A look into a Zumba instructors preparation

1. “Baila ‘Pa Emociona…”
A LOOK INTO A ZUMBA INSTRUCTORS PREPARATION
Kimberly Barrera
Anthropology 102
Dr. Leanna Wolfe
10-26-10

2. What is Zumba?
 Maria: “Zumba is doing
exercise and dance
with different rhythms.
It’s a workout without
much of a “workout”. It
is dance and exercise
combined.”

3. How did you first get involved with
Zumba?
 Maria: “ A friend told
me about it and I saw a
segment of it on T.V. I
found it very interesting
and fun. Soon after I
enrolled to become a
certified Zumba
instructor, and now I
instruct part-time at a
friends house, a non-
profit organization, and
at churches.”

4. How do you prepare for a class?
 First I practice a routine
 Second, choose the
music
 Third,I practice the
music with the routine

5. Practice
 “I have selective DVDs
sent to me through ZIN
(Zumba Instructors
Network) which have
different routines. Each
routine have 2 versions
and I mix and match to
best suit my classes.”

6. Creating a routine with music
 “I choose songs based on
the classes I will be
teaching. The first level is
beginning, gold,
intermediate, and
advanced. A lot of the music
I get is music that comes
with the ZIN DVDs and
some are songs I choose
myself based on the kind of
music I think the people will
enjoy.”

7. Practice With A Playlist
 “After I have chosen my
routine, and music I
practice both to make
sure the beats match
and as well to practice
and memorize the
music and the
sequence in which it
appears.”

8. Warm- Up:
 “First I start by
stretching all the
muscles and by
instructing controlled
breathing exercises so
they don’t feel too
exhausted during the
exercise.”

9. Cardio
 “After a 15-minute warm-up we
begin the cardio and this
includes both dance routines
and aerobics or in this case
step- aerobics.
 Me: I was getting pretty tired,
and some steps were pretty
complicated. It was really
interested how dance was
combined with aerobics.
Unfortunately, I was not quite
able to capture some of the
more complex steps because
of the rapid movement. Some
people arrived prepared with a
towel in hand.

10. Cool Down
 “After the 30-minutes or
cardio we slowly progress
into the “cool down” section
of the class and we do that
by stretching and controlled
breathing exercises.”
 Me: It was truly a workout
and the people were really
tired, including myself. The
breating exercises really
helped and it really helped
control my respiration.

11. “Baila ‘Pa Emociona”
 Maria: The reason I love Zumba is because, it is for
all kinds of people whether elderly, disabled, kids,
and teenagers.”
 Me:In this exercise I learned that Zumba is more
than a coordinated dance. I precisely enjoyed this
class because it was a combination of exercise with
dance and you got a workout while moving your hips
and while working out some core muscles and while
singing along with tunes you heard while growing
up. I never would have guessed Zumba to be this
much fun! I am definitely attending next week!