Kochi on the Zumba Express

• 02 Nov 2016
• Rheanna Mathews
• Features

Everyone and their mother seems to be talking of Zumba in the city these days. What is Zumba, and where do I sign up? If that’s the question running through your mind at the moment, look no farther.

Zumba had it’s origins in Colombia, where dancer and choreographer Alberto Perez developed this dance fitness program, and is a trademark owned by Zumba Fitness, LLC. Zumba is a fun workout involving dance and energetic music.

Zumba has been a fixture at Kochi for years now, all thanks to some phenomenal women whose dance fitness classes have been drawing people in droves. These women range from mothers who wanted to reclaim their bodies to dancers looking to other avenues.

WtzupCity interviewed five women who have seen their Zumba fitness classes achieve a remarkable amount of success, three of whom found Zumba as they struggled to regain their fitness after childbirth. They gave their health and bodies priority and found a form of workout they enjoyed so much that they made careers out of it. The two others began to Zumba as a natural extension of their dancing.

When Anju Antony of Passion The Fitness Studio found Zumba, she was over the moon. Simply bubbling with energy and enthusiasm, she struggled with the monotony of treadmills and other regular gym activities, and finding Zumba turned her life around. The teacher in her decided that something so good had to be shared with others, prompting her to open her own studio.

Shweta Singh claims to have introduced Zumba to Kochi when she came here in 2012. She divides her time between studios and fitness centres in the city. She found her calling in dance fitness when she stepped into a gym for the first time in her life to get rid of the pregnancy weight that simply refused to go away. Zumba inspired her life.

Shiny Justine, travelled to heights that probably seemed impossible to her at one time. A pelvic bone injury that should’ve brought her low turned out to be the catalyst that drove her to reclaim her lost energy and health. Starting with yoga and then gradually moving on to Zumba and other strenuous regimens, Shiny transformed her life. And with her studio, JuztShine Family Fitness, she’s been spreading that light she found at the end of the tunnel, in other lives.

Creating Bollyfit was a natural progression from Ritu Paul’s twin interests in sports and dance. Doing Bollywood cardio at Chicago fired her up into becoming a licensed instructor in the fitness form. This love for Bollywood cardio followed her to Kochi and she started Bollyfit. Is it incongruous that a pastry chef is also a fitness instructor? Or does it have a tangible sense of somehow being just right?

The Floor was opened by Arunima Gupta and Maria Roy in 2013, as a platform to hone dancers. But it has grown larger than they anticipated. Arunima’s search for a fitness form based in dance yielded Zumba and finding it fun, she introduced it as a class at her studio.

They all agree that Kochi has responded to Zumba with enthusiasm. Zumba helps you get fit, yes, but you also have so much fun while doing it and that’s what draws people in, says Anju. Arunima adds that with Zumba, it’s a mantra that you can’t help but lose weight, so that has a such an effect on people that they come out of each class charged and full of positivity.

Another reason people flock to these classes, according to Ritu, is that Zumba is essentially “one size fits all”. It is suitable for all ages and all fitness levels. Ritu has had students as old as 13 and as young as 60 at Bollyfit.

The eclectic music is no small reason for drawing the crowds. Shweta follows Zumba rules that mandate the use of Zumba music 70% of the time and world music the rest. She uses this margin to play a range of music that keeps people on their toes, in terms of variety and energy.

And at the end of the day, the response and the kind of commitment these instructors see in their students encourage them, in turn, to redouble their efforts. They see their students transform before their eyes, gaining confidence in themselves and their bodies. Increased stamina and reclaiming their fitness seem to weave magic, and Zumba becomes something that gives them happiness, a welcome fixture in their lives.

Now what are you waiting for?