93 lessons to feel the dance
By Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo
TOCA Method is the complete book to learn kizomba, tarraxo and urbankiz, from the first foundations to real feeling. Kindle, paperback and Apple Books, in English, French and Spanish.
One to learn, one to teach. Both in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon and Apple Books.
For dancers who want to progress with method, from foundations to feeling.
For teachers who want to structure, correct and pass on the method.
TOCA puts connection back at the heart of the dance. You don’t first learn to do steps; you learn to inhabit the music and to converse with another person. Four letters hold the whole method together.
Connection with your partner. Feeling through contact, not force.
Listening to your partner’s body, energy and timing.
Mastery of your movements. Precision without tension.
Full presence with yourself, your partner and the music.
Every lesson has the same six parts: The Theory, What You Should Feel, Key Points, Common Mistakes, Your Drills and a Self-Check. From Foundations to Lead & Follow.
Real pages from the student’s book and the teacher’s guide. Tap a page to zoom.
Free, in English, straight from the method.
Connection is not a stronger grip. It is clear information travelling through contact. Pressure should propose, never impose, and a tense body cannot listen.
TOCA Student 02 · 2 min
Slowness reveals everything speed hides. Your balance. Your weight transfer. Your control. If a movement only works fast, you do not own it yet, you are just getting away with it.
TOCA Student 03 · 2 min
Silence is part of the phrase. You do not have to fill every space with another movement. A pause can create tension, breath and meaning, and control is what makes silence readable.
TOCA Student 08 · 2 min
A step makes no noise when the weight arrives controlled instead of dropped. The foot places first, then receives the weight. Two beats inside a single step.
TOCA Student 14 · 2 min
Accuracy matters. So does confidence. Correct the action, never the person's identity, because the body hears the difference between the lead did not reach her and you are not clear.
TOCA Teacher 03 · 2 min
Ask for the dance. Thank after. A no is always respected, without explanation and without a face.
TOCA Student 23 · 2 minThe Student’s Book is for dancers at any level who want to progress with method, from the very first foundations to real feeling. The Teacher’s Guide is for instructors who want to structure, correct and pass on the method, from group classes to private and wedding lessons.
No, and they don’t try to. As Dawou writes, the book does not replace a teacher or the hours spent on the floor, but it goes with you everywhere. It explains the why behind each movement, tells you what you should feel, and gives drills to practise alone, with a partner, or at home between classes.
No. In Kizomba and especially in Tarraxo, quality matters far more than quantity. Three clean moves, well phrased and well connected, are worth more than twenty messy figures. The method builds fluidity and listening before a collection of moves.
They are cousins but distinct. Kizomba is a travelling dance, fluid, that moves across the floor. Tarraxo (or Tarraxinha) is more static, centred on the hips, isolations and placement, often to slower, more electronic music. The method teaches you to tell them apart and to move from one to the other with the music.
You do not need a fixed partner. Dancing with many people teaches you to adapt and improves you faster. And yes, you can learn both to lead and to follow: understanding both halves of the connection is one of the quickest ways to improve the side you dance.
Both books are available in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon (Kindle and paperback) and on Apple Books. Google Play is coming soon.
Pioneer of Tarraxo, Dawou has taught in more than fifty countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, from the Tarraxo Schools of Paris and London to Dubai today. For fourteen years he was also an IT teacher in Paris, an experience that shaped a way of teaching built on listening, patience and making knowledge accessible to everyone.
It is from this human, pedagogical and artistic experience that the TOCA Method was born, founded on touch, observation, control and awareness. He is also a music producer, composing his own Tarraxo blended with afrobeat; you can find his music under the name Dawou Tarraxo on all platforms.
Listen before you act. Feel before you move. Connect before you dance.
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