About Zumba
Zumba® Fitness, if you can believe it, was introduced to the U.S. in 2001. According to well-known lore, a Colombian aerobics instructor living in Miami, Beto Perez, forgot his aerobics music one day. He ran out to his car and returned with his own collection of Latin dance music, then improvised the entire class. People loved it. Zumba was born.
Many things make Zumba unique:
Though you might sometimes see the some of the same routines or hear some of the same music, every instructor's class, playlist, and style is completely different. Instructors have the freedom to share and create choreography as they choose.
The music is a tour of the world. You may hear top 40 tunes or hip-hop, but you'll also hear music from India, Africa, the Caribbean, Spain, South America, Mexico, and just about everywhere else. Similarly, the dances are inspired by authentic dance styles, like salsa, bellydance, reggaeton, flamenco, and Bollywood, but they are broken down and made simpler and easy to follow so you can get an incredible workout.
There is typically no verbal cuing. No instructor shouting which way to go. Just simple nonverbal cues, so you can feel amazing and lose yourself in the music.
You will sweat and your muscles will burn, in the best possible way. Zumba is that sweet spot, the ideal combination of dance and fitness; you may not even notice those squats or lunges mixed in with the shimmies and booty shaking... until the next day, that is!
The community of Zumba is one of love, joy, and acceptance. You will be welcomed in every class, wherever you go, and you'll probably have made new lifelong friends before the warmup is over.
But what to wear to Zumba?! Not to worry. The simple guideline is to wear clothes you would feel comfortable squatting and jumping in. As for shoes, the best ones to wear are cross-trainers: they're smoother on the bottom than running shoes, and they're made for lateral (side-to-side) movement. However, you can give any pair of sneakers a try to see how they feel.
About Melody
I was the ultimate bookworm, terrified of any sport involving a ball (which is most of them, at least according to gym teachers). A few years of karate in middle and high school taught me the joy of physical balance and discipline, but I was never the type to let loose and seek out getting sweaty.
When I started college in 2009, I signed up for a class I had only a vague understanding of: Zumba. That first class was a revelation. I was wiggling, jiggling, and giggling all over the room. It truly was a party, one that had me pouring sweat and left me sore the next day. I kept going back, every class, every term, until I decided to get licensed as an instructor myself in April 2012.
I taught there in Southern Oregon for three years, lucky enough to teach in a gym, at a college, at a boutique fitness studio, and independently while also immersing myself in the local instructor community. Zumba was the bright point in my life through multiple Crohn's disease flares, and I put on my first Zumbathon (a dance-party fundraiser) for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation in 2013. Eventually, in 2015, I moved north for a new day job, and since then I've spent my spare time teaching Zumba classes both independently and at gyms in Vancouver, Washington.
I'm an AFAA certified group exercise instructor, and I pride myself on giving a safe and effective workout. I am also licensed in Zumba Gold®, which means I have an extra awareness for and ability to create modifications for people with injuries or those who are just beginning their exercise journey. I adore finding new and interesting music to bring to class, music from all over the world that you may never have heard otherwise; I can't pick a favorite dance style, so I pack my classes with as much variety as I can.
I hope to see you in class soon!
