Traveling dancer's vocabulary: English - Portuguese (Brazil)

Abaixo da imagem em português!

Knowing the local language can help a lot while traveling. Unfortunately (IMO) it's not possible to learn every language of the world - but learning even just a couple key words and phrases can save you from a lot of trouble. And it always makes a positive impression with the locals!

With kind assistance from my friends in Brazil I compiled this short Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary for the traveling dancers. Thanks to Stela Regina Novaes from Studio Metrópole and Jaakko Pispala from ZK Adventures for the help!

English words & phrases are written on blue, and on their right the Brazilian Portuguese words & phrases on green!

Now t-shirts available with this print!

Conhecer a língua local pode ajudar muito durante a viagem. Infelizmente acho que não é possível aprender todas as línguas do mundo - mas pode realmente ajudar se você aprender ainda algumas palavras e frases importantes. E isso faz sempre uma impressão positiva!

Com a ajuda dos meus amigos no Brasil eu compilei este pequeno vocabulário de inglês - português brasileiro para os dançarinos que viajarão. Obrigado Stela Regina Novaes de Studio Metrópole and Jaakko Pispala de ZK Adventures pela ajuda!

Palavras e frases em inglês são escritos em azul, e do seu lado direito as palavras e frases do português brasileiro são em verde!

Break the rules, break the routines - 5 keys to being innovative

I took a break from my daily routine and headed to Slush. Not the wet snow you might find on the streets of Helsinki this time of the year, but the hottest IT start-up event in the Nordics. Though slightly off-topic on this blog (will get on-topic soon), I truly can recommend attending Slush if you are an IT innovator or investor anywhere in the world - these guys really know how to make a cool event!

Together with over 10.000 people I roamed, what I would describe, a super-sized nightclub meets science lab for two days. Four mesmerizing stages packed with key notes & seminars, a hundred+ cool stands and quite a few free macchiatos later, a person does get a little worn down with the same innovation BS. A lot of smoke and mirrors... literally. (Which they need for the 1000000 lazer beams that criss-cross the ceilings.) Nonetheless, weary or not, you always end up picking up something new and interesting, meet lots of people you'd normally never get around to see and get some valuable practice on your elevator pitches (and notice how much you're in need of that practice).

On the second morning of Slush, the United States Ambassador to Finland Bruce Oreck - known in Finland not only for his position in the US Embassy and local politics, but also from his charismatic appearances around the country ranging from TV cooking shows to displaying his well-shaped biceps (a life-long body builder) - stepped up to start off the day two of the event. I was definitely expecting something to wake me up. Though the crowd was clearly tired & hungover (myself luckily only the former) from the party the night before, and though the points he covered while on stage were no rocket science, his talk served as a good reminder on an important topic; how to be more innovative.


If Slush has one thing slightly in tangent to this blog, it's innovation and that particular speech. So I'm not totally off in writing about this. Below are Bruce Oreck's 5 practices to being innovative:

Beyond words: Helsinki Zouk Festival 2014

It takes quite a lot of effort to create something good. But what does it take to make... magic?

I know, I know. Last year I made the statement that Helsinki Zouk Festival is a zouk event quite unlike any other. And true, the 2013 HZF was great. But indeed, the last weekend's 2014 HZF was simply beyond words.

I try not bore you with everything I've already told before. Yes, Helsinki is a cold, dark place in November. The zouk scene is small but us zoukers in Helsinki are extremely proud of it. And I think many may agree we've developed a fairly nice group of dancers here. But now, we also have one of the best zouk events in the world!

Helsinki Zouk Festival is organised by Freddy Marinho and Andressa Castelhano with their Rio Zouk Style dance school now for the third time with the same format:

• Six professional zouk artist couples representing the best of the best in a few different zouk styles.
• Two and a half days of workshops with only one intermediate/advanced track and one beginners' track.
• Three nights of parties (plus separate pre & after party).
• Family atmosphere.

In summary: Less is more. Quality over quantity.

Artists who took part in this year's event: Renata Peçanha & Jorge Peres, Leonardo & Becky Neves, Jefferson Dadinho and Kelly Palhares, Daniel & Leticia Estevez Lopez, Clinton Lacerda & Cristi Boone and the hosts, Freddy & Andressa.