Online Community & Training Group For Kiz Leaders

BASE WORK

A 4 Pillar Approach To Advancing Fast as a Beginner to Intermediate Urban Kiz/Kizomba/Fusion Leader. This is where you build the foundation everything else stands on. Join us!

No commitment yet, just curiosity

First intro class starts in

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Understanding your struggle

The Biggest Problem Leaders Face Today

— an introductory letter from Josip Franjo Kuharić

Urban Kiz and Kizomba are genuinely hard dances to learn as a leader.

There is no basic step (pattern) you repeat like in some other dances. Every step is something new. Even if you execute figures well you will probably be predictable and boring. So you quickly hear that you need variations to make your dance interesting. But variations need to be done with the music in a way that makes sense. So you realise you should develop the skill of musicality. But very few people teach how to actually train musicality.

You find yourself stuck. You don't know where to start or what to focus on first/next. You might have even thought about quitting. But you know that it would be a shame to never experience dancing on a higher level.

But it doesn't stop there. If you want to create variations and make them musical, you need to be able to lead them. In this dance, every single step is led. You are constantly repositioning, readapting, signaling. So you need to understand universal leading principles which you can confidently apply to every new Move/Variation you learn.

Maybe you tried learning all these things: variations, musicality, correct leading but soon after starting you hit the real wall: your body is not ready for any of it. You lack bodymovement. Your footwork is uncontrolled. You lose balance. You have a hard time positioning yourself well in the moves. You can't handle mistakes and unpredictability on the dancefloor.

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So here is the chain: to be interesting and have fun you need variations. For variations to make sense they need to be done on music. To lead variations musically you need precise leading skills. And for all of that to be possible you need to control your own body first.


Everything you will ever learn as a leader falls into these four areas. I call them: The Four Technical Pillars:

#1 Movement — How your body works. Footwork, positioning, coordination, balance.
#2 Musicality — How you hear, feel and interpret the music.
#3 Moves & Variations — Everything you can create and lead in couple. The vocabulary.
#4 Leading & Following — The communication. Signals, responses, adaptation.


The first two pillars you can build completely alone, at home. The second two require a partner and develop naturally once the first two are solid. This sequence is important. Most people try to learn everything at the same time without any structure and wonder why nothing sticks.

In BASE WORK we pay attention to the sequence of learning skills so they stick.

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One more thing worth saying. Many of the dancers you admire online came into social dancing with predispositions you simply don't have. They played various sports for ten years, they danced since childhood... You came in as a programmer, an engineer, someone who never moved like this before, someone with lower confidence maybe.

You cannot compare your path to theirs. You need to build skills they never had to even think about. And that's normal, it just means your starting point is different and your training needs to reflect that.


Here's the bright side.

This dance, once you start to get it, is one of the most freeing, expressive, joyful things you can do. It can teach you so much about yourself. About presence, determination, growth, confidence, authenticity, accepting yourself... There is nothing quite like it.

This dance made me grow as a man, it showed me the world, led me to so many amazing people across the world.

So don't get discouraged

There are many things you can look forward to. And it is more than possible to become really good. Following the principles of BASE WORK will get you there. This is not another online program. This is a training group and a community that will support you in your growth.

If any of this resonated you're in the right place.

Read on.

* Josip Franjo Kuharić

Be honest with yourself

ARE YOU DEALING WITH THESE PROBLEMS?

Becoming musical is still abstract topic. You can't catch specific things in the music, you can't adapt to different styles. Your dancing is flat, no dynamics. You could be way more interesting than you are.
You've been learning moves and figures, but you still don't feel creative. You're still unable to automatically create your own variations in the moment on the music. You're stuck in "figures".
You can lead some things but the precision just isn't there yet. You hear followers talking about how precise leaders on festivals are and those compliments are not coming your way.
You're still thinking a lot about where you step and how you step when learning new moves. Your movement is not automated and doesn't feel controlled. Which greatly prolongs the time it takes to learn new things.
Time is passing and you're not improving as fast as you want to. You just want to show up and have fun. Not constantly have a question over your head saying "Am I Good Enough?"
You feel like a copy, like there is little originality in your dance, uniqueness.
You're not sure what you should focus on. You hit a wall and don't know how to get past it. You're tired of stagnation.

I want you to know that going through these problems or having these feelings is normal. It's a part of the journey. And it's useful to have these thoughts. They can actually have the power to put us on the right track. But that process doesn't have to last for years.

The problem is not your lack of talent or effort.The problem is that you've been focusing on developing the wrong things first.

WHAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT?

IMAGINE HAVING THESE SKILLS DEVELOPED ON A HIGH LEVEL

Professional Mistake Handling — Mistakes no longer exist, you just reposition, adapt your footwork and leading and continue the flow. You'll look forward to mistakes as they will be an opportunity to do something new. The fear of making a mistake will no longer be something that's holding you back.

