PZC 2015 was fantastic in every way. The quality of workshops could be at the top in the 2015 league, having had a period of contrastingly low reputation in 2014.
It has been rumoured that PZC was no longer at the top of the league in 2014 and it was evident that some people became put off from participating in the 2015 congress altogether, especially with its price increase. Just about when the congress became well known, the quality started to fall, and the capacity of the venue did not quite fit the number of people attending.
The most recent PZC was my first congress, and I do not know about last year, but many people who had attended it said that it had been a packed workshop and party. Apparently, the females were vastly outnumbered as well.
This time round, there was plenty of room in both the party and workshop, with a good balance of leaders and followers attending. If this was what PZC had aimed for to regain its high quality, it was definitely the right decision.
However, I do not think this was exactly what they wanted. The consequences of this reduced number of attendees ironically brought back its quality. Each of the workshops were high quality and excellent in every way. Most classes were not crowded, and they were generally split into three different levels, and I noticed that these often took place at the same time. I myself attended the most advanced level at PZC, where most instructors were actually members of other congresses, but I feel that they raised their teaching level to even higher standards at this congress.
Overall, we found that this congress had a very special energy, and I suspect that the reason is because all the instructors seemed to genuinely enjoy attending and teaching here. They were relaxed and having fun with each other, as well as with the students. Particularly, though, all the instructors looked as if they had bonded here and were supportive of each other. An example of this is how I noticed that they participated in other classes as students and even helped to teach some of them alongside the other instructor/s. This was not just a couple a teachers; it occurred in almost all of the classes I attended. It was truly an unusual, effective teaching style and it was great to see them support each other so well. Paloma and Val, Freddy and Audley, Freddy and Renata, Lutia and Gibson… they all made great partners and teacher duos.
In particular, I enjoyed the combat classes on Wednesday and Monday, which were a relatively small sized group (of about 40 -50 people). What I liked most was that I could always see teachers talking and enjoying mixing with students and other teachers; it was just the most pleasant atmosphere. When the instructors could be seen to purely enjoy taking part, we students also felt excited and happy to be in their presence.
As I said,I feel that teachers really like PZC. Many instructors taught us the most difficult moves, just like the moves they used in their shows. All classes I attended were fantastic, which essentially showed me that PZC will survive. Here are the examples I enjoyed most:
1) Show Moves by Alisson and Audrey ( 26.3.15)
2) Styling for couples by George and Renata ( 27.3.2015)
3) Zouk counter move by Wakko and Masha ( 28.3.2015)
4) Spiral and Spinning by Alisson and Audley ( 29.3.15)
5) Move to impress by William and Paloma ( 29.3.15)