BachaZouk partners with Danceplace to elevate community and connection in partner dancing
We’re pleased to announce that BachaZouk has joined Danceplace Digital as an official affiliate partner.
The BachaZouk organization has the mandate to grow the BachaZouk dance community by promoting artists, events, and relevant educational content. Partnership with Danceplace will enable BachaZouk to leverage the platform’s resources to bring the latest in digital innovation to its community.
Danceplace is a specialized software company in partner dancing with tools to manage dance events, schools, and socials. Danceplace marketplace offers free listings and marketing tools to help dance business owners promote their services.
“Partnering with Danceplace is another step towards strengthening the connections that make BachaZouk so special. As someone deeply involved in organizing and nurturing dance communities, I know how crucial it is to have the right tools that make both organizing and participating in events seamless and enjoyable. What excites me most is that with Danceplace’s specialized platform, we’re not just simplifying ticketing or logistics, we’re helping our community members and organizers shine by making events more accessible and more visible. This partnership is about giving our BachaZouk community a stronger, more cohesive experience and ensuring that everyone, from artists to social dancers, can easily connect and grow together. I’m looking forward to seeing how we can all thrive through this collaboration and make each BachaZouk event even more special.”
Chesco Leveratto
Founder BachaZouk
“I’m excited about our partnership with BachaZouk. With our marketplace and software platform, Danceplace not only brings automation to their partner dancing communities, but also will transform how they operate their dance businesses. The combination of our specialized software offered globally and our flexible, adaptable pricing models will help their community grow around the world faster in harmony and at lower cost.“
Darius Zi
Founder Danceplace
Danceplace platform recognized by Stripe as fastest-emerging specialized vertical SaaS company
Danceplace Platform
Stripe's president mentions Danceplace in keynote session
May 6, 2025 San Francisco, CA
Danceplace was recognized by Stripe’s co-founder John Collison in his keynote speech “The future of commerce” during Stripe Sessions 2025 as one of the fastest-growing breakout companies and emerging specialized vertical SaaS platforms with global reach, new pricing models, and high leverage per employee.
Unique traits of Danceplace platform as a specialized software in dance
"Congratulations to my team. Thank you John Collison for recognizing Danceplace in your keynote speech. I’m humbled to see our company’s name mentioned on the list of fastest-growing breakout companies.
As a specialized platform in dance, we’re transforming today and choreographing the future of this industry.
Partnership with Stripe has been a major accelerator for our global growth. Follow our journey. More to come!"
— Darius Zi, Founder & CEO Danceplace
About Danceplace
Danceplace Digital is the leading technology platform for the dance industry. We power dance event and education businesses and connect them to consumers with our specialized software applications and marketplace.
The Official LWDC Lambada Jack and Jill Kick-off
Lambada Jack and Jill Debutin New York Zouk Festival
We’re excited to announce the kick-off the first official Lambada World Dance Council at the NYC Zouk Festival.
This marks an important milestone for the partnership between Danceplace Digital and the events hosting LDWC sanctioned competitions.
Powered by Danceplace
At Danceplace we’re very proud of our partnership with the Lambada World Dance Council and our contribution to managing all their competitions worldwide.
Learn more about our competition scoring and event management software products
10 Years Anniversary of Brazilian Zouk Jack and Jills
Special Celebration Report
10 Years Anniversary of Brazilian Zouk Jack and Jills
Powered by Danceplace
A Decade of Love
to grow Brazilian Zouk
In May 2024, we celebrated 10 years of Jack and Jill competitions with the founders of the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council in Toronto, Canada.
At Danceplace, we would like to celebrate this milestone by sharing the story behind our journey, key statistics demonstrating the growth, and the impact of our initiative on the Brazilian Zouk community and dance.
How Did It Start?
Pod Cast Video: The Origins of BZDCLearn about how this journey started, its goals, and our achievements.
Watch Jessica Lamdon's interview with the founders of BZDC Kadu and Larissa, the founder of Danceplace Digital Darius Zi, and his partner Laura Riva.
Jack and Jills Demystified
Panel: The Must-KnowsLearn how Jack and Jill scoring works and what judges are looking for.
Watch Laura Riva's moderation with the founders of BZDC Kadu and Larissa, and the founder of Danceplace Digital Darius Zi.
10-Year Statistics:
The Numbers Speak
The information presented in this section is based on the data managed by the Danceplace platform from 2014 until October 1st 2024 for official BZDC Jack and Jill competitions scored or hosted by Danceplace.
Stat 1
Top 10 Countries Hosting Jack and Jills
Zouk Jack and Jill competitions started in three countries in 2014: Australia, Canada, Malaysia. The first official BZDC Jack and Jill competition took place in Brisbane, Australia two months after a pilot competition in Toronto, Canada.
In 2015, events in the USA, Russia, New Zealand, and Ukraine joined the circuit. This growth continued at a faster pace in USA and Russia who, until now, have each held 65 BZDC sanctioned competitions.
After five years, in 2019 events in mainland Europe started embracing Jack and Jills.
