About João Jezuz:
Introducing João Jezuz – a passionate dance teacher from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with over 10 years of experience teaching in more than 10 countries around the world. Jezuz has taught at notable dance congresses, festivals, and weekenders workshops.
João’s dance journey began over a decade ago in Rio, where he started dancing at Jaime Aroxa’s studio in 2011. He later joined the performance team at Renata Peçanha’s studio and began teaching at Jaime Aroxa’s studio in 2015. Also in 2015, Jezuz joined Zouk Needs You, methodology system by Val Clemente & Vanessa Bonilha, when he firmly starts his studies to be a professional teacher. From 2014-2020, he was the zouk and forró instructor at the University of Rio de Janeiro.
In 2018, João traveled to Slovakia to help establish the local zouk scene in Kosice and Presov, proving to be a huge success. When he returned to Brazil, he continued teaching at Renata Peçanha’s studio and joined a tango performance team called Mira Tango.
The COVID-19 pandemic led João to move to New Zealand, where he started a zouk scene from scratch in Invercargill in 2021. He then relocated to the capital, Wellington, opening his own school called Karioka Dance, which grew to over 200 students in less than a year. João also organized the annual Zouktreat event, a week-long zouk immersion over New Year’s Eve.
Jezuz accolades include a 1st place win in the advanced Jack & Jill competition at Zouklovers in Brazil, and a 2nd place finish in the Artist J&J at Zouk Central, in New Zealand. He is a former teacher for the Zouk Needs You system, as well as a former instructor at the studios of Jaime Aroxa and Renata Peçanha in Brazil. His last experience was teaching regular classes in Tanzarena Bremen (Germany) in 2023 and 2024.
With his wealth of experience, passion for dance, and belief that anyone can learn, João Jezuz is an exceptional zouk instructor ready to share his talents with students around the world.
Together we have been teaching several bootcamps and workshops in Hamburg, we have been invited as guest teachers at the Flow Festival in Bremen and we will be teaching in the Zouk Cruise in Italy, France and Spain, organized by Luiz Araújo. Here we will teach together with many of the most internationally recognized artists including Carlos & Fernanda, Kadu & Carolina, Artus Santos, and Renato Veronezi & Klaudia.
Some pictures from our last workshops at the Flow Festival:
Brazilian zouk in Hamburg 