It’s fair to say the Zumba craze has been going strong for several years now. Zumba has been around since the 1990’s. Chances are, the workout style is older than I am. Nevertheless, this Latin dance inspired cardio workout has sashayed onto the en-vogue workout circuit and seems to be here to stay. This semester, one of my closest friends and I decided to enroll in a Zumba class, a stark alternative to our normal hip hop roster. One Monday, I braved the snow and ice to attend my first class.
Granted, I did not visit a fancy studio to dip my toe in the Zumba waters. Instead, I saved myself some money and chose the class at my local community center. Situated in the suburbs, the class was just about what you would imagine – mostly filled with middle-aged women decked out in Lululemon. The instructor, a thirtysomething French Canadian woman named Julie, seemed friendly enough though she sported an intimidating amount of muscle in her upper body. She switched on the music to something rhythmic and off we went.
Now, it became very clear to me (and unfortunately those around me) that this was my first class. My classmates followed Julie’s silent cues with practiced ease, while I kept a trained eye on her at all times, not wanting to fall behind or appear uncoordinated. Eventually I caught on, but by that time, the song ended.
The only juncture where Julie recognized my newness to her class came about forty minutes into the hour-long class when a particular song came on and all of the women around me groaned. She looked directly at me and asked, “Does everyone know this song?” I was, of course, ready to blend into the group and not identify myself, but her endorphin-addled stare indicated that I could not escape. Wordlessly, I motioned quietly that, no I did not know the song. The only songs I recognized were a Zumba version of “Party Rock Anthem” and Shakira’s “Africa.” Julie then demonstrated a cycle of arm movements with which she was about to torture us, indicating that T-rex arms would not be tolerated. All in all, the class was not as bad as the initial reception led me to believe.
I genuinely enjoyed taking this class. I don’t think I have ever smiled to myself so much during a pretty intense cardio workout. Granted, this could have been because some of the movements are ridiculous, such as showing off your biceps in a classic muscleman way, or because Julie recognized that we might be feeling awkward and made hilarious facial expressions to comfort us. Before long, I was rolling my hips and bounding across the floor, following Julie’s cues and keeping my steps in time with hers. By the end, I was sweaty, happy, and ready to slink out of the room and into the cold winter’s night with my water bottle. Julie caught me before I left and asked me how I liked the class. I replied that I really enjoyed myself and looked forward to next week. In response, she said, “Well this isn’t your first Zumba class, so I wasn’t worried about you.” I balked, and ensured her that that wasn’t the case, but took the compliment, assuring her that years of dance training saved me from making a complete fool of myself.
If you have yet to try Zumba, please do, because it is fun, good for you, and might give you an extra confidence boost to carry you through the rest of the week.