Zumba Bracelets

There's a secret tradition that only those of us who are licensed Zumba instructors are let in on.  Something to make us feel connected with each other.  Something that helps build the sense of community between instructors (as opposed to competition) that we're so proud of.

However, I ♥ my dancers, and I think it's such a cool tradition that I want to include you.  I don't think that I have such a large network (yet) that it will get back to many others that I squealed, so feel free to take part in the tradition.  After all, Zumba is one big community, and instructors are just dancers in the front, front row.

The tradition is simply that you don't buy Zumba bracelets for yourself.  Specifically, those rubbery ones.  Nobody is going to judge you or say anything or even look down on you if you do.  It's totally cool to be enthusiastic.  The tradition is just that you buy and pass out bracelets to other people.  I actually always assume that if you have a bunch of bracelets, it's because you've collected them from other people.  This isn't the case for any other Zumba swag, but feel free to turn it into your own thing among friends with earrings or toning sticks or whatever, if you want.

The other half of the tradition is not to expect anything in return.  Maybe you'll get a bracelet back at some point in the future, but that's not really the point.  It's Zumba's secret random act of kindness.

No matter what Zumba outfit I'm wearing, have you ever noticed what is always on my right wrist?  You guessed it.  My bright yellow 'WILD FOR ZUMBA' bracelet.  (Always might be too strong.  Humans forget sometimes. ;)  If you look at my Becoming ZUMBA Facebook page profile picture, you'll see it on my right wrist.  The profile pic comes from the full picture below.  I was given my first bracelet (this same yellow bracelet) at this event, by a beautiful instructor that teaches in Tahoe City, CA.  (She's in the blue genie-ish outfit beside me.)

From the Truckee, CA, Independence Day Parade, 2011.

All this being said, I've ordered some bracelets.  Not a ton.  They're coming straight out of my (shallow) pocket, so don't assume that they're paid for by any of the studios I'm teaching at.  These are from me to you.  If you are around about a minute before class once they come in, you'll likely get one.  If you're rocking it out in class, or if you're responding to my questions/jokes, or if you bring someone new to Zumba, you may get one, also.  There aren't any rules, other than you shouldn't expect to get one, nor should you expect to have much choice in the color or style you get.  Remember what the point of them are.  You're joining in on a secret tradition that has been going on since 2001 when Zumba was created.

If you don't want it or don't like it, pass it on.  That's the point.  Spread the gospel of Zumba.  And at some point in the future, when you're feeling particularly inspired or rich, feel free to buy your own collection and pass the tradition along.  I'm really excited to do this.  I'm such a geek.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB

Class Music

Anyone who has ever taken any type of cardio/fitness/dancing class knows that the music can make or break the class.  I try to keep that in mind in choosing the songs that I use and choreograph.  I'm really hard to motivate to work out.  So, if it doesn't move me, I know it's not going to do much for my dancers.  I also know that I have a very unique taste in music (hello, Showtunes) so I try to keep that as under control as possible.

My advice for picking music?  Variety is the spice of life.  Try to add at least one thing that is unique to you.  This is a great chance to pull in your background and put your stamp on something that is truly you.  Try to add at least one song that's on the radio right now.  When your dancers are in the car, and it comes on, they'll think of you.  Much like a craving for your favorite food, your dancers will be excited to come back and dance to that song.

After your first month of teaching, try adding at least 1 new song each week.  If you've been teaching for a while, feel free to pull from old choreography.  Dancers that have been with you for a long time love when you pull out an old favorite.

Some things unique to the way I run the music in my classes (not recommendations, just things I do):

♫ Music. Never. Stops.  I think this is the Zumba method that they teach you when you go to the Instructor Training.  However, I've rarely seen it done out in the real world.  Once I start my iPod/CD, I walk away from it until the class is over.  I already have it formulated for alternating high and low intensities, and it makes sure to evenly distribute songs with the same style.

♫ Similarly, I don't include water breaks.  I beg my dancers to get water whenever they need.  Water is extremely important.  I just think that my choreography is repetitive enough (without being boring) that you can step out for a minute, throw back some cold water, and hop back in without feeling like you've missed anything.

♫ No two classes have the exact same song list or lineup.  I teach 3-5 classes a week.  I rearrange my playlist the night before every class.  Adding and subtracting songs based on my dancers, and what I'm feeling at the time.  On Thursday evenings, I teach two classes back-to-back at the same studio.  I've never had a dancer stay for both classes, but I still have different lists.  It keeps it refreshing.

Finally, keep your game face on when you make a mistake.  Nobody memorizes all of their music.  It changes too often.  I even change some choreography for my songs between classes, if I find myself particularly inspired by a section of the song.  You're going to make mistakes.  The big thing is to not let it show.

