What elixir can perform all the following charms?• Create absolute joy;
• Burn 500 calories or more within an hour;
• Leave you wanting more;
• Appeal to all ages, ethnic groups, sexes;
• Challenge body and mind;
• Help you focus, and forget your baggage;
• Invigorate you.
“Zumba is out of the world crazy fun,” says Vaughnda Hilton, director of the Native Nations Dance Theater who also teaches Zumba at fitness centers across the region. “Zumba is exercise in disguise.”
Zumba is an enticing, almost addictive elixir, hooking onlookers by its catchy music, exciting choreography and the enthusiasm of its participants. I’m hooked. And from the hundreds of classes filled and growing across Montgomery County and the country, I’m just a small ripple in a tidal wave dance phenomenon.
Oreland resident Joe Konrad was a flight instructor and commercial pilot with a passion for Salsa. In 2003, he was on assignment in Florida when he glimpsed an infomercial for a Zumba DVD. His followers now pack the gyms for this certified Zumba instructor.
If you go to www.zumba.com, you’ll be struck by the slogan, “Ditch the workout, Join the Party!” It’s a catchy marketing slogan, but it also captures the magic that is Zumba.
So what distinguishes Zumba from old-fashioned aerobics?
Vaughnda Hilton connects the use of drums to “the heartbeat of people.” She calls dance a universal language that unites spirit, emotion and body. Participants occasionally punctuate pieces with clapping and hooting. “It’s pure fun.”
Konrad loves the Latin music. He emphasizes the “world rhythms” that get incorporated into the repertoire, including belly dance and Bollywood. “Official” Zumba music has edited out and cleaned up some of the disturbing language that sometimes burdens the energetic tunes and beats. That way, Konrad says, nobody is offended by Zumba classes at the Ys and at religious institutions.
The photos show Konrad with a few of his students at Blue Bell Academy of Dance & Music/ BBAD Studio on DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell. That Academy is in its 7th year, and is directed by Rich Rogers: www.danceclassesandmusiclessons.com.
Zumba is versatile: it simultaneously offers simplicity and “safety” to newbies and sophistication and complexity for serious dancers. When first-timers enter a class, they position themselves near the back in a corner, Konrad observes. But within a few weeks, their confidence builds as they become more familiar with the music and the moves, and they creep forward, he says. “It’s not about being seen.”
All of a sudden, previously non-dancers realize that they’re performing merengue, cumbia, samba and other classics. And gradually, they become pleasantly acquainted with muscles and movements they didn’t know they had.
Arthritis and other conditions don’t prevent most folks from partaking in Zumba. Within any class, participants modify the moves to their own needs. Vaughnda Hilton explains that there are also specialty classes in Aqua Zumba, Zumba Gold (which includes Zumba from a chair), and Zumba Toning, with weights and maracas.
Hilton, who’ll be touring China with her Native Nations Dance Theater for the U.S. Dept of State this Fall, doesn’t believe Zumba will be a passing fad. If anything, she thinks it will serve as a springboard for related forms.
I agree. And I still have a couple of guest passes to my gym for my friends to try it out.
Zumba is versatile: it simultaneously offers simplicity and “safety” to newbies and sophistication and complexity for serious dancers. When first-timers enter a class, they position themselves near the back in a corner, Konrad observes. But within a few weeks, their confidence builds as they become more familiar with the music and the moves, and they creep forward, he says. “It’s not about being seen.”
All of a sudden, previously non-dancers realize that they’re performing merengue, cumbia, samba and other classics. And gradually, they become pleasantly acquainted with muscles and movements they didn’t know they had.
Arthritis and other conditions don’t prevent most folks from partaking in Zumba. Within any class, participants modify the moves to their own needs. Vaughnda Hilton explains that there are also specialty classes in Aqua Zumba, Zumba Gold (which includes Zumba from a chair), and Zumba Toning, with weights and maracas.
Hilton, who’ll be touring China with her Native Nations Dance Theater for the U.S. Dept of State this Fall, doesn’t believe Zumba will be a passing fad. If anything, she thinks it will serve as a springboard for related forms.
I agree. And I still have a couple of guest passes to my gym for my friends to try it out.
