Zumba is a great way to get in shape and have fun with friends. On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, the wellness center began offering Zumba classes to students. These classes take place in the left side (when outside of the gym) of the large I-wing gym, and the cost is included in tuition.

Nearly 100 students came out to the Zumba lesson. It was a bit crowded; however, the participants made due with the space. These classes last one hour and take place at 6:45 PM on Monday and Wednesday evenings. The Zumba class had an energetic instructress and two other instructors to assist her. The dancing was high energy and often to popular songs. The music was loud and could easily be heard from across the room. The dance movements were simple, but required a high amount of energy. The dance style was mostly jazz with some movements from hip-hop. The movements tended to flow together and match the song they were choreographed to. Most of the participants were female, although a few males were present. Participants dressed in exercise attire and sneakers instead of leotards, tights and jazz shoes. At the end of the session, a cool-down song and routine was used, however, the warm-up routine focused on cardio warm up and focused little on stretching individual mussels. We performed approximately fifteen routines.

Traditionally in Zumba, the teacher does a dance pattern with the class and the class follows the best they can. This class followed the traditional model; however, due to the size of the class, word cues were not used to announce the steps. Short breaks were given for participants to get water and rest for a moment. Participants typically came in groups and utilized this time to chat with friends. The only issue with the class was that the instructor could not be seen by all of the students, simply because of the class size. It would be great if the instructor was video recorded and put up on a large screen, or if the instructor had a stage or raised platform to use, so she could be seen at some distance. Students in the back had to look to students in the front to see what step to do and sometimes could not distinguish the step, as each participant does each step a little bit differently.

The class was over all a large success because many students got a great workout and learned a new skill in the process.