Zumba, for the unaware, is a high energy dance workout that includes Latin style dance routines in the workout. The end result is that you have fun- which most exercise classes do not include- and you get fit in the process.

I started searching for Zumba classes in my area and found three different classes and decided to go for all three to find out which class best suited me and herein lies the gist of this post..

My first class went really well save for two things: My dance instructor was male and although he danced in tune with the music and we all worked up a sweat, I couldn’t concentrate! For one, I couldn’t help staring at the dude and wondering if a guy was allowed to grind his waist and hips in that manner and two, I kept on wondering if getting all the ladies to butterfly (we used to call it shuperu in secondary school) while lying down was more for his benefit than ours cause I’m still not sure what muscle groups we were working on dancing in that position.

My second dance class, the week after that was at a community centre. The good thing about it was that it was a lot cheaper than the second one and I was hoping that the cheaper price didn’t mean that the dance instructor would be rubbish at dancing. So I arrived at the dance class, not sure what to expect, but hoping for the best. For one thing, the class was a lot larger than the first one I attended- it was in a really large room and was packed full- they even had ticket collectors at the door incase someone tried to sneak in without paying.. I paid for my ticket, showed my ticket and found a spot near the back. The instructor was a bit late so people just milled around and waited..

And then the instructor walked in, or should I say glided in. I looked around and noticed that everyone was staring too- the lady looked like she just popped out of a movie- and not just any movie oh, one of those films where they'll have street parties, and her father would forbid her to go, for fear she would meet her lover, Eduardo, a poor dancer but she would defy her father's commands and go and meet Eduardo and they'll dance away in the moonlight!!

Where was I?

The Zumba class was really quite good- we all danced the best we could, she would show us the dance step and we would try to copy- each with their own interpretation of the dance. I left the class, at the end, fully spent but glad to be one of the back up dancers in my dance instructor's movie....

I attended the last Zumba class because I had intended to attend all three but I had already resolved to continue with the class at the community centre. The last and final class was also at a community centre but a much larger one, and this time, I went with a friend. The normal dance teacher wasn't available so the community centre staff were trying to find a replacement and they eventually did. Now, we should have suspected something when the replacement instructor came in and four girls left at once- we just thought maybe they went to get a drink or something.

And then the music started and then we discovered why- the instructor couldn't dance AT ALL!!! Not in tune with music or in tune with anything- all she did was shout and then move her body and jump up and down! There was nothing Latin inspired about any of the steps she demonstrated and if you didn't dance or jump as high as she did, she would come to your side and start shouting!!! I did work up a sweat but also gained a headache as well!!

So I'm returning to my little community centre this week to continue my back up dance role!!!