The coastal town is fast catching up to the tunes of Zumba as more and more fitness enthusiasts are turning to dance their way to lose calories. Twirling, shaking and moving, Zumba dance has become the new fitness fad for professionals and homemakers.
Recently, seven Zumba instructors in Puducherry came together to host a two-hour non-stop Zumba fitness party for their students. Peppy songs welcomed the crowd as they started to gather at the hall in Le Café Chaplin on Ambur Salai on a lazy Saturday evening.
In their comfortable attires, each participant stood in rows as the instructors took over the stage. After a short moment of self introduction, the instructors set the ball rolling with a few squats and lunges.
One of the instructors and main organiser of the event, Kash Dolma Timmers of La Casita, who began her dancing career with Salsa in Delhi, has been taking Zumba classes as well. “Instructors from different dance schools have gathered to promote Zumba. We wanted to spread the word about this fitness dance to those health conscious people who want to burn calories in a fun way,” she said, adding that this party is an opportunity for the students from different schools to meet and dance together.
Joining the party were those who had quit their high paying jobs or working professionals to become Zumba instructors for passion. For instance Kavya: she worked in a corporate company before becoming a zumba instructor. She is not alone. Nivedha Kannan, a software engineer, quit her job in a software major in Bengaluru to take up Zumba dance as her profession in Puducherry. There is Kumsie of Le Debut dance Studio, an event manager from Bengaluru who turned her passion for Zumba into her profession.
Passion for many
Along with them, there were also others who took time off from their profession to teach Zumba dance. Like Sangvi, who works as a software engineer during the week and takes Zumba classes during the weekend or Tanushree, who runs a taxi service but still manages to be part of the instructors’ team in La Casita or Adi, an advocate by profession and a certified zumba instructor.
“It is a stress buster and a fun way to burn calories. It is satisfying to do Zumba as it combines both dance and fitness,” say the instructors.
