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More than 100 people are turning out weekly for the new Zumba class taught by instructor Richard Gormley. As word of mouth spreads, the crowds are growing.
At a recent class, eager students warm up to Boom Boom Pow by the Black-Eyed Peas, stamping, sliding and tapping their feet to the beat, the walls of the building vibrating along with the crowd. Everyone鈥檚 innocent shoulder rolls gain momentum throughout the class, evolving into some impressive hip rotations.
Our enthusiastic instructor describes the class as a 鈥淟atin-inspired cardiovascular party workout with an emphasis on fun.鈥�
He鈥檚 a ball of energy, jumping and dancing through a crowd so thick that sometimes it鈥檚 hard to spot him.
鈥淗ow you doing?鈥� he yells to the class. They scream back at him as if they鈥檙e at a rock concert.
Matthew Doherty, a first-year oceanography student, says he loves the energy, the fun, the music, the workout鈥攅ven the copious amounts of sweat.
鈥淚 recommend it to anybody. Anybody can do this class. It鈥檚 so much fun,鈥� said Mr. Doherty, 17.
Krista MacInnis, a second-year radiological technology major, says it鈥檚 up to you what you want to get out of it.
鈥淵ou can go completely at your own pace and no one really notices if you鈥檙e just kind of walking there,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou can do whatever amount of exercise you need to get.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 no right or wrong step,鈥� explains Mr. Gormley, 20. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about putting in your own flavour and having fun.鈥�
He discovered Zumba when he went to an Aquafit conference in Orlando. He fell in love with it and immediately worked to get certified to instruct.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a fun way for people, who don鈥檛 necessarily have a normal fitness routine, to get fit,鈥� he says.
Zumba originated in 2001, when creator and celebrity fitness trainer 鈥淏eto鈥� Perez forgot to bring the music for his aerobics class. He grabbed whatever tapes he could find in his car and improvised an entire class by dancing to the music, which was mainly traditional salsa and meringue.
Although Zumba has been around close to a decade, it鈥檚 still fairly new to Canada. Mr. Gormley, a third-year kinesiology student at Dal, was in one of the first groups of Canadian instructors to get certified.
Check out the Zumba class at Dalplex, Tuesdays at 7:45 p.m. and Fridays at 4:30 p.m.聽There is another new 鈥渃ardiovascular party workout鈥� on the Dalplex fitness schedule: Cardio Groove on Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
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