What Is Embodied Leading?

To be Embodied means to be fully here now, feeling all. It is about taking responsibility and realising it is not a destination, but a moment to moment decision to show up, be present and feel deeply.

This is also a learning ecosystem made up of specific tools, training and mindsets—designed primarily for beginner to intermediate Urban Kiz leaders who want to become better dancers but lack a clear path, support, resources, or environment to do so.

Embodied Leading is a gentle but confronting invitation to connect to yourself and others—and to dance from that place without neglecting the technique that makes this dance work.

APPROACHING DANCE FROM THE OUTSIDE

Outer world of technique and “how this dance works” is explained by using the 4 Technical Pillars:
1. Musicality
2. Solo Technique/Body-movement
3. Moves/Variations
4. Leading/Following

This is a holistic way of looking at technique and a map which shows you where you are and what could be a good idea to work on next.

It simplifies the learning process as much as possible so it just makes sense and you know what to do.

If you are interested in learning more about the 4 Technical Pillars and how you can start using them in your dance training apply for an introductory workshop HERE.

APPROACHING DANCE FROM THE INSIDE

Our inner world is equally important in dance. All of the technique is useless if we cannot be present, feel connected to the music, ourselves and the other person and allow our personality and depth to come out through our movement

The tools we use here are drawn from many of my experiences, and learnings. They are not that laid out as 4 Technical Pillars because what each person needs in this area is very much unique to their own personal journey at the moment.

The approach is still aimed at being quite simple.
To get a taste of it listen to my short 10 min podcast episode HERE.

My Story

A young boy with dark hair and light skin, sitting on the floor, holding a colorful building block toy, wearing a blue t-shirt and tan overalls, in a room with wooden furniture and patterned curtains.

I didn’t grow up dancing. I was the one with two left feet in my family.

As a kid I loved to build stuff, assemble, disassemble, climb trees, be in nature or build planes and spaceships out of cardboard.

Fast forward… Somewhere along the way in our culture I started to feel small, not accepted, ridiculed for where I am from, how I behave and how I speak. Dancing gave me a place where I could slowly gain back that confidence, meet people, grow and get to know myself again.

Dance was my mirror, my container for self exploration.

This new world provided me with a community. It introduced me to people I had no idea would completely change my life.

A young man with a beard and green cap taking a selfie at a construction site. The site has steel rebar structures, gravel, a red welding machine, and a wheelbarrow, with trees and a fence in the background.
A young man with long dark hair and a beard wearing a beige bucket hat and sleeveless shirt, dancing closely with a blonde woman outdoors at a summer event, with other couples dancing in the background.

I grew up in a small village in Croatia —where when you didn’t know something, you figured it out. There’s was no giving up.
You found a way to make it happen

This mindset shaped everything. And it is the foundation of how I now approach life.

I started dancing in 2018, at 18 years old. I was shy and had no idea what I was doing. But after seeing those amazing dancers carrying themselves with confidence, dancing with beautiful women and seemingly living their best life, my teenage self saw dancing as something that could help me grow, gain confidence and get to know myself better.

It felt like a journey and a quest. Something that seemed worth exploring.
So I decided to go all in.

But there was a problem. I lived far from the city, so getting to classes was hard. Plus, I didn’t have much money.

After some time my only option was to train alone and meet privately with my friends. I binge watched dance videos from YouTube trying to figure out how this dance works. Did physical labour student jobs and even borrowed money from my friends just to be able to buy online courses and get access to the well known teachers across the world.

Volunteered on festivals and stayed in cheap hostels to get that festival experience.

With time I broke the dance down into small parts with intention of understanding how it worked. I know, a typical masculine approach… But it worked.

I wrote down everything. What I struggled with, what worked, what didn’t and how I solved it. That’s how my teaching style was born: simple, practical, based on real problems and real solutions.

And most importantly, it brought fast results to those who actually applied what I was sharing.

A young man and woman are dancing closely in a dimly lit room with other people in the background.
A man and woman hug and smile at each other in a friendly setting, likely a gym or locker room.

My Mission

More good male leaders in our dance scene.

Men who are confident, smooth, grounded. Men with strong basics and clarity in how to improve. Men who create a safe space and handle followers with care.

No pressure to prove yourself to others or even compare.

I want dancing to be fun for you—not a stress or a constant self-doubt loop. I want you to feel connection, flow, presence. To dance like yourself—and enjoy the hell out of it.

It ain’t all sunshine and rainbows though. For that to happen you’ll have to do the work. Show up and trust the process.

The truth is… Most people are lazy and unwilling to put in the work to get to the dream they say they want.

I’m loving and supportive. I’ll hype you up, but I’ll also say, “Bro… If you don’t put in the work nothing will happen.”

Most teachers, who are amazing dancers, forgot what it’s like to start from scratch. To learn to dance and lead as somebody who maybe never danced before in their life.

That’s why trainings you’ll find here might feel a bit different. These are very specific things one does to improve their dancing. And if you’re like me, a guy who had no solo dance background this approach might just fit like a glove.

I believe that we can only become good if we truly understanding how the system works. And so I like to break things down while still keeping it simple and practical for you.

Dance is a mirror for our life and so throughout my work you will see that we are not only talking about dance. We are talking about creating a life worth living. A life of freedom and no compromises.

If that sounds like your vibe—stick around. Let’s get to work 👊 And have fun along the way 🫶

YOUR NEXT STEPS:
1. Explore Free Resources
2. See what are the next Events you can participate in.
3. Check out how you can Work With Me if you feel a more personalised approach is something you want at this moment.

See 🫵 on the other side 👊

To achieve anything you have to be the first one to believe you can.