Our Zumba classes are inching along at Advent. Very enjoyable but I sense that we all, students and instructor, are discovering some fun and fitness together; something we hope to master as the months move on. I love the latino music, which ranges from Caribbean, Reggaeton, Mexican, Colombian, Brazilian (anything in Latin America or South America) plus some flamenco from Spain. ZIN encourages us to develop our own personal style and preferences within the ZUMBA formula: 70% latino: 10-15 minutes warm up / cardio choreographed dances of many styles / closing with 5 minutes cool down. I usually have a liturgical worship dance and prayer to close. We leave feeling energetic and pumped-and in need of a shower!
I’m excited to have discovered a tutorial for something I am trying to add! The country line dance from the new FOOTLOOSE movie! We won’t be wearing boots in our ZUMBA class, but we will get those moves down!
I really don’t want to bring this up.. but there is a point to make: I went to have a facial- it was a Living Social coupon half price deal. I arrived in my ZUMBA outfit, straight and sweaty after a class. I felt free of toxins, embarassingly tacky, but glad to have the face done.
The technician told me ‘I do my Zumba at home with a DVD because I am too big to go to a class”. PLEASE…. I thought, one of the most happy results of ZUMBA FITNESS is to see how the gals who come in loose, comfortable work out clothes start to SHRINK after a few weeks of classes! Truly, it is the most amazing metamorfosis!!!
If you happen to be a gal/guy who is size PLUS.. do not shy away from coming to ZUMBA class. You will be so rewarded! If you avoid sugar and fats.. if you follow a healthy diet of no fried, no bacon, no white flour, just whole wheat, lots of water, some protein, and green, yogurt, healthy foods.. plus ZUMBA FITNESS.. YOU WIll shrink and your body will change sizes. It is amazing to see how these gals shrink after a few weeks. IT is not a diet. It is a way to be strong and healthy. PLUS, it is fun!! I hope you come to my classes beginning at Advent on May 26. Wear something you feel comfortable moving around in.. it can be loose or tight, just as long as you feel ready to DANCE!!
I have some great music ready. ZUMBA requires 70% to 80% Latino… we will have some warm up, followed by dance and cardio; then comes cool down. All is fun music and ends before you are ready. Believe me, I was 100% opposed to exercise. It was too boring for me! But, with ZUMBA, I let loose to dance and you will too!
Cost: At Advent we are reviewing the cost. For now, the first class is free. After that is $5.00 per class, with a punch card for 10 classes @ $40. I am contemplating making changes such as: one night per week that is always free, or other options. I have to talk to the head of CLC Advent activities to confirm. YOU come and we shall see what evolves!!
It’s close, it’s really close! As soon as school winds down and the remodeling is ready, I will be teaching ZUMBA classes at Advent. For additional information, check the church website http://www.adventpres.com or send an email to:
pastorchrisandkathy@gmail.com
Classes start Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 6:00 pm! Bring your friends! You are going to feel so good once you get in to the routine of Zumba fitness! We will be dancing in the multipurpose studio, beside the gym in the Christian Life Center of Advent Presbyterian, 1879 N. Germantown Parkway, Cordova, TN 38016 tel:901-755-6290
It is better to find out for yourself, than for me to attempt to give a description of a one hour Zumba fitness class. Suffice it to say that you can wear anything comfortable and use athletic shoes or others that feel flexible. You do not need any previous exercise or dance experience. You will be glad if you bring a bottle of water with you. The plan is to offer 3 classes per week: Saturdays 9-10 am, Tuesdays/Thursdays 6-7 pm. This is the summer schedule.
The first class is free! I am very excited and look forward to dancing with you!
For a number of years I taught Spanish to young children. I think it must have been my most fun job! On the cover of the CD pictured above, the children are singing and dancing to FATHER ABRAHAM in Spanish. The collection of Spanish songs included in this 40 minute recording were useful to me as I taught Spanish to children, ages 3-12. Some songs are original, others culturally authentic to hispanohablantes (those who have Spanish as their first language) and many were translated from English into Spanish. Español con Sra. Scruggs is a CD of 36 songs that is sold with a companion book that gives the guitar chords, Spanish and English lyrics, dance instructions (or hand motions) , photos and short background stories for each entry. Español con Sra. Scruggs is sold at AMAZON or leave a comment on this blog and I’ll help you get a copy! The vocabulary and phrases sung and danced by those who listen to this CD are forever implanted in their memory!
This is the cover of the book that accompanies the CD. I took this picture in Jaca, Spain, just on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. ISBN 0-9747272-0-2 Permiso Por Favor Publishing, 2003. The CD received a Parent’s Choice Award, hence the red/white seal in upper right corner!
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes; a dance to La Cucaracha that resembles Pharoah,Pharoah but is about dragons and grasshoppers; I’m a little snowman, that resembles I’m a little teapot, and LA BAMBA, are other dances that you will find in this book/CD.
Soy un hombre de nieve
Cabeza, Hombros, Piernas, Pies
“Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with timbrel and lyre! For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.” Psalm 149: 3-4
When Saturday Night Fever was released in 1977, I was quick to hit the dance floor. I had the coolest disco shoes. They were white with fuschia and purple ribbons that laced up the ankle. There were lines of color on the sole as well. It’s a good idea to hang on to those exceptionally unusual items that will definitely go out of style!~ Why didn’t I? My daughters could have enjoyed playing dress up in them.
I went disco dancing once or twice a week. Some friends thought, when I married a non-dancer, ‘it’ll never work’. My husband agreed to take me dancing at least one time a year when we married. Whenever people speak of nuptial agreements this may not be the most common topic. In response I would say, ‘keep it simple and accept the obvious logic’: if wife likes to dance and husband takes wife dancing, then… wife will like husband! Today, most people would be surprised to know that he was ever a non-dancer.
