Zouk4Water is an open course of Brazilian Zouk dance for beginners (taught by your humble servant and a good friend of mine) – with a twist: all proceeds collected from students go directly to the WaterAid charity!

Nearly 4000 children around the world die daily from preventable waterborne infections due to inadequate sanitation and dirty drinking water. As little as £15 is required to get clean water and sanitation for 1 individual. Zouk4Water aims to prevent these deaths.

Zouk4Water runs on the exactly same principle as the wider known Salsa4Water project that kicked off in UK and offered Salsa lessons on the same principles. The classes are much cheaper than conventional dance courses, making them affordable for the wider audiences. At the same time, more people can have fun and learn a positive, enjoyable skill and a good cause is supported!

Salsa4Water and each its derivative is a volunteer-based, student-run initiative that has thus far raised £30,000 for WaterAid through the dance and language classes offered in Prague, Sweden, Glasgow and Edinburgh. New societies are starting up in China and France.

The original project founded in Glasgow received a number of awards, such as the exceptional service award at Glasgow University and the RBS ESSA Best Fundraising Enterprise in the UK award in June 2012.

You can even start your own 4Water society in your city!

Contact Salsa4Water@gmail.com for details and support!

Check the MAD calendar for class schedule in Prague and feel free to drop into any of the classes or join the full course!

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What this means is that the project is now officially in full operational mode! It’s time for action!

What you can do right now:

1. SHARE the video/ this entry everywhere you can!

2. JOIN all of our social networks (below). Once the project has a decent number of followers, the creative competitions can begin!

Definitely share this post with everyone you know who is involved in graphic design, as the first competitions will be related to that field!

3. CONTACT me if you have connections to anyone involved in folk dancing/ traditional dance forms, charity projects, video-making in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. The first episodes are most likely to be shot there.

4. Provide feedback on the video! Does the video explain the project clearly? Can you think of any ways of improving the message/ the project itself?

(No need to mention the audio and the size of the video footage on screen, as these are known points and will definitely be addressed in the future )

It will be a great year, let’s make it MAD together!!!

• Add to our 15566 views from 2536 places on all inhabited continents! 
• Join our 15 e-mail subscribers and 2 comment subscribers to never miss the latest news and challenges!
• Join our current 4937 business contacts on LinkedIn! 
• Give us more than the current 517 Likes on our Facebook page!
• Join our 687 Twitter followers!
• Add us to your Google+ circles, like 1147 people already did!
• Join our 776 friends on Foursquare and give us more than the current 22 likes!
• Join our 328 YouTube subscribers!!! Don’t forget to LIKE the video!
• Join our 88 followers on Pinterest!
• Add us as your contact on Flickr, like 11 people already did!

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Some people are alone – today and any other day. Some people desperately need love – from friends, family, significant others – but can’t get it… Yet love is the most powerful force in our lives! Let’s try to share it – today and any day – with people around us, because a Valentine’s day should be for everyone and it should last all year!

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On behalf of the MAD DAWN Challenge, I would like to wish all of you a great and MADly successful 2013!

No matter what anyone tells you, follow your dreams and make them true! When you achieve something, you make others look up to you and say “Wow… That’s pretty awesome, I wanna do something like that!” and do things for themselves, too. Use this year to create, to accomplish and to inspire!

I also wish that you would never have to do it alone. It is very hard on a lonely road. I wish you to have people near you who will keep helping you on your way and encouraging you at every major step.

I also wish you to remember that, when you encounter someone else with a dream of their own, even the smallest sign of interest and support may be that magical final drop in the cup of their resolve and determination to do something great and miraculous in their lives. So BE those people, if you can. Encourage your friends, encourage strangers. Help them, if you can and it is simple for you to do. One kind word or action can make a world of a difference!

When many people come together and do a lot of small things – any miracles are possible. Never forget that you are a part of that ‘many’, an essential part, for anyone you know. Hopefully, if you live by the pay-it-forward principle, the seeds of the kindness and support you show to others will roll back to you tenfold.

