Zumba and Mr. Miyagi

In Zumba, I'd say I'm currently in the "apprenticeship" phase of teaching. I'm teaching part of the class, and trying desperately to absorb the rest of it. Aside from the 1-2 hours I spend working out in class, Patti also spends an additional hour trying to transfer her wealth of knowledge into my packed little brain.

Patti's technique is... unorthodox, shall we say? While she was gone to Mexico in December, I spent the weeks hopping around from class to class, checking out teachers and styles. My friend, Sariah, teaches Zumba at our church once a week, so she generously offered to help me learn some choreography and teach some classes to practice. Sariah was patient, encouraging, so direct and clear, so helpful!

Patti's style is a little more Mr. Miyagi.

Our first session of training consisted exclusively of her trying to get me to breathe correctly (who knew