For two girls who rarely — if ever — enter the gleaming doors of Pottruck, Zumba’s motto held infinite appeal. Convincing us to “Lose the workout, join the party!” was, predictably, not very hard to do. After all, our love of sweaty dance parties almost matched our fear of exercise. As we entered the doors of the Kun Yang Lin Dance Studios, Salsa music blasting, we knew we had found our kind of place.
We are uncoordinated people, so the prospect of dancing in a class of 15 people was scary. But once the music started playing, we realized that letting go and having fun was clearly what it’s all about. In short, we were ready to Zumba.
Zumba Fitness was created accidentally, when a Colombian fitness instructor forgot the music to his aerobics class, popped in a tape of his favorite Latin music and made the workout choreography up on the fly. This informality is still present in the program , as instructor Michelle Richards repeatedly told us, “There are no mess-ups.”
The choreography and the music draws from a little bit of everything; salsa, flamenco, Middle Eastern dance and Jane Fonda aerobics moves. These are seamlessly fused together to create a continuous stream of steps, kicks and booty shakes. According to our delightful and friendly instructors, as long as you keep dancing and even if you don’t successfully replicate the dance moves, this "full body workout" will burn 500 to 800 calories.
Between attempting to keep up with the moves and trying not to be distracted by the instructors’ constantly shaking behinds, the hour passed by quickly. Almost too quickly, as we found ourselves wanting to squeeze an extra couple of cha cha chas in.
Richards and co-instructor Lorin Gartner, who rent the studio space for the class from Kun Yang Lin Dance Studio in South Philadelphia, both began Zumba’ing just two short years ago. The extremely dynamic duo have created a fun, energizing workout with a few personal touches. Welcoming people of varying levels, Gartner and Richards have been known to throw in variations on the prescribed routine for those who need more of a challenge, or significantly less of one (read: us). They’ve even recently incorporated an all-standing-abs choreography to tone those flabbing abdominals for the upcoming summer months.
If trekking downtown sounds unappealing, Pottruck has also recently incorporated some Zumba classes into its schedule. But be warned, unlike Gartner's and Richard's class, Pottruck is not within walking distance of Pat’s, Geno’s or Whole Foods …
Contact Lorin Gartner and Michelle Richards at phillyzumbalove@gmail.com or (610) 416–3593 for more information regarding Zumba Fitness or private parties.
Kun Yang Lin Dance Studios
1316 South St.
(267) 687-3739
