Zumba Fitness: A party AND a workout!

Like to party? Sad when the weekend is over and think you can't dance again until next Friday night? Never fear, Zumba is here!

Simone Dodd leads an exciting and upbeat Zumba class every Monday night at Vivace Performance Company in Greenwood. I've gone a few times now and found it a fab way to kick start the week and shake those Monday blues.

She mixes up the Latin inspired soundtrack and keeps the heartbeat racing throughout the hour. Not sure if you count dancing as a workout? Trust me, you'll definitely sweat in her class.

What I love about Simone is her ability to connect with every person she meets. Her personality walks (or generally shimmies!) into a room and everyone around her smiles. The ladies who join her class at Vivace Dance Studio are a mixed range of ages, from around mid 20s to up to about 65! When she came in to teach at lululemon athletica Perth City on Tuesday night the age range was towards the younger end of the spectrum. And yes, you got that right. I joined her for back to back Zumba classes on both Monday and Tuesday this week!

No matter who she is teaching Simone manages to bring out the young, active dance spirit in everyone. Don't believe me? Try her class for yourself! You'll laugh, you'll smile, you'll Zuuuuuumba!

Check out my post from 19th September to learn more about Zumba Fitness and my first experience at Simone's class.

Read below for more info on her regular Monday night class...

• DETAILS: Monday night, 7:30-8:30pm. Vivace Performance Company. Canham Way, Greenwood.
• COST: $12.00 per class (discounts available for multi-pass purchases, first trial class is FREE!)
• TEACHER: Simone Dodd
• BRING: Wear sneakers, bring a water bottle & sweat towel and get ready to dance the night away!
• FIND ZUMBA ON FACEBOOK: Zumba Pro

Ginny's 'Finding Fitness' Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Another night of Zumba

I had so much fun at my Monday night Zumba class I immediately felt the urge to dance again! I met a lovely lass named Jodie at Simone's class earlier this week. She's a self-confessed Zumba addict and has recently been scoping out Zumba classes around the city. I was very excited when she sent me the contact details for another local Zumba option and couldn't pass up the chance to check it out. Thanks Jodie! :)

Tonight was a very quick-paced class. I found it really interesting to see how different this Zumba session was from the one a few nights back! A good reminder that not only is it important to find a fitness style that works for you, but also a teacher who you can really connect with and draw energy from. My major inspirations for leading a fitter, healthier lifestyle come from the awesome friendships I made overseas with fellow fitness fanatics and my instructors. More to come on that in an upcoming post... :)

This Zumba teacher ran his class from a stage platform at the front of the room, definitely a plus considering how many people were participating. He moved in a super upbeat way but unfortunately we couldn't really hear his directions over the music and he was extremely quick to change moves. Which just meant that the class was often a little out of sync. There was little-to-no breaks between the tracks... but hey, no rest for the wicked right?! It's good to be pushed to move fast. Gotta shake off those excess calories I consumed on the bus ride home from work! ;)

Read my post from Monday 19th September to learn more about Zumba in general. I've also laid out some fast facts below for more info on this particular class...

• DETAILS: Wednesday night, 7:00-8:00pm. Whitfords Senior Citizens Centre. 15 Banks Avenue, Whitfords.
• COST: $11.00 per class [Apparently you can attend another one hour 'bar' fitness class the hour prior starting at 6:00pm. The bars and equipment are provided for you and the combined cost of the two hours is only $13.00 total. Bargain!] 
• TEACHER: ...
• BRING: A sweat towel. Lots of bouncing up and down in this class, if you have a knee brace I'd suggest bringing it along. Wear comfy sneakers and a pair of shorts with lots of give or some good quality crops since there's lots of bending and super fast paced twirling. I wore long pants and regretted it, got far too hot.
• BEST BITS: The venue is BIG which was good because the class was busy, around 30 women but only 1 bloke in attendance. C'mon boys... pick up your game. ;) 

Ginny's 'Finding Fitness' Rating:  ★ ★ 

Zumba Fitness - Lovin' Latina beats!

Just worked up a sweat and danced up a storm at an awesomely pumping Zumba Fitness class!

The teacher Simone brought real character, flair and most importantly RHYTHM to the room. All while leading the class with a massive smile and a party attitude to boot.

The class was filled with loads of red-hot salsa style steps mixed in with shimmies, hip-swinging and beat-busting moves. The awesome Latino soundtrack really set the scene. Half-way through the class I honestly felt pretty keen to get out there and hit up the dance floors clubbing with a few of my 'new moves' ;)

Despire the grim weather outside the class was pumping, with around 15 ladies attending tonight. Apparently there's often even more participants. The class did have a slightly older dynamic than I had anticipated, with attendees ages ranging from mid-20s to early-60s. Never fear though, not a single one of them took a passive back seat. Everyone got really into it and gave the class and awesome dance effort. Thanks Simone, I could tell by the energy in the room that the ladies loved it. I sure did!

ZUMBA is a Latin-inspired dance fitness program which some keen beans have labelled 'exercise in disguise' ;) Dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez incorporated elements of samba, salsa, merengue, mambo, belly dance, hip-hop and martial arts (among other things!) into this awesome dance routine which he developed in Colombia in the 1990s. The pumping music with fast and slow rhythms offers a great soundtrack to pair with this high energy dance class.

Check below for more info...

• DETAILS: Monday night, 7:30-8:30pm. Vivace Performance Company. Canham Way, Greenwood.
• COST: $12.00 per class (discounts available for 5 or 10 pass purchases, first trial class is FREE!)
• TEACHER: Simone Dodd
• BRING: Nothing but your sexy self and a party attitude. Wear sneakers and be prepared to shimmy and shake ;)
• BEST BITS: Simone's fun loving energy and ability to 'spice it up' with a few quick steps definitely kept me on my toes! Seeing the whole room full of older ladies confidently getting their groove on, doing their best to follow the quick step routines and happily enjoying it really made my day complete.
• FIND ZUMBA ON FACEBOOK: Zumba Pro

Ginny's 'Finding Fitness' Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★