During the pandemic, the growth curve took a hit. From March 2020 until December 2021, only Russia and Australia held Jack and Jill competitions.
Stat 2
Growth of Jack and Jill Competitions in Brazil
In the homeland of Brazilian Zouk, the adoption rate was slower than other places. In 2016, Rio Zouk Congress was the first event in Brazil to host a BZDC Jack and Jill. After six years, in 2020, IZC became the second event to run the competitions.
After the pandemic, Brazil experienced a Jack and Jill explosion at their local events. The demand and popularity of Jack and Jill competitions had a 7-times growth over two years.
Stat 3
Top 5 Largest Jack and Jill Competitions
The phenomenal growth and popularity of Brazilian Zouk Jack and Jill competitions since pandemic reopenings has seen high participation in major events.
Canada Zouk Congress 2023 holds the world record for largest number of competitors and largest number of divisions at a BZDC event with 280 total competitors in five divisions:
- Newcomer 29 (14 L, 15 F)
- Novice 164 (72 L, 92 F)
- Intermediate 57 (23 L, 34 F)
- Advanced 15 (10 L, 5 F)
- All-Star/Champion 15 (8 L, 7 F)
Stat 4
Top 5 Largest Novice Jack and Jill Divisions
As dancers join the competition circuit, they mostly start with the Novice division. More dancers compete in Novice than any other division.
We have observed that major events outside of Brazil have been holding the largest Novice divisions in the world.
Canada Zouk Congress, Casa do Zouk, Elevation Zouk Festival and Warsaw Zouk Festival are the record holders.
Judging such large divisions comes with its own challenges. At Danceplace, we leveraged our experience and worked closely with the judges to develop a digital scoring software that simplifies this task, especially for the head judges. We have been able to increase the workflow efficiency by 60% and cut the competition duration by 35%.
Step 5
Total Jack and Jill Head Judge Activity
According to the 10-year history of competitions scored on the Danceplace platform, we have identified that 20 dance professionals head judged all BZDC Jack and Jill competitions.
Larissa Thayane, Alex de Carvalho, Alisson Sandi, Val Clemente, and Renata Pecanha rank as the top five professionals who have head judged most of the competitions.
In 2024, BZDC established a new criteria for selecting head judges and introduced a certification program.
Step 6
Jack and Jill Community Population
After a decade of exciting competitions, over 19,000 people have competed in 22 countries in 523 competition divisions and were judged by 258 judges.
Thanks to the hard work of the competition judges, DJs, organizers, and staff, the Brazilian Zouk community has 3590 dancers with points.
At Danceplace, we are proud to have played the role of technology partner, facilitator, and enabler.
To further enable the growth of these competitions globally, Danceplace has certified 21 competition coordinators in 8 different countries in 2024.
“Thank you for your leadership at BZDC and the trust that you put in Danceplace for the past 10 years. Our journey continues. Looking forward to inspiring the next generation with you.”
– Darius Zi
Founder Danceplace Digital
May 2024
Looking Forward
to the next decade
At Danceplace, we strive to lead the digital innovation of the dance event management and education industry. The success of our partnership with BZDC has inspired us to further develop our programs and services to grow Zouk globally.
The impact of this success has reached beyond the Zouk community. It has inspired many other dance communities to establish or grow their own Jack and Jill competitions and points registries.
Several dance communities including Bachata, Lambada, Swing, Lindy Hop, Country, and Kizomba have already partnered with Danceplace to leverage our experience and software platform to accelerate their community’s growth and to automate their competition workflow management.
Lambada World Dance Council Partners with Danceplace
Partnership Announcement
Lambada World Dance Council Partners with Danceplace
September 14, 2024
Danceplace Digital and Lambada World Dance Council announce their partnership.
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Temos o prazer de anunciar a parceria estabelecida com a Danceplace, plataforma líder em gestão de competições de dança.
A equipe de Darius, com mais de uma década de experiência na gestão de competições Jack and Jill, trará uma contribuição valiosa para o LWDC.
A utilização do software de avaliação especializado, coordenadores de competição certificados e sistema de registro de pontos completo permitirá um crescimento significativo do LWDC em escala global!
Muito obrigado!
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We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Danceplace, a leading platform for managing dance competitions.
With over 10 years of experience in running Jack and Jill events, Darius and his team bring unparalleled expertise to the table.
By leveraging their cutting-edge scoring software, certified competition coordinators, and comprehensive points registry system, we aim to propel the growth of LWDC globally and take our competitions to the next level!
Thank you so much!
— Iago Hassuike , Director
LWDC
We’re proud to be selected as the official competition management software and points registry for Lambada Council events. With the help of the Danceplace certified competition coordinators, we will streamline the launch of Lambada Jack and Jill competitions in Brazil and all over the globe.
— Darius Zi, Founder & CEO
Danceplace Digital
Danceplace Competition Coordinator Certificate Program Kick-off
We’re proud to announce the launch of our Competition Coordinator Certification program.
Our first cohort has 16 candidates from 7 countries:
France
Spain
Poland
Brazil
Australia
New Zealand
USA