My own Zumba

Zumba.

Honestly, I'd never heard of it until coming to Roseburg. Which makes me feel stupid, cause I'm like the only person who didn't know what the heck Zumba was. Anyhoo, for those of us who are curious, Zumba is an aerobic dance workout class that uses Latin-y dance moves to create a nice cardio workout. Yes, we chicks love such things.

I arrived at the Y today 5 minutes before the class begins. There's about 30-40 women and girls gathered around their gym area. They're all sitting by the skating rink prep area (yes, on certain days, the gym turns into a skating rink apparently). I'm apprehensive cause a) I'm the only asian girl there (more about about that another day) b) it looks like everyone else knows each other there, and c) I've never attended a Zumba class before. We all filed into the court area and the girls are all stretching and prepping for a workout. I ask a lady in the corner if the class is "intense" and she smiles warmly at me and tells me just to have fun and move around.

Before I know it, the music starts up. It's some Santana stuff. I can handle that, we did a lot of Santana in tap classes. I remember a pharmacist at work saying you gotta pay attention to their feet cause you can get seriously lost. So my eyes are glued onto their feet, watching what they're doing. It's like a modified version of hip hop. The first 10 minutes or so, I was seriously trying SOOO hard to mimic what they were doing (apparently, everyone else knows all the moves). I don't want to look like a loser (or worse, a fat lazy 20 something), so I push myself harder and harder to mimic what they're doing. After a few songs, I realize that I'm sweating unbelievably and I'm getting a better cardio workout than I would if I ran. And honestly, I was trying so hard to look like them, I forgot to have fun. So I guess that's when I kinda "gave up" and just started shakin my ass like it wasn't their business. I was standing in the back row anyway, why should I worry about looking right or whatever? And I guess I discovered for the first time, that dancing like no one is watching, is quite liberating. I had an awesome workout and I'm going back soon. Apple Bottom Jeans came on later, and all the girls (even the old ladies) knew how to rock that one. =)

So what's the moral of my story anyway?

A lot of you don't understand why I didn't want to take ballroom lessons. I've had some people tell me what a disgrace it'd be if I didn't "dance" with my husband our first dance the way all couples are meant to dance their first dance. Several well-meaning friends and family have insisted on teaching us fancy ballroom moves for our first dance. Maybe you dance enthusiasts don't see it this way, but for me, ballroom dancing is another thing I'd have to "worry" about. Living in a life where it seems like I'm judged for everything, I'm not sure I see why I want to be "judged" when I dance with my husband for the first time. If it was up to me, we'd stand in the back row with no one watching and do whatever tickles our fancy and dance to something upbeatish....but because we can't, all I want is just not to be "judged" on how "good" our dance moves are.

Because, you know, dancing can also just be a private moment between you and the one you love. I don't need applause or awws, but I certainly don't want any anxiety, worry, or stiff choreography to ruin a perfectly good first memory between us.


I apologize if this post offends anyone. To each his own.

3/24/10 2204