Based in Toronto, Canada, Laura Riva is a passionate lover of dance in all its forms. Since 2008, she has dabbled in everything from Blues and Swing to Tango and Salsa. But, her heart was stolen by the musical, improvisational, and smooth feeling of Brazilian Zouk and West Coast Swing.
In 2013, Laura’s dance ambitions grew when she entered a Zouk partnership with Darius Zi, the founder of dZouk Productions. Laura had the dream to fully immerse herself in dance – but not the opportunity, money, or knowledge to get there. Darius was a veteran of the Zouk and Salsa scenes, and together they form a powerful duo.
Laura now travels, teaches, and performs with her partner at Zouk congresses, and together they organize two dance congresses within Toronto (Canada Zouk Congress and Vision Dance Encounter, North America’s first Swouk event). They are the only North American Zouk organization that presents full-length dance productions (“See Inside Me” and “Cirque du Zouk“). “See Inside Me” was featured as a “Best of Ontario” selection, presented in Ontario’s Celebration Zone during the Pan/Para-PanAm Games in the summer of 2015.
Laura is also the co-creator of the Vision dance program for the blind and Zouk University. Since 2014, Laura and her partner have worked with people of all ages and abilities, spreading the love of Zouk and dance with the world. Their blind dancers are featured in “See Inside Me”.
Laura has an undergraduate degree in Theatre and English from the University of Guelph, and studied Law at the University of Western Ontario. She became a licensed lawyer with the Law Society of Upper Canada as of June 2016. She loves writing creative fiction, and uses The Dancing Grapevine as a creative outlet.
During her time at law school, Laura’s passion for dance led her to drive 2.5 hours each way between her school and Toronto every weekend to continue training in and teaching Zouk.
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Have an idea for a post, or want to be a contributing photographer/writer? Drop Laura a line through The Dancing Grapevine’s Contact Us page.
Hey Laura I somehow stumbled upon your dance blog and I just wanted to say I’m a huge fan! I’ve got like 10+ tabs on my computer open just DEVOURING your content!!!
It’s amazing and keep dancing and writing please because you hit upon so many points about dance that are just so simply AWESOME.
Haven’t dabbled in Zouk yet, I’m still a beginner in many dances but dancing is purely amazing. Thank you again for sharing your love and passion for dance. If you’re ever around Toronto during the summer I’d love to meetup for a coffee and pick your brains about your dance journey thus-far! I find that dance is a great way to become a better person in general and (a bit esoteric I know) become closer to God/the One/All/etcetc
Have a wonderful day and weekend!
-JJ
I would like to use your article on social dancing in my next newsletter. Do I have your permission to do so with the obligatory credit to yourself?
Absolutely 🙂 Please credit Laura Riva and link back to the blog!
Hi Laura!
Hope you’re well.
I’m finding your blog to be immensely useful with all of its blog topics and advice on dance.
I was hoping I might be able to share some of your articles for our upcoming blog on hiphop culture at http://www.d2mg.org?
We will make sure you are credited and link it back to this website.
Warmest Regards,
Alan
Hey Alan! Please feel free 🙂
Laura
thank you
Hi Laura. I would be glad to translate some of your articles into French and credit to your self + back link with your agreement. Thank you so much.
Why does laura talk about herself in third person?
Because it’s a lot easier for Laura to write a bio in the 3rd person. 1st person bio’s tend to leave readers who aren’t entirely clear on who the author is confused.
Totally what I thought. Difficylt not to focus on. Wondering who this all knowing Author is
Laura,
I would like to repost your article on my webpage. Do I have your permission to do it? If so, I will quote you as the author and put a link to your side.
Regards,
David
Yes, please feel free with credit 🙂
Hi Laura
I sell dance shoes as well as teach WCS and Modern Jive and I love your articles! Would you be happy for me to share some of your articles in my blog…will reference you of course and link back to this site :o)
Sure, feel free with credit and link 🙂
Hi Laura,
Reading your article is like hearing myself speak to my class. I tell them the same kinds of things. With your permission I would love to share your articles with them (to support what I say in class) and maybe even in a newsletter (with credit of course) . Thanks for taking the time to put “our” thoughts into words.
Absolutely 🙂 please just link and credit 🙂
Good morning,
I am interested in teaching the blind the STL Bop. The STL Bop is a 6 count urban partner dance. The basic is rather easy to learn. Did learning to teach dance to the blind require training?
Hi Marqua,
I have a strong background in teaching theory, and have worked with several special needs groups before. In terms of teaching dance to the blind, we taught ourselves how to do this – but my background in teaching (particularly special needs groups) helped in understanding where to start. Regardless, it’s important to work with people who have worked with the blind in establishing best practices. There are a lot of things that are easy to forget when working with blind clients that you can’t take for granted.
Hi Laura
i’m the editor of the rock & roll news magazine in Victoria Australia and would like to know if we could reproduce some of your articles for our readers in particle the light follow with all credit to you of course and a link to your blog .
