Her Campus had a chance to sit down and interview with Marshall University Recreational Center’s very own Zumba instructor, Jacob Longoria, and get a better insight to the fitness craze hitting our campus!
Having no prior dancing experience, Jacob Longoria, senior criminal justice major from Chantilly, VA., decided to join his friend freshman year and give Zumba a try. “The instructor was amazing!” Longoria recalls. “I learned so much from her and she pushed me to go get licensed.”
The licensing process consists of a 9-hour day of Zumba, Longoria explains. “You watch tutorials and are taught the basic dances of salsa, reggaeton, merengue and cumbia. You spend the day learning and then work as one large group to make up a routine. It was the greatest day ever!” By junior year, Longoria was teaching his first class at Marshall’s Rec center.
The music rule for Zumba is 70/30 (which is keeping the music ratio around 70% international songs and 30% modern hip-hop/pop.) However, Longoria, like many other Zumba instructors, prefers to gear the music for his class. “I use 70% of the modern music that students enjoy to listen to and 30% traditional Zumba music. You have to know who you’re teaching and figure them out.” And that’s exactly what he’s doing! “If it’s a song they know, they’ll hear it and be like “oh my god, this is my jam!” Longoria said. “I’ve had people tell me they heard a song we did in class out at the club and they started doing Zumba!”
Longoria explains that he does work in salsa to his routines, but it’s tweaked. “I sometimes call what we’re doing “Performance Zumba.” We’re doing routines that are working you out, but it’s actual dancing. We’re performing together.”
The attendance for Longoria’s Zumba class is rarely low; in fact, one class had a over 50 people, which promoted the question from the Rec about safety during class and the possibility of capping the number of people who could attend the class. Longoria, though, doesn’t believe in turning anyone anyway. “It was full, but I was watching everyone to make sure they were still able to do the dances without running into someone else or hurting themselves.”
Longoria doesn’t mind having a full schedule. Along with being a full-time student at Marshall and Zumba instructor, he also works two jobs on campus. “I fit it all in by planning ahead. When I’m making my class schedule I try to keep my evenings opening to teach.” He started out teaching two classes a week, Monday and Wednesday, at the beginning of fall semester. However, after another instructor left the Rec, he took over her Tuesday Zumba class as well.
Longoria said that his favorite thing about teaching Zumba is watching everyone’s reactions when they dance. “They start joking around with their friends during class and that’s when you know they’re having a good time. You get to see them experience a genuinely care-free moment.”
For students interested in trying out Zumba, but may be a little hesitant when it comes to shaking your groove-thing in front of others, or may be self-conscious about their body, Longoria gives this advice: “It’s your body, it’s your health. I’ve lost 90 pounds from doing Zumba since freshman year. It’s an enjoyable workout. It’s a fun way to workout and a confidence booster– whether you’re hiding in the back or dancing in the front – when you nail that dance and you see yourself getting it, your confidence is going to soar!”
This coming spring will be Longoria’s last semester teaching Zumba classes at the Rec before he graduates, so come, bring your friends and join the party with him!