Nicole LeDuc is a senior at Emmanuel studying biology with a concentration in health sciences. Nicole is super involved on campus, but most recently, you may know her as the fantastic Zumba instructor who encourages us to shake our booty every Wednesday night. Due to the creation and success of EC Zumba Club, Nicole is being featured as this week’s Campus Celebrity!
HCE: First off, I give you major props for putting so much effort into this club while studying Biology! How do you find time for it?
NL: To me this is definitely worthwhile and a necessity. It’s a mandatory workout session but fun and relaxing at the same time.
HCE: Do you have a background in dance? If so, when did you start and what types of dance did you study?
NL: I’ve been dancing since I was about 5 years old and continued until I graduated from high school. I’ve learned ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical and kick line. But I wish I learned tap too!
HCE: Awesome! What about your Zumba background?
NL: I started taking Zumba classes when I was a freshman here. I took the classes offered at Simmons. This past January, I became certified to be an instructor.
HCE: That’s so cool! Can you explain what the certification process was like?
NL: I went to Cambridge for a day-long training from 8 am to 5 pm. It was like a giant Zumba class. Professional instructors showed us all different styles of dance then broke each of them down for us to learn. Some of the styles included merengue, salsa and reggaeton. They also taught us four core moves to base other moves off of. We then practiced choreographing dances and were given song suggestions.
HCE: What’s your favorite style?
NL: I like merengue a lot, but I also like kumbaya! (Kumbaya is an African dance style)
HCE: Did you find it easier to teach and learn Zumba because of your dance background?
NL: Yes, I’ve found it’s easier to teach the routines themselves. For example, “Buttons” is very focused on dance techniques, but doing the warm up is pretty simple and straightforward. I think someone with a different athletic background would bring something different to the table, which is definitely a good thing!
HCE: When and how did you come up with the idea to start a Zumba club here at Emmanuel?
NL: I had been thinking about it for a while. I thought it was a shame that EC didn’t already have a Zumba club. It’s something different that people are interested in doing to get in shape besides just going to the gym or joining a sports team. This year, I finally thought, “It’s my senior year, I need some fitness in my life!” Even though I’m graduating, I think it was still worth it to start the club. I hope this is something that will stay at Emmanuel!
HCE: I agree! Was it difficult to get the ball rolling with the club and get it recognized by the SGA?
NL: SGA was very supportive, which was helpful. I also sent an email to the SAGE group asking if anyone would be interested in the club or in holding executive positions and I got a lot of positive responses. Many people were interested in being a part of the executive board and just for the club to start in general.
HCE: What are your sources of inspiration for choreography? How do you come up with routines; Do you think of ideas randomly or do you dedicate time to think and create?
NL: All of the above! When I choreographed “Fuego”, I incorporated the core moves that I learned during training and added my own style to it. Last week, I heard the new Jason Derulo song, thought “This is Zumba gold!” and threw some moves together in my room. So definitely all of the above.
HCE: How do you choreograph your routines so that they accommodate everyone’s experience level?
NL: I learned from going to other people’s Zumba classes. The two instructors that I’ve had are very good at accommodating people who haven’t taken a Zumba class before. Counting out loud is helpful to stay on the beat. Visuals are also helpful, like using fingers to count or hands to signal a move. It’s also important to slow things down, but also give people the opportunity to speed up if they want to. Overall, I think it’s important to get everyone up and moving, whether they’re doing the moves right or wrong and be comfortable.
HCE: What are your future goals for the EC Zumba Club and for yourself?
NL: In general, it would be great if we could have even more people involved in the club! Just having more people going out there and being active is a great oal. It would also be cool to have some classes in other areas like on the quad or in the gym to change things up a bit and have a different, bigger atmosphere. As for myself, I would like to teach Zumba at a gym or maybe come back every so often and teach a Zumba class here at EC after I graduate. I love Zumba – it’s a great de-stresser for me and I would love to keep it in my life.
HCE: Finally, any extra details we didn’t cover or you want to mention about yourself or the club?
NL: If anyone has any song suggestions we are definitely open to taking them! Also, be sure to follow our twitter account for updates and information at @EC_ZumbaClub!