Tactical Positioning — You no longer think so much about "where do I need to step in this figure" and you just position yourself automatically around the follower. Where you need to step is intuitive and spontaneous. Not something you pay so much attention to anymore. Your focus is not on your feet. It's everywhere else.

Precise Leading — You deeply understand how leading principles work and you can apply them to every new thing you learn. Your leading is on point, precise, gentle, clear. You can adapt to various followers and know what is your responsibility and what is theirs.

More Moves Sooner — There is no longer this long process of trying to learn a new move. You see something you want to learn and you are able to learn it way faster. Your footwork and leading came to the point of being automated enough. And voila, another move in your repertoire.

Spontaneous Variation Creation — Tactical positioning, precise leading and mistake handling enables you to spontaneously create new variations in the middle of a dance. Without thinking, without preparing. It is pure in the moment creativity. It is what you see advanced dancers doing on the dance floor constantly.

Musicality In Every Step — You hear it → You do it. You hear it → You lead it. Your lack of coordination no longer holds you hostage in musical expression. You don't need to think about being musical. Because you trained it it now comes naturally. You can predict change, adapt to different genres and really be "in the music".

Uniqueness — You are unique, one of a kind. No longer competing. You are calmly in the category of your own. You get inspiration from everyone but everything you do comes out a little bit changed and influenced by your personality.

Being Wanted — Yeah, followers want to dance with you. The good ones. The scene is small, women talk. You're talked about and recommended to other amazing followers who can't wait to dance with you.

No Stress Dancing — Your leading is precise, musicality good, move repertoire big enough. Once you become truly competent the real confidence comes out. Not the performance kind. There is nothing to fake anymore, nothing to hide. You are free.


When you fully understand and embody these skills something changes. You become free of worry. You stop questioning "Am I good enough" and start being more and more yourself on the dancefloor. All while having the correct technique. This is not to say that dancing cannot be fun before. Not at all. But imagine the feeling of knowing you're good, interesting, musical, precise... That creates a different state of being.

All of this is possible. The question is: How do you actually get there?

THE SOLUTION

BASE WORK

A place where we focus on developing the most important dance skills first. Online community & training group. A place to grow, ask questions, train and have fun along the way.

Base Work — Online Training Group & Community For Leaders

What is inside the program?

1. Weekly Online Calls (Every Monday 7PM CET)

#1 Base Drills — We drill the fundamental footwork patterns until they stop being something you think about. Repetition with intention and intensity. Here we also introduce elements we will use in the rest of the training session.
#2 Complex Drills — Various guided footwork sequences, movement patterns, elements and leading exercises. You will be pushed to do various things which will slowly with time build your coordination. Everything is tied to musicality so you automatically train yourself to be a unique and interesting leader. You also leave every session with something concrete to practice for the rest of your week if you wish to do so.
#3 Q&A / Guidance / Mentoring — Ask any dance related question you might have. This is also the part of the call where I share various insights, ideas and concepts that might be of use to you. I answer questions you asked on the call or raised in the WhatsApp group. I provide you with guidance with the goal of improving fast and I challenge your way of viewing dance.
Weekly Quests — Every week you get a challenge, a thing to do, to focus on. Something to keep you sharp and get you outside of your comfort zone. An exercise, intention, thing to try or a thought to keep in mind.

*The length of each segment depends on the day and the topic. Sometimes we focus a lot on leading exercises and frame automation, other times more on footwork, other times really a lot on musicality. The length of the call aims to be between 1hr and maximum 1hr 30min if the last part of the call becomes longer

2. Community Aspects

Inner Skills — BASE WORK is highly technique focused but that needs to be balanced with inner skills without which this dance feels empty. Confidence, presence, determination, receptivity, emotional inteligence... Skills we guys need to be great leaders but also great men in our day to day lives. So BASE WORK's community aspect takes care of these things indirectly throughout the talks at the end of the trainings and inside the whatsapp group in a gentle and caring way.
Private WhatsApp Group — A place to connect with others, ask questions, get them answered by me personally or even other members of the program. We are here to support each other's journeys. Share resources, inspiration.
Personalised Approach — What we focus on in the online sessions is influenced by your questions, needs, wants. There is a structure to it, but the exercises can vary from week to week depending on the problems/goals that you shared in the group or with me personally.
Training, Not a Course — This is not a premade course for you to buy and never go through. It is something you show up to every week. I want to see you and know what you're struggling with so we can take care of it together.
Not a Lifetime Membership — I want you to get results and when you no longer need this group you get out and pass the torch. Maybe bring another beginner leader in who needs it. The goal of BASE WORK is to help you advance and motivate you to grow, not stay inside the group forever. (I mean, you can if you want :D)
Beginner to Intermediate Focused — Trainings are built with understanding for the struggles we face at the beginning and in the middle stages of our Urban Kiz/Kizomba dance journey. This is not for advanced dancers. They already have these skills embodied. Here we build the fertile ground so all those advanced skills can come with time.
Recordings — Available for up to one month of previous trainings. No longer. I want you to be present in the group and watch everything in time. Keeping a long library only brings overwhelm.

