Kat Maxwell ignited her passion for dancing in 2013 when she first discovered Brazilian Zouk. Already dancing Latin styles such as Salsa, Bachata and the Brazilian dance Samba De Gafieira since 2012 in Christchurch, she soon started training in Forro, Bolero, Soltinho, and Samba no Pe with Leo and Becky at Brazilian Beatz Dance Academy in Christchurch, NZ. She has since added Cha Cha and Contemporary as an addition to her repertoire.
Kat is trained in education, she studied at the University of Canterbury in a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning in Primary Education. This coupled with her training with Leo and Becky at Brazilian Beatz as their student since 2015, part of their team from 2016, and then as one of their teachers since 2018, Kat has extensive experience in teaching holistically, incorporating various learning styles into her pedagogy.
Training with Leo and Becky as part of their team at Brazilian Beatz has inspired her to take the skills and techniques she has learnt to competitions in New Zealand, Australia and Brazil. She taught at Leo and Becky’s Brazilian Zouk Intensive Training Event; RioBeatz in 2019, and is looking forward to teaching there again in 2021, along with other events throughout NZ and Australia.
At the beginning of 2020 Kat travelled to Brazil for 6 weeks of intensive training in Brazilian Zouk, to progress her own dancing and to bring back the information, flavour, and passion for her students. This trip saw her competing in the Rio Zouk Congress Intermediate Jack and Jill and completing her certificate in Renata Peçanha’s 2020 week-long Teachers Course. Since then, despite Covid, she has continued training and has completed Kadu and Larissa's Teachers and Judges training.
As she believes that being a teacher means being a student for a lifetime.
Corwin Ruegg delivers over 11 years of experience and knowledge in various Latin styles. His journey started with a Bachelor of Music, majoring in musicianship and music theory, before he discovered Latin dance.
Corwin discovered Brazilian Zouk in 2011 and quickly fell in love with the style. He jumped at every opportunity to learn from both local and international instructors. In 2015 he became a student of Professional International Instructors Leo & Becky and joined their dance company Brazilian Beatz Dance Academy where he has continued to train as both student and instructor. In 2019 he taught at Leo and Becky’s Brazilian Zouk intensive training event, Rio Beatz, and will be back for Rio Beatz 2021. He continues to further his knowledge with highly regarded industry professionals in New Zealand and overseas.
He is known on the stage as a talented choreographer and performer, successfully competing in many competitions both nationally and internationally and uses his connection, floor-craft, and passion for musicality to be a versatile lead on the social dance floor.