People who are good with music, or that know your routines, will know.  That's cool.  It's not like they're going to laugh out loud and point at you.  That's not a large fraction of your class, anyway.  If you can keep a cool face, continue with whatever dance move you mistakenly made, and fashion the rest of your song to make it work, then most people won't notice.  However, if you say "Oh, crap" and start doing something else, people start to keep a mental tally. Do that 3-4 times in an hour, and someone will walk outside and make some comment about how you don't even know your music.

I'm no expert.  I haven't even been teaching Zumba for long.  These are just things that I've recognized from years of going to many different Zumba instructors in different locations, along with my background in salsa and ballroom and dance classes in general.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB

Breaking Even

Money was never really a part of my decision for BecomingZUMBA.  My health was.  I figured that since I had very little motivation to go to the gym ever, and the costs of drop-in Zumba classes in Los Angeles and San Francisco were breaking my bank, it would be nice to be paid to work out.  A wonderful, temporary instructor at Flying Yoga Shala in Oakland, CA, told me that if she had her own studio she would hire me.  (She ended up starting her own studio and becoming the group exercise manager for a fancy sports club throughout the Bay Area.)  If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know how apprehensive I was about becoming an instructor.  I didn't think people would want to take classes from a fat guy.  It wasn't great "this is what you'll look like" advertising.

All that being said, last week I made enough money to break even.  From now on, every class I teach for the next six months is pure profit.  I keep a very thorough spreadsheet detailing parking charges, BART fees, sub payments, Zumba gear, promotional items, insurance fees, ZIN membership fees, trainings, other Zumba classes I take, etc.  And though I had spent almost $650 before I got my first paycheck, it was only 6 quick months before I had turned into pure profit.

This is even more amazing when you consider that I only teach 2 classes per week, and one of those classes pays less than $10/class on average.  I do sub regularly, so my average is probably closer to 3 times a week.  The point is that I'm not killing myself, I'm healthier, and I'm making money.  win-win-win!

I'm heading off to Lexington, KY for 6-12 months to accompany my domestic partner on her temporary engineering assignment.  I'm going there without any great full-time employment leads.  Yet, I'm confident that I will be able to continue to teach Zumba and make money from it, no matter where I go!

I've been talking to a few students lately to convince them to become instructors themselves.  This is why.  Again, it's not about the money, but in this economy, the money helps.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB

Forgot My Shoes

Anyone who has ever taught a dance fitness class, or been any sort of dance instructor, has a deep fear of forgetting their music.  Or their music not working (iPod stops working, CD skips, etc.).  We have nightmares about it.  We get anxious about it and check our bags multiple times before leaving (and even upon arrival) for class.  Though Zumba was founded on such an incident (Beto forgetting his music and playing Latin CDs out of his car), it doesn't help ease the stress that a dance class is based on dancing to music.

So, I regularly freak out about my iPods, CDs (yes, I bring 2 of each because I'm crazy), and all of my music.

Never, ever, did I think about worrying about my shoes.  Until I forgot them.

My Rod Lavers.  I love their soles for dancing!

For the past 2 weeks I've been subbing for a Zumba class on Wednesday morning at Nob Hill.  I taught a class there over the summer, and most of my regulars dance in this class, so it's been fun.  I also have my regular Wednesday evening class at the Fillmore Center.  Both of these are in San Francisco, and I live in Oakland.  Also, I wear the same shoes for all of my Zumba classes, since they work perfectly.

I get pretty sweaty when I'm dancing.  My plan was to wear flip-flops in between classes so that my shoes get sufficient drying time.  It keeps 'em fresh.

The amount of time between the two classes was too long for me to just loiter aimlessly in the city, and my dog was having oral surgery, so I figured I would head home for the afternoon.  I came home, hung up my wet clothes, put my shoes out to dry, and did typical house-husband things.

When the time came around, I changed, grabbed my Zumba bag, and headed to class.  It turns out that I left my shoes at home.  I discovered this an hour later, once I was deep into the city in rush hour traffic.  There was no way of me getting to a shoe store, let alone home to retrieve my shoes.  So, I danced barefoot.  I explained to my class how much I always freak out about bringing music, and how ironic it is that the things I actually forget are my shoes.  Which it's really difficult to leave your house without.

Things went well.  Socks make for good spins.  It still just cracks me up that I actually forgot my shoes for a Zumba class.  I'd recommend you try not to do that, and maybe breathe a little easier about your music.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB

Back of the Class

My first time dancing in the front of the class came the first time I taught a class.  (I guess, technically, there were 2 songs where I was up front during my Instructor Training, but I'm not counting them.)

From the beginning, I've always been a back row dancer.  Part of it probably has to do with the fact that I'm a big guy.  Zumba classes are almost entirely girls.  Rarely have I been to a class with more than one guy, which is usually me.  I have ridiculously wide shoulders for a person who only stands 5'7".  I usually dress ridiculously (hello bright maize ensemble w/ a headband).