3. Prerecorded Video Guides (Available Immediately Upon Joining)

4 Pillars → How to navigate the map and know what to focus on next.
Core Leading Principles and Ideas → How leading and following actually works, what concepts/principles to always keep in mind.
Variation Creation Formua → How to change every move you learn and make it your own, what tools to use.
Weight Transfer Control → Most important walking technique for Kizomba/Urban/Fusion/Douceur.
Get Up/Warmup/Wake Up → Exercises and things to do before the weekly session to wake up the body and get the energy moving (expect some weird stuff).
Diving Into the Music → PDF and Video Guide on what it means to fully listen to the music.
Ideal Dance Visualisation → The woo woo practice for becoming the dancer/person you want.
Pains & Imbalances → What to do if your body hurts or feels off and is inhibiting you from dancing and moving well.

*Guides themselves might be worth more than the initial monthly investment. So if after one month you decide it is not for you you will still get some gold info along the way.

For the first intake only

Become a Founding Member
of Base Work

Join BASE WORK first and become a founding member. That comes with a few special benefits:

But you don't have to decide yet.

Join the free introductory class and find out everything about the program, the core idea, the founding member benefits, and whether this is for you.

The recording will be available if you cannot attend live.

Regular Monthly Membership

IF YOU MISS THE FIRST INTAKE

This is the regular price for non founding members and people who join after the first intake. You will still get the same things minus the discounted price and a welcome gift that will be revealed in the intro class.

Monthly membership

€65

per month · cancel anytime

  • 1+ hour live weekly sessions
  • Various weekly drills, exercises & challenges
  • Q&A, mentoring and open talk every call
  • Private WhatsApp group
  • Session recordings (up to 1 month)
  • Prerecorded Video Guides
  • Personalised Approach and Care

Founding members get a special discounted price locked in for as long as they stay subscribed. More details at the free introductory class.

This is not another online program you buy and never go through. This is intended to be a community which supports you in advancing faster to the higher levels of dancing.

There is an order to learning a skill.

Why Base Work and what is the core idea?

BASE WORK is built around a simple but rarely taught truth: There is an order to learning a skill.

When we go about learning a new skill there are always some things we should focus on learning first which enable us to learn everything else later on. Those first things are what I call BASE WORK.

Why BASE? because it builds the foundation for everything else. You want to build a skyscraper? It needs very strong foundations.

Why WORK? because it takes time, energy and effort. This doesn't mean it cannot be fun. But it will take work.

In becoming a genuinely good leader, the way you move (Movement) and how you interpret music (Musicality) should be the things you focus on the most at the beginning.

And it's cool because you don't need a partner to practice these things.

What will happen with time is that as you automate these two things (Movement & Musicality) you will be able to focus more easily on correct Leading and learning various Moves/Variations.

Approaching dance in that sequence will make you advance really fast.

These 4 areas of learning (Musicality, Movement, Moves/Variation, Leading/Following) are also something I call 4 Technical Pillars. A unique concept of viewing couple dance technique that I started playing with back at the start of 2024. instagram.com/p/C3s3TD8CW1E

Before that, back in 2022 I started writing all of the things I knew with the goal of creating a map that shows you what you should develop/focus on next as a social dancer. You can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb-_Fr5MtOU/

BASE WORK and 4 Pillars together make that map. They show you what to work on next.

First two pillars (Musicality & Movement) are what we focus on the most in BASE WORK online trainings as we don't need the partner for that and it is what builds a foundation for everything else.

Second two pillars (Moves/Variation & Leading/Following) are developed fully on regular classes/socials/1:1 training sessions. The online sessions really make you capable to even go about training them.

So this group, BASE WORK, is made to primarily automate your first two pillars so you can more easily focus on expanding the second two in whatever ways you like.

Throughout the calls, whatsapp group, your quesitons, weekly quests... we also work on getting you to build the second two pillars -> understanding the leading principles and embodying variations mindset.

The goal is for you to become a well rounded dancer from the start and have a framework for how to equaly advance in all 4 areas as time goes on.

SIGN UP

Free intro class happening online:
22.6. 19:00 ON ZOOM platform

What we'll go through:

1
Why most leaders advance slowly — How to compress years into months. What advantage professional dancers had that you don't, and how to get it back.
2
Why musicality is non negotiable — What musicality actually gives us and how we go about training it.
3
When will I finally be good enough? — What is valued in a leader, what are the most important skills to learn. What is worth worrying about and what is not.
4
Footwork & musicality exercise — Small sneak peak of exercises we'll do in our weekly meetups.
5
Q&A & FOUNDING MEMBERS INFO — Ask any question. All details about BASE WORK & Founding Members revealed.