Donna Summer (Last Dance, I Will Survive, and On the Radio) and the Bee Gees (Stayin’ Alive, More Than a Woman, Nights on Broadway, and everything they played in Saturday Night Fever) were favorites.
Did you notice the disco ball and the lit up floor? It was also nice if you had a skirt that would twirl.
I am pleased to say that I have two friends who play in a seventies band today. They are awesome and we love to dance to their music. Funk de Ville.
“He who loves his wife loves himself.” Ephesians 5:28
I am naming this Linedance #1 because there are many tunes and genres for dancing in a line!~! They are all fun, to me, and I will post other favorites eventually. My husband and I are dancing the DoSiDo, at least that is what we were told it was called, in this picture. I grew up in Texas and went to camp in the hill country on the Guadalupe River every summer. Sometimes we could hear the music from Criders, a local honky tonk and rodeo spot. http://www.cridersrodeo.com/ The counselors went there on their ‘nights off’.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend a visit to The Hunt Store! They have live music and the folks can dance!~ Take Highway 39 west from Kerrville past Ingram to Hunt!
“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,” Psalm 30:11
Let’s talk about this international phenomena. It seems to have started abroad, in Europe, then migrated to the USA and Asia. If you were born after 1980 you probably have followed the growth in popularity of flash mobs. They are big on college campuses. Or, if you are a fan of Glee, these are nothing new to you either. The first “flash mob” that I have found happened in 2006. I’m slow to discover fads, and just learned the name while talking by phone with my daughter who is in graduate school. She participated in a “flash mob” with some girls from her program recently. Here is how it went: sign up online, follow directions such as: ”bring cell phone and a roll of toilet paper to X location at X time on Saturday”.
I found that a church organized a flash mob. Pop culture has infiltrated the church and the church today is, in turn, game to infiltrate the culture:
Here is what Wikipedia says about Flash Mob: A flash mob (or flashmob) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms, protests, and publicity stunts.
Notice that there is NO mention of ‘dance’ or ‘music’, it’s just a gathering. In Stockholm a mob gathered to play with Star Wars’ light sabers. Some groups just ‘freeze’. It’s a form of human sculpture: ART, in the 21st century. I have a preference for flashmobs that include dance and have clear well executed videography and choreography. When the mob is not in sync it just doesn’t create the same impression. I found several tributes to Michael Jackson. I think the contrast of people and places is quite amazing.
I want to do this! I imagine anyone who dances will feel the lure. When my daughter started to tell me about it, my immediate response was, “like the Oprah ‘I got a feeling‘ by Blackeyed Pea? The wonderful impact of that flash mob was the united corporate energy. True to her reputation, Oprah’s flash mob excels. They played this song at my goddaughter’s wedding, carrying her around in a chair. ¡Mazoltov!
Here is a favorite to a tune from The Sound of Music. Note the reactions of the onlookers; the surprise entrances of additional groups, and finally, a change of beat that takes this dance/song from the 1960’s to the present. This one is brilliant, in my humble opinion.
There is a new ‘sing along’ version of this classic film, The Sound of Music, coming out soon. I can’t wait. My husband accompanied me to the Mamma Mía sing along.. he was one of two males in the theatre! Don’t you love the ‘flash mob’ scenes of this movie, with the Aegean Sea in the background?
“Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
Jeremiah 31:12-14
Our Brownie troop performed the Hukilau at the mall! I think it was 1959 and we were in the second grade. Our troops’ leader went to Hawaii, a very exotic place.. soon to become a state! She brought us the grass skirts and taught us the dance. Again, we practiced it over, and over, and over…
They put us on a big platform in the middle of Sharpstown Mall. We practiced going up the steps to take our places and walking back down..no falls, please! I found a video of the Hukilau dance. These little girls are wearing coconut bras!!! WE DID NOT have those! I think we wore white shirts, or may one piece bathing suits with shorts underneath! I never knew exactly what ‘where the mau mau eats the cow cow’ meant, but this was about the dance, anyway!
This is a picture of me with my friend who’s mother taught us the hukilau, standing in front our our elementary school. We are still friends, and our mothers, are too! And here is a picture of our mothers, the troop leaders; we tried to copy their pose, 50 years later!
“Since my youth, O God, you have taught me. And, to this day, I declare your marvelous deeds.” Psalm 71:17
It was 1955. This was the first dance I learned. I was taking tap and ballet from someone I cannot remember and the recital was in a temporary building in Bellaire, TX. The lights were very bright and the room was dark. It was over with in an instant. I had practiced and practiced and still know the steps by heart! That is one of the benefits of dance: brain work as well as body movement! I think I did not wear tap shoes.. but maybe I did?
The next year I changed to the Emmamae Horn Dance Studio.
While looking for a demonstration of the dance, I ran across this video: “Valerie’s Birthday, 2009”. I will close this post with a performance by, possibly (?!!), the other little girls who shared the stage with me that night.
“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” Psalm 16:6
Our Zumba classes are inching along at Advent. Very enjoyable but I sense that we all, students and instructor, are discovering some fun and fitness together; something we hope to master as the months move on. I love the latino music, which ranges from Caribbean, Reggaeton, Mexican, Colombian, Brazilian (anything in Latin America or South America) plus some flamenco from Spain. ZIN encourages us to develop our own personal style and preferences within the ZUMBA formula: 70% latino: 10-15 minutes warm up / cardio choreographed dances of many styles / closing with 5 minutes cool down. I usually have a liturgical worship dance and prayer to close. We leave feeling energetic and pumped-and in need of a shower!
Point your little toe... 