I've just never felt like I needed to be in the front row with all of the ripped girls in their sports bras.  Heck, I'd probably block people from being able to see.  Meet me in back with everyone else that's uncomfortable with themselves (or their dancing).

Here's what a typical class feels like.  I'd be touching the back wall.

Today, I had an unusually small class at the Fillmore Center Club One in San Francisco.  The studio there is odd shaped, in that the instructor teaches from the short wall in a rectangular room.  It's not uncommon to have 8-10 rows of 4-5 people across.  (Like I said, an odd shape.)  I've never had the impression that people couldn't see, so it works, and everybody seems happy.

Since I had a small class, I decided to pull the "hey you ladies in the back, come be the front row."  I thought it'd be fun.  For one thing, there was a lady really close to me up front that I was going to ease backward a little.  Secondly, with a small, supportive class, it would be nice to let those ladies that usually hide get to shine.

You in the back, come forward and be a star!

They refused to come forward.  I should have taken the hint and moved on.  Instead I was all "no seriously.  It'll be fun.  Fine, I'll come back there, then."

I had the whole class turn around toward the back, and we did Pitbull's "Pause".  I could feel the anxiety back there immediately.  By the second chorus, I turned everyone back to the front, and we resumed the class in its normal manner for the rest of the time.

So my first attempt at the 'bring the back row forward' was an epic fail.  I wanted to apologize to them afterward.  I hope I will at least get a few emails saying, "Please, don't ever do that again" so that I can respond to them individually.  I really would like it to work out, but I'm not going to try it again anytime soon.

Has anybody seen this happen successfully?  Tips/hints/advice?

Happy Dancing!
~RoB

DOSFOUR

Leyder, the uber-popular salsa instructor at Club One Oakland that I've subbed for, just released his second CD with his band DOSFOUR.  It dropped less than a month ago.  Since I'm super cool, I got a free copy of it.

That's gorgeous Leyder on the cover.

In return, I'm going to be using the song "No Se Controla" in my Zumba routine for a while.  I get a little lazy when it comes to referencing songs that I'm using, or partial choreography that I'm using.  I'll try to remember to shout out his name every once in a while when we're dancing to it, but this is just the long explanation of what I'm talking about.

For now, I want to credit Vanessa W. with most of the routine to "It's Raining Men".  Courtney provided most of the choreography for "Livin' La Vida Loca" for the Truckee 4th of July Parade, which I kept using.  Also, Yeni inspired most of the choreography for "Pegate", but I don't think they look very similar anymore.  It's been a while since I danced it with her.  Finally, Wil came up with the cha-cha and addictive arm movements in the chorus of "California Gurls" which I built the rest of the song around.

I only use choreography from instructors that I very much enjoy and recommend.  I hope they see that as an honor, and I think you should try and snag a class from any of them if you find one.

Everything else I do is either completely choreographed by me or augmented by official ZUMBA routines... or from music videos like "Pause" and "Footloose".

Now my conscience is clear.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB

BORP (Adaptive) Zumba

For those unaware, I'm working with BORP to create a Zumba class that everybody, literally every body, can enjoy.  BORP is the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program, and they are one of the main programs within the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley, CA.

BORP is the leading provider and promoter of accessible sports and recreation opportunities for children and adults with physical disabilities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

The class vision: a person in a power wheelchair will be sweating along to the music while a 20-year-old Cal student is dancing behind them.  A mother of two dances beside them, while someone with leg braces is workin' it in the back.

I'm not a licensed Zumba Gold instructor yet (though I'm signing up for a class in September).  However, I don't really want the class to be called Zumba Gold.  I don't even want to label it "Adaptive Zumba" (so I haven't).  I don't want people to think that it's only for seniors or only for people with disabilities.  I want it to be a fully integrated community dance class.  I guarantee that you can still sweat if we sit down for a song or two.  We want you to feel free to do what you can, and to try something new.

This is not a picture of my class. This is how it feels, though!

The class mantra: you are a person first, and your disability should not define you, nor should it isolate you from the community.  You should be able to dance like everyone else.  If you are a marathon runner, a dancer, have a little problem moving around, are a senior, or if you are in a wheelchair, this class is meant to make you feel included and still get you a good workout.

I've heard from my dancers with disabilities that they've been told their whole life to "keep up" or that "instructors usually get nervous or anxious when I show up to their classes".  Well, I don't.  However, I also don't want you to think that I'm going to take it easy on you.  You're going to sweat.  You're going to dance.  And you're going to have fun!

Your first class at BORP is free, and you can find out how to register on the Zumba w/ ~RoB tab.

I'd love to get some more of the community into the studio to shake their booties with me.  Plus, you'll get to use the brand new facility that's adjacent to the Ashby Bart Station in Berkeley.

Come join us Thursday evenings at 6:15 pm, and please, please, please tell your friends!

Happy Dancing,
~RoB