through my students. It's been quite the journey! I am truly proud of where we are today, being so isolated from other kizomba scenes. Enjoy! For more info, to register for classes/privates, know about performances or events or to book us for a workshop: www.freetomove.ca, info@freetomove.ca

Demo with Charles Ogar during his Urban Kiz Workshops in Halifax, NS in June 2018. Urban Kiz, Kizomba, Tarraxa, Cuban Salsa www.freetomove.ca info@freetomove.ca

Last little bit of dancing with this lead (don't know his name) in Paris at my last afternoon social that a friend happened to record. We were having a ball, goofing around, while still doing very technical Urban Kiz steps ;) enjoy. Good reminder that social dancing is suppose to be fun! Classes in Urban Kiz, Kizomba, Tarraxa, Cuban Salsa www.freetomove.ca info@freetomove.ca