“You know the next class is advanced,” I was told by my perspiring friend Miles, as he left the hall while I waited outside.
It’s a Saturday morning and being an avid Urbanlife reporter I thought I’d try out a Zumba class in The Zum Zum Centre (love that name!), Stockholm organised by Kalyani Etheart.
I’d forgotten that ‘Gold’ in Zumba means ‘basic’ and ‘basic’ means ‘advanced’ – which is not such a hard mistake to make, I guess. Physically my stomach follows the curve of the earth rather than the horizon, so the advanced class is probably better anyhow, I told myself.
Entering the hall we are greeted by a warm and smiling Kalyani (pictured below) and asked to sign in. Of course a majority of participants were women, but I was pleased to see a number of men too. Kalyani first explains the hand symbols she’ll be using, and it was at this point that I realised I was going to have to do the dreaded ‘think and dance’ at the same time! I’m normally a free spirit on the dance floor and my attempts to learn choreographed dancing like salsa have ended miserably. However, Kalyani reassures us that it’s easy once we get going and we’ll get the hang of it.
Hmm...
The music was salsa, latino sound, groovy stuff, and the moves were pretty basic – so far, so good.
You can listen to a track from the Zumba class here:
I begin to realise participating whilst taking pictures is somewhat difficult, so a few shots later I set the camera aside and was fully concentrated. The basic salsa I was capable of came in handy as those steps are incorporated. As a beginner your eyes never normally leave the teacher. However, I was actually lucky to stand behind a lady who had been before and so, in moments of non-co-ordination, I followed her lead – a good tip for other amateurs.
We followed a ’routine’ first and then repeated it again so you could get the moves. It’s a great way to give it your all after the instructions.
“Time to throw some love punches" announced Kalyani with a smile "– but these don’t hurt”. She was right. A few gentle arm swings and a swivel of the hips. No bloody noses or black eyes. I’m loving it!
At the end though I hadn’t built enough of a sweat to feel that weight loss had taken place, but at least I felt I’d been out dancing, which is a rare occurrence of late.
If you fancy giving it a go why not try the Zumba marathon: 2 hours Zumba training!
15 May at 17:00-19:00 Årsta torg i Årsta centrum ( Folketshus) 100kr
I’ll be there and I’m sure Kalyani will throw some love punches at you too!
Thanks for documenting my first Zumba weekend although I have to beg you to come back because you definitely get your sweat on these days, I was taking it easy on you guys for the beginners weekend. Saturdays kl.1130 KFUM and Thursdays kl.1800 Sickla.
Kalyani - you are an awesome teacher and a beautiful person, I wish I could come to your classes! Everybody there should try your amazing yoga lessons too, they will be forever thankful.
As for the, not sweating enough comment, I suggest letting go and putting more into the class himself. You can burn up to 800 calories in an hour of Zumba, depending on how much effort you put in
Keep going and become a Zumba addict... and a lean machine The more familiar you become with the moves, the more you can just dance!
Livet 
We followed a ’routine’ first and then repeated it again so you could get the moves. It’s a great way to give it your all after the instructions.
Kommentarer
Thanks for documenting my first Zumba weekend although I have to beg you to come back because you definitely get your sweat on these days, I was taking it easy on you guys for the beginners weekend. Saturdays kl.1130 KFUM and Thursdays kl.1800 Sickla.
Kram,
K
:wink:
As for the, not sweating enough comment, I suggest letting go and putting more into the class himself. You can burn up to 800 calories in an hour of Zumba, depending on how much effort you put in
Keep going and become a Zumba addict... and a lean machine
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