I’m not talking about going out of your way to help every human being you ever see – it’s impossible. But please, when you encounter someone you (even barely) know (or not at all), who mentions that they have a dream, if you have a spare minute, send at least a few encouraging words their way. Not everyone has enough courage to do things on their own – people need you, just as you need them. Think of how much better our world would be if other people’s great ideas found support when it was much needed!

Let us all, together as a human race, through mutual support and encouragement, have a much more successful and encouraging 2013.

Happy New Year to you all!

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From December 7 till December 14, 2012, I will be in Barcelona (Spain). Contact me if you wish to meet and cooperate in the nearest future! On December 9 there will be a performance by my dance partner and I in Lloret del Mar at the Zouk and the Chocolate Factory Congress. We hope we will do well, especially given that we have very limited rehearsal time . If it works out as something slightly better than a complete disaster – I will post the video .

Hope you have had a great summer and a spooky Halloween!

And finally, as usual, our latest stats:

• We have thus far 15 e-mail subscribers and 2 comment subscribers, 13340 views from 2453 places on all inhabited continents! Subscribe to our blog now to never miss the latest news and challenges!
• 4519 business contacts on LinkedIn! 
• 517 Likes on our Facebook page
• 694 Twitter followers (I tweet great inspirational and fun quotes, useful tips, good news, great pictures and other awesome material besides the project news, so follow!!!)
• 857 people have us in their circles on Google+
• 610 friends on Foursquare and 21 likes!
• 335 YouTube subscribers!!!
• We also have 77 followers on our Pinterest profile, where you can follow us for the best visual eye-candy, different inspirational quotes, track our product wishlist, my personal bookshelf and great videos I recommend!
• 11 people consider us a contact on Flickr.

Have a wonderful upcoming holiday season!

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In the meantime, however, on behalf of the MAD DAWN Challenge I have taken part in a global dance event like no other: on September 16, 2012 people from more than 90 cities in more than 40 countries performed the same Zouk choreography – to show that we as people can put our differences aside and come together, cooperate, dance, have fun and live in peace. Many participants have never danced anything before. Everyone who helped them learn the choreography were volunteers. It all began with one man’s idea and caught like fire within weeks – I couldn’t possibly miss this!

It all began for me in Leiden, Netherlands, where I took part in my very first IZFM choreography training. There were several more girls than guys, so I figured I’d step in and learn the lead part. Here we all are after the training:

Afterwards I went back to Prague for a few days, where I dropped by for their second training session. That day Lucia’s partner was not there and, luckily, I could step in as a lead because they were doing the exact same segment of the choreography we had already learned in Leiden .

I had a few trips lined up, so the next time I could come for the training in Prague was weeks later, but I had an opportunity to learn the rest of the choreography.

On the flashmob day I was in the Netherlands yet again. In the morning we had a final practice session at BraSa studio and then ventured out towards the city center. We thought that on the way to the event we could dance a bit in the train – this is how it went:

We also had two groups do the flashmob in the metro. This is group 1, I was in the second group but I cannot yet find that video

Seven of us have gotten off one train stop earlier (Neumarkt) than the rest (Centraal). On our way to the first flashmob location we realized we still had plenty of time… So we stopped at the market and had a mini-flashmob there with just three couples . I’ll post the video once it surfaces, if it ever does .

We then proceeded to Beursplein. This was the location where we had the permit from the city to have the flashmob. The sound system caught a cold or something – the music was very hard to hear that time and pretty coarse – but we did it! The scenario was such that a few couples would start free-dancing first, the crowd would join them for the choreographed segment. After the choreography finishes, we continue dancing free-style for the remaining piece of Rehab and another song after it. If you want to find me, looking for red hair would help . I was wearing black pants and a sweater with black and fuchsia stripes, dancing slightly right of the center of the crowd (as you face it), a few rows from the front.

After this first official run, I was stomped by the bull…

Financial crisis has hit us all hard...

However, I had survived the attack and we proceeded to the Dam square for session 2. This time we did not have permission from the city… But it didn’t matter! We were lucky to get electricity from a nearby hotdog stand and this is what the unsuspecting passers-by could see (full video of the event):

It was very hard to dance on the cobblestones, but it was great fun! Here is a video someone filmed while walking between us as we danced:

And in this edited version there is a short interview with your humble servant (myself):

We had one of the biggest IZFM groups in the world – more than 100 people, possibly close to 200!