After filling out the form I will personally send you a message and email with all the information about the first call. It may take up to a day. See you inside!

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY

It's not only about you!

I genuinely hesitated adding this to the page as it's kinda strange to show other people's messages.

But I want to show you how much your dancing can impact other people. How much you can influence their day. Becoming better is not only about you. It is also about the joy you bring to every single person you meet adn dance with. The moments and memories and energy you share, the friendships you create.

The hard truth to hear is that yes, to experience this you have to be at least somewhat good. But hopefully you can see "becoming good" as a gift that you give to yoursef and to others.

Also, these messages aren't that recent. I was not even close to where I am now technically. I didn't have crazy moves. I just had good enough foundations in place and the right mindset of what is actually valued.

Presence. Musicality. Precise leading. Variations. That's what creates these moments.

I'm showing you these messages because this is available to you too.
And not in a couple of years. Pretty soon if you decide to take action.

Questions

Answered.

BASE WORK is designed to complement whatever you're already doing. Regular classes, online courses, 1:1 sessions, practice with friends. It doesn't replace any of it, it makes all of it work better.


The honest question to ask yourself is: do you recognise yourself in the problems section? Are the skills described in the skills section something you genuinely want? If yes then this is for you.

What BASE WORK gives you is the foundation that makes everything else stick faster. It's not a magic pill, but if you stick to training and adopt the first principles you will advance faster.

Also, this is a live community. So at any point you can ask a question related to the stuff you might be learning elsewhere and get another perspective, technique explained, leading technique cleared up...

Live Sessions (1hr - 1hr 30min)

Training Outside The Sessions (30 - 45min) - You can repeat the exercises/concepts we did on that session as much as you'd like throughout the rest of the week. The more the better. But 2x per week for 15 - 20 minutes is enough for things to start sticking. Consistency is the key.

Challanges (depends) - We also do challenges where you are invited to try/do something new. This doesn't usually take so much time out of your week so don't worry about it. Challenges are are made with a good ROI in mind.

How much you give yourself to this group: quesitons you ask, how much you train, how present you are on live sessions proportionally reflects the results you will see with yourself.

No. The entire program is built primarily around developing the solo technique: body movement, footwork, musicality. You practice alone. And take those skills to regular classes/socials/parties. If you have someone to train with that's great, it's ana amazing bonus and I suggest it but it's not neccesary.

Yes. Starting here as a beginner is actually the best thing you can do. You build the right foundation from day one. No bad habits to fix later. No holes in your base.

Well.. are you still bad at musicality, have a hard time executing moves, you feel like you're repeating yourself, followers end dances before you do, there is no creativity, dances are feeling boring? It doesn't matter how long you have been dancing. You could have been focusing on developing completely wrong things all these years. Now it's time to fix that.

Sessions are recorded for up to 1 month. Older recordings are getting deleted. Showing up live is where you get the real value. The Q&A, direct feedback, accountability and connction to the rest of the community... Asking questions and helping me mold the trainigns and feedback to your particular needs.

Yes. Cancel before your next billing date. But give it at least 4–6 weeks. Real change in how your body moves takes consistent repetition, not one session.

Online via Zoom. All you need is a phone or laptop and enough floor space to move.

Who is Josip Franjo Kuharić

LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

Josip

Josip Franjo Kuharić

Founder: EmbodiedKiz, Embodied Leading, BASE WORK

Josip dancing
Josip teaching
Josip teaching

A kid from a village who wanted to become the best version of himself

I'm not anybody special. I wasn't born talented, confident or with any particular advantage. I was shy and insecure, dealt with back pain that left me unable to walk normally for weeks, went broke multiple times investing in my own growth. I thought about quitting more times than I can count.

But I never did...

I made a decision early on that I wasn't going to live the life others expected of me. I was going to build the one I actually wanted. That meant finding mentors, spending money I didn't always have, placing myself in situations that scared me, and trusting that it would come back. It did.

Dance was part of that process. I wasn't good when I started. I was average, like most guys. But I saw how much this dance could give me and I decided to go all in. It pushed me to grow. It showed me the world. It gave me some of the best experiences of my life and introduced me to people I would never have met otherwise.

Dancing gave me a lot. Now I want to give some of that back.

What helped me most on the journey was finding people who already had the skills I wanted and who could show me a faster way. Not so I could skip the work, but so I didn't have to waste years figuring out what to focus on.

That's what I want for you.

None of us are born with these skills. But we can decide to build them. And if dancing is one part of the life you want to live it would be a pleasure to be your guide on that path.

See you in BASE WORK.

Find me or contact me here

Stop wasting years.

Join the free intro class.
Ask anything.
See if this is for you.