I Did Zumba With Strangers And It Was Awesome

 

I’ve always joked that Zumba is the only workout where you don’t mind sweating in public. But I never thought I’d find myself doing it. That was until Wednesday when I found myself at 6am in the morning, doing pirouettes and hip thrusts, and sweating profusely with a group of people I didn’t know.

I love dancing. I always have, but it's not something I do often because of my crippling self-consciousness and general stage fright. I'm also pretty disinterested in working out, which is why I avoid gyms at all costs. So despite the fact that Zumba is a dance class and one of the most popular group fitness classes in the world, it's never been on my radar.

But recently, I had an urge to participate in some kind of group activity outside of work and social obligations  like a club or sports team or something. So when a friend invited me to go with her to a free Zumba class, I figured what the heck?

At first, we were standing in the back of the room, trying not to make eye contact with anyone else. We watched for about five minutes as the instructor led about 30 other people through a series of arm-swinging and hip-shaking moves that seemed fairly easy to pick up if you're someone who knows how to dance. (I do not.) And then my friend whispered that she was going to move up front so she could see better. When she did this, I immediately followed her like a little baby duckling learning how to swim for the first time.

I may not be the most coordinated person, but I'm a sucker for fitness classes. I've done yoga, pilates, strength training, barre and even pole dancing. But when I was invited to try a new dance class called Zumba, I hesitated.

I'd heard of Zumba before and knew it was basically an aerobics-based Latin dance workout. But for some reason, I was intimidated by the idea of actually doing it. How would I know the moves? Would everyone there be super good at it? Would I look ridiculous?

I was in a group of about 20 people, with men and women of all ages and backgrounds. We were making our way through an energetic dance routine to the song "Muevete Muevete." The teacher gave us some direction (in English) and then she shouted, "Ready? Go!"

We started dancing, and… I was horrible. I made up for it by shaking my hips with enthusiasm. Everyone laughed at me as I flailed around. But I didn't mind that they were laughing at me — because they were laughing with me, too.

"This is fun!" I thought as we moved on to the next song.

For me, one of the hardest parts of doing Zumba with strangers was overcoming shyness and being okay with people seeing I'm not the best Zumba dancer ever. However, I have to say that it was so much fun! I loved making new friends, comparing notes about which songs we enjoyed and also comparing shoes. Before you know it, you will be doing the moves to Shakira's "Waka Waka" with ease.