Extra credit if you manage to find me

We even had some random people dance with us, like this ‘monk’… It was his bachelor party day and he asked us for pictures after the event .

He seemed to have had a lot of fun dancing with us

After the flashmob we were incredibly hyped up – we just participated in a massive global event! In many cities of the world the flashmob made local and national news on TV, in newspapers and other media. Even in Hong Kong, where flashmobs are illegal (look up IZFM Hong Kong on YouTube and watch till the end – you see police coming up ) there was an article in the newspaper about the event!

On our way to the metro we ‘crashed’ a few tourist photos – by running into the frame and making crazy faces . On the way back to BraSa in the metro we continued dancing – not the flashmob choreography anymore, but fun free-style (if I ever get the video, I will post it ). The afterparty at BraSa was way too short for my liking, but everything comes to its end and so did the day of September 16, 2012…

Right now you can see whether your own city participated in the flashmob, watch the videos, see the pictures – all on www.izfm.org. I helped to proofread the website and collect links to pictures and videos from the training sessions that were posted in local IZFM groups. There are rumors that the same type of madness will be repeated next year, so stay tuned! Maybe consider monitoring the IZFM Facebook group to make sure you are the first to hear about the next event – you don’t have to be a dancer to take part! There doesn’t need to be a crowd either – there were places where just a handful of people took part, like Hawaii .

This is it for the IZFM this year… And now to the rest of our MAD news .

First of all, you may be wondering where is that long-awaited intro video again! For the moment, I could not find any volunteer editors to put the video together, but if all goes well, one way or another it will be ready soon.

You may notice the switch from ‘we’ to ‘I’ in this entry: unfortunately, Karen is unable to be a part of this project – at least not at this point of time. We will see how things go in the future, but at the moment her work left very little room for anything else.

You may also wish to know what has happened so far with the small donations we have received: we were able to cover the domain and hosting costs for one more year ahead! Anything extra remains on the project PayPal account untouched until we are fully operational.

Finally, our customary statistics up to date:

• We have 14 e-mail subscribers and 2 comment subscribers, 13081 views from 2404 places on all inhabited continents! Subscribe to our blog now to never miss the latest news and challenges!
• 4161 business contacts on LinkedIn! 
• 539 Likes on our Facebook page
• 700 Twitter followers (I tweet great inspirational and fun quotes, useful tips, good news, great pictures and other awesome material besides the project news, so follow!!!)
• 742 people have us in their circles on Google+
• 499 friends on Foursquare and 21 likes!
• 334 YouTube subscribers!
• 73 followers on our Pinterest profile, where you can follow us for the best visual eye-candy, different inspirational quotes, track our product wishlist, my personal bookshelf and great videos I recommend!
• 11 people consider us a contact on Flickr.

See you soon!

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After the initial troubles with the intro video, we’re giving it a second try. Hopefully, the result will be finally up on our channel in a matter of weeks! Here is everything that has been going on behind the scenes these two months:

1. MAD Inspiration is officially here!

If you remember, I have hunted down a few people whose personal stories are so incredible that they MUST be shared with the world. They have kindly agreed to leave a short version of those stories on our website for all of YOU to get your inspiration from them! It may be hard at times to find motivation or to believe in one’s dreams – but after you see what can be done with a due amount of dedication, one small step at a time, you will be amazed! See for yourself – read their stories on the MAD Inspiration page!

2. Intro video 2.0 has been shot!

Yet again in the Netherlands, but this time in the Hague. A few more scenes need to be finished, but hopefully this version will be up on the channel in a matter of a few weeks and won’t be lost as intro 1.0. You can look forward to the following backdrop:

Intro 2.0: reviewing the script

3. May/June thanks time!!!

First of all, thank you to all the project supporters and contributors this far: we know that everything seems to be taking a bit longer than planned, but hey – it’s just the beginning! Beginnings are never easy . Once everything gets rolling – there’d be no stopping us!

