Bristol Zumba
After what seems like an age, Sinead Nua has returned from holiday. A week in France resulted in an extra half stone around midriff – eek! Instantly, that Zumba class I wanted to try out was promoted to top of ‘To Do’ list.
For anyone who doesn’t already know, Zumba is a Latin inspired dance fitness class incorporating Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton, Cumbia, Calypso, Hip Hop to name just a few dance styles (I hadn’t heard of half of these before).
I went to Redland High School to the class run by Jo Soteriou. On arrival I realised just how much Zumba has taken the world by storm…or Redland at least. There were over 30 people in the class, all ages and abilities from the teeny tiny fluent salsa-ites to the completely uncoordinated and giggly newbies. I fell into the latter category, not that it mattered. Nobody cared that I almost tripped myself up with my own feet or that I was devoid of rhythm.
Within the hour-long session, we covered 11 fun frenetic sequences finished off by a cool down dance (never would have thought this would work but it was the perfect end to a boogie filled hour). So, as I said, I fitted comfortably into the uncoordinated category of participants. I confidently flailed my arms around and jumped to the beat like a crazy person. The only bits where I remotely had any rhythm were the on the spot jogging bits. Then I felt like a true pro…until the arm swooping, leg-kicking African moves set in again. Although the 90s rave lesson I got from a friend in a nightclub some time ago came in very handy, I got my chance to shine there. My favourite part was the re-enactment of the Pussycat Dolls’ Jai Ho video. In my head it was EXACTLY the same and I was rather hoping I would be discovered by a scout and featured in their next music video. A far cry from reality if I’m to be honest. It was like Jai Ho in sweats, limbs thrashing about as if independent from body…not what a scout gets up for in the morning unfortunately. There’s always next week.
Overall, Zumba was a reet laugh (gone all Northern again, must look into past life). It was exercise disguised as fun. Now, that’s what I’m talking about, that half stone will never know what hit it!
http://www.bristolzumba.co.uk/
Image: bristolzumba.co.uk
