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Meet Zuce Morales

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Zuce Morales.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m 23 years old and I am a professional dancer/teacher from Puebla, Mexico. I moved to Los Angeles in January of 2016 as an international student. To study at Glendale College “Dance Teaching” and “Choreography and Dance Technique”. During three years, I got to train at the professional studios in North Hollywood: Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio, Movement Lifestyle and Millennium Dance Complex. Training with teachers with years of experience in the industry, every day, all day, after school. I fell in love of one dance form in particular: Locking. An LA native style created in 1970 by Don Campbellock.

I graduated in December of 2018 and got the chance of getting my Optional Practical Training in February of 2019, finally, I was able to work as a dancer. In March of 2019 got to sign with my agency Go2Talent Agency and started auditioning, the process is still hard but inspires me every time because I’m able to witness lots of talent. In August of 2019, I was invited to battle at the RedBull Dance Your Style Los Angeles Qualifier. I was so scared, the best freestylers of LA were a part of it, and I was an underdog, it was pretty much the first battle where I danced Locking. But at the end, the crowd picked me and I won the battle and became the first and only woman in winning a US qualifier. Got to go to the Vegas finals as an LA representative. Since that day, I started feeling more comfortable with battles, and with me doing Locking publicly. I used to be very private with my Locking training process, I wouldn’t post any videos, nor teach. I always liked to keep my process silent until I felt ready.

In October of 2019, I realized that there was not somebody in the Locking community willing to share their knowledge or host any sessions for the community. I was afraid that the dance form may fade out from its place of birth. So even though I knew I was young and needed more experience. I decided to start teaching for the good of the dance I love. I started as a substitute at Movement Lifestyle and only months later, I got my own class there, and another slot at Legacy Studios (what used to be Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio). I couldn’t believe I was teaching at the studios where I started my training process. I thought that was not enough, so after talking with other Locking community leaders, I decided to create my own training session: Let’s Lock! Sessions.

A place where beginners, intermediate, and advanced Lockers can get together and share their love and knowledge for the dance. The mission of Let’s Lock! is to build and unify the Los Angeles Locking community, in order to create a legacy for the future generations. Everybody who wants to learn is welcome.

I also work in the entertainment industry, and my ultimate goal is to be able to incorporate Locking and other street styles in different platforms. I want to provide job opportunities to those amazingly talented dancers that are part of the dance community but are not appreciated by the industry. I would love to hire my students and provide them with growth opportunities that reward their hard work, with experience and financial support. While I also work on making the Locking community grow. Host funk parties, sessions and events that will also attract dancers from the US and other countries.

My mission is to share my love and passion for dance, to spread the knowledge and positivity to new generations, to give opportunities and help my peers and students, and be an inspiration source to those who want to follow their dreams, even if they sound crazy to them.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being an artist involves a lot of insecurities, especially when you’re a beginner and a foreigner. However, I learned to accept who I am and what I want to represent. From that moment, it was nothing but growth. I also came along with some people disagreeing with me teaching, I understood their point of view, a 23 years old teaching, who is just starting her professional dancer career, was something they thought was not correct. However, I was the only one willing to share the knowledge I collected, and the only one willing to take the responsibility of building a community. Nowadays, I am blessed and happy to say that I have an amazing support system, my students are growing quickly, my classes are getting bigger and the community is getting stronger.

At the end of the day, it’s not about how old you are, it’s about being selfless and working everyday to learn more so that you can provide a better training for your students. I am always honest to them and tell them that I am still learning and always will that this growing process involves all of us. I am just a guide in their journey, which I am honored about. I always do research, train and try to be present in other communities events, it’s my duty as a teacher and as a community leader.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My first ‘baby’ is my training session in DTLA. “Let’s Lock! Sessions”. A dance training session focused on Locking, with the mission of building and unifying the Locking dance community in Los Angeles, in order to create a legacy for the future generations. It’s an open level session where everybody who likes the dance form can come and learn, train and have fun with others. It happens the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, which hopefully one day we can do it weekly, and it’s FREE! From 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM at Creatington, DTLA.

My long term goal with “Let’s Lock!” is to make it brand and have a yearly dance event, where we can host workshops from teachers of the US and the world, have a Locking battle event and a funk party. I want LA to become an important location for the Lockers of the world so that they can travel here, train, dance and share.

My second ‘baby’ I would say is my classes at mL and Legacy Studios. These classes are focused on training professional dancers, so that they can be able to perform Locking with a clean technique, having an understanding of the history and essence of the dance. Both of my classes are Open Level, and I focus on technique, freestyle tools, and choreography. This, along with sharing at my session, is what brings the most joy to me. To witness the students having fun in class, enjoying themselves and improving, is one of the biggest rewards I have as a teacher. To help them with any personal issue they go thru, to advice them, is what makes my job so gratifying. Tuesdays 5:30 PM at Movement Lifestyle and Fridays at 3:30 PM at Legacy Studios.

Myself along with Dennis Campbell, are the only Locking teachers in Los Angeles who are active in North Hollywood in LA. Needless to say, I am the only female community leader in Los Angeles, for now. Hopefully, I can inspire more ladies to join.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything from my process. Because I understand that everything happens for a reason and that the good and bad moments are opportunities for me to grow and learn. So even though there has been some rough moments, I embrace them and I am grateful that they happened because they made me wiser and a better person. My journey, with success and failures, is still my journey and it’s been meant to happen that way.

Pricing:

  • Let’s Lock Sessions: FREE

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
FD MEDIA

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