Zumba B2 training - Celebrity Fitness Setia Walk, Puchong

I always think twice before purchasing a new handbag or make up or perfume or that nice floral blouse or a pair of sexy heels. But I never think twice when it comes to education, and this includes dancing. 

The thing about Zumba is that it is a fitness program. Just like any other group exercise that you might have tried before. It's a workout in disguise. People think they are dancing, but the true fact is that they are working out. 

Hence, the need for every Zumba instructor to get continues education on the program. 

I have read many complaints on illegal zumba instructors in this country. There are irresponsible fitness instructors who are not licensed, yet they call their fitness dance classes as Zumba classes. The biggest problem is they are not getting the material from Zumba. They might be using choreography that is not in line with Zumba program. Worst case, they're giving the wrong impression of zumba to the participants. 

So, I attended Zumba Basic 2 training last weekend to learn 6 more rythms and get myself updated. Getting the license and updating Zumba skills is not that difficult (if I were to compare with IT). I don't understand why many unlicensed Zumba instructors decided not to get them. It's also cheaper than some other fitness programs. 

With trainer, David in yellow shirt.

Ok, enough of blabbering. This time I also trained with David Velez. He's from Columbia but has been staying in Malaysia for some time, so he really understands Asians and Malaysians especially. My friends who had danced with other ZESs claimed that David is their favorite as he's funny, natural and very 'selamba'. I enjoyed David's choreography as he always keep things basic and simple. He gave me a lot of ideas on how to chorey on the spot, especially when you suddenly go blank on stage. 

Yes, no matter how experienced you are, there will be times when you stand in front of 40 people and suddenly all the steps you've memorized decided to disappear from your head.

Smiley, happy people - We Are ZINs!

This time we had participants from Johor, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak, Bali, US and Canada. Yes, Zumba is that big that people from all over the world come together to dance.

Have been seeing their pictures in social media. Got to meet face to face during this training. ;)

The thing about dancing classes (especially Zumba), you'll make new friends in no time. The instructors will always tell you to smile while dancing. So, the smile will stuck on your face long after the classes. When people see you smiling, they will naturally smile back, right? And some are courageous enough to say hello. I have strangers smiling at me, saying hello and asking how my day was just because of my smile. 

Some adults are just too pre-occupied with work stress that they forget to smile. For instance, there's this 'kesian uncle' my friends met at Empire. Well, we have to take shared lift (with SOHO tenants) to go to the gym there. This uncle got angry with my friends (the zumba makciks) because they took their time to enter and leave the lift. I didn't hear his exact words but basically he was telling my friends, "can you please hurry up, other people has things to do. Unlike you all, who don't have to go to work." That uncle really need to chill a bit-lah, I think. Or better, he can join our zumba classes. ;)

New friends from JB. Very sporting and happening.

OK, back to the zumba training. Basic 2 was quite different than Basic 1. More time was spent dancing (i.e kena drill dengan David). My legs hurt real bad this time. When I did Basic 1 training, I could still go to Body Jam and Sh'bam classes the next day, but this time I had to rest for 2 days before I could dance again. I even lost 1.5kg that day (but managed to regain 1kg after 3 days. Hehe.)

Basic 2 rhythms are more interesting (flamenco, tango, samba etc) but I don't see many instructors doing them in class. I think it's mainly because the steps are not easy to master and teach. Take tango for instance - it needs some attitude. The steps are quite simple, but you need the soul and attitude to present it to audience, otherwise you'll just look like some retired army marching in the backyard.

Best time - makan time!

So, I had a good meal, made many news friends and learned a lot of new things during the training. Now I'm contemplating - should I attend the Pro Skills training next month? Hmmm..... sounds interesting.