Second, enormous thanks go to Aline Groeneveld for filming the 2.0 intro video version! Additional thanks to DJ Odin Le Noble for the information on Wooden Shoe dancers that may come handy very soon.

And, as usual, latest stats:

• Still 12 e-mail subscribers and 2 comment subscribers, 12442 views from 2298 places on all inhabited continents! Subscribe to our blog now to never miss the latest news and challenges!
• 3241 business contacts on LinkedIn! 
• 562 Likes on our Facebook page
• 715 Twitter followers (I tweet great inspirational and fun quotes, useful tips, good news, great pictures and other awesome material besides the project news, so follow!!!)
• 407 people have us in their circles on Google+
• 143 friends on Foursquare and 217 followers!
• 335 YouTube subscribers!!!
• We also have 61 followers on our Pinterest profile, where you can follow us for the best visual eye-candy, different inspirational quotes, track our product wishlist, my personal bookshelf and great videos I recommend!
• 10 people consider us a contact on Flickr.

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I wished to congratulate them on their success in person and re-charge my own inspiration batteries at this slightly difficult time of my own, full of unexpected set-backs. But any difficulties are temporary and can be overcome. After all, back then over a year ago at the inception of “It’s on the Meter”, many of their friends and family didn’t believe their plan was going to happen. Yet, on May 9, 2012 – the Victory day when we met– they could well celebrate the victory of their own, as this was their last day abroad after the long, successful journey before returning back to London. So whoever thinks the MAD DAWN Challenge is doomed – you’re only partially right: it’s doomed… to HAPPEN! No matter how long it takes to launch it off or how difficult it may be in the beginning.

I finally met Hannah and Johno at noon at Chatou-Croissy, as city center traffic was too much trouble. Johno was the kind soul who was answering my e-mails all this time when this intersection was being planned. He also spared 2 hours of a busy day for the meeting, and I’m infinitely grateful.

Hannah is the elderly English cab with about 600 000km behind it from its service days and about 70 000km from the journey. According to Johno, except for the side windows and the engine, every other spare part of the car had broken at some point of the way and needed fixing.

We took a short ride around the neighborhood in the company of countless little trinkets collected from back home and from the road – like this Napoleon Dynamite icon, who says random movie lines at a push of a button.

I couldn’t resist the temptation of taking a snap shot behind the legendary wheel. I do have a fresh and crispy license now, but I doubt I could even start Hanna’s engine properly – left-hand gear stick and all .

Black passenger?

Several people stopped to examine Hannah while we sat there talking – it is, indeed, a remarkable car, after all. It is actually bigger than I for some reason thought it would be, too . I told some young girls about it in French, a few other people knew enough English to hear the summary from Johno.

Finally, it was time to go – the crew had to prepare for their arrival and all the press, to take a rest before the very last driving segment of their great adventure.

It was great to talk a bit with Johno. We discussed the difficulties of such projects – some that could be foreseen, others that came as a surprise – the ways to overcome them, and we agreed that it’s very important to never give up the dream and the plan and to make it happen. If only to prove everyone who says “it won’t work” wrong . I happen to agree that this is a pretty good form of therapy – sometimes when all other self-motivating resources seem to fail, the good old “prove the nay-sayers wrong” helps to push over any bumps better than anything else. Because, obviously, it is all worth it. The worst thing that one can do is have a dream, then give it up without trying and live with regret. I can’t do this to myself – the MAD DAWN Challenge is everything I want to do in life, so I’ll either make it happen, or at least die trying really hard. There is no going back.

I need to focus on passing the state exam in the beginning of June, but in the meantime plan B is being set in motion: re-shooting the intro video (long story), planning out the first episode and making it happen. One thing at a time. Once everything is set in motion – it will be much easier to carry through, so get ready – one of those days, the MAD DAWN Challenge may be in your neighborhood!

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Are you in Paris this week? Are you interested in meeting us, learning more about the project,  or do you have your own exciting project? Maybe you are interested in collaborating in any way? Let’s do it! Let’s have a rendez-vous in Paris! Contact us any time during the week if you wish to meet up .

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