Of course 🙂
I like to know if you think that watching others dance or youtube videos would be consider guidance?
I’ve danced since I was 8 and have never taken a lesson for anything, yet I do handle myself extremely well on the dance floor . I’ve seen many people taken lessons and they can never do what I do .
Techniques do come naturally to some by the simple way of doing things over and over again without having to pay someone else to teach them.
Isn’t dance supposed to be an expression of oneself to the music? So how would technique be developed if not created by those who do feel the music, and are able to express it through their movements .
In this world of dancing I see many people just being taken for a ride , in my opinion, and many making a lot of money through these dancing lessons , congresses and so on .
Talent is a natural thing but through repetitive routines, those without talent could dance albeit a little less unnatural than a talented born dancer . That is just the way it is .
Most performers out there dance by knowing the routines and moves they have practised, to no end but hardly any, really feel and connect with the music but yet the masses think that’s dancing . No , that’s repeating a routine .
You don’t need lessons to be a great dancer, to be a performer you do .
Hello Lisandro,
Watching others and YouTube works to varying degrees of effectiveness – but can lead to very dangerous habits. That’s why many follows are scared of ‘YouTube guy.’ It does help with ideas and aesthetic, but can be dangerous for the lead/follow connection quality. That being said, if there’s no one around to give tactile feedback, it’s better than absolutely nothing.
You appear to have a great deal of confidence in your dance skills. I’m not sure what style you dance, but when it comes to lead/follow dances, I’ve never met a ‘natural’ dancer that got no coaching and is among the best dancers. Perhaps you are a (very rare) exception – or perhaps you are unaware of some areas you need to work on.
Dancing and moving vs. structured dancing are two different things. Both are expressions to music – but dance movement quality and the ability to dance with a partner are trained habits. Anyone can express themselves to music if they understand and ‘feel’ the music – but it doesn’t mean they will look and/or feel good doing it.
Techniques absolutely can be discovered. The thing is, it is easier to make a discovery when you’ve learned and absorbed all the things that came before you. If there were no organized dances – you’re right. The people who feel the music and people like would be setting the technique. However, trying to ‘create’ technique with no background nowadays is like a self-taught person making advancements in the field of medicine. Yes, it’s possible that a prodigy comes along that can self-teach themselves how to dance – but most contributors get to the forefront of what is already discovered *first* before creating new things.
As for people making a lot of money… they don’t. Most congresses don’t even break even until their third year. After that, returns are minimal. Also, if teaching dance led to great wealth, a lot more people would do it. It doesn’t. If you’re VERY LUCKY and one of the best in the world, you may make a decent income… with no pension, benefits, or job security. (Translation: people don’t do this stuff for the dance.)
Performance and social dance are two skills. They’re both dancing. Otherwise, Ballet (which is performance-based) would not be dancing. It definitely is. There are many people who perform who do not necessarily have ‘expression’ down yet – but they are learning. They are trying.
As for natural dancers… it’s not really that much of a thing. It’s life experience. If you grow up in a home that dances Salsa, you get early exposure. If you only start moving your body at 20 years old, you have 15 years less experience. It’s not talent – it’s exposure. It’s the same reason that martial artists and athletes tend to have a bit of an easier time entering dance, or musicians have an easier time staying on rhythm. It’s life exposure.
Hi Laura,
George Hildebrand here, from Cincinnati, Ohio.
I teach the Fundamentals of Lindy Hop Swing Dancing to a small group of raw beginner dancers at a local Community Arts Center. Your article on the roles of a dance Lead and Follow is the best I ever read! (Lead = Picture Frame Follow = Picture). I would so like to include the text of that single article with full acknowledgement to you and your website as the source, with a STRONG recommendation to my students to seek out your many other articles.
I do hope this is OK.
Thank you, George. Please feel free to do so 🙂
I read a couple of your blogs and also your comments. You have a wonderful way of expressing and articulating your viewpoints. I agree with almost everything you said except zouk 🙂 I am glad to have found it. As a dance geek, I have indulged in countless hours discussing and debating arcane subtleties of dancing, with other similar minded people both in the online forums and in real world. There is nothing that you have written, which I haven’t come across or discussed before. But the cohesiveness in expressing your opinion and articulating it is one of the best I have encountered. You display a lot of what I term as ‘dance maturity’.
It is extremely rare for me to comment on a blog post. May be it is first time! Hope to see you on the dance floor someday someplace. Keep writing 🙂
Hey Laura,
I’m Nany, from Brazil.
I have a website: Conexão West, and there we translate some articles to Portuguese.
I chose your article: The 12 Types of Beginners. =)
You can find us on facebook also.
Thank you!!!
Hi Laura,
Have you tried Eastern European Folk Dance,
Bulgarian etc?
And, do you have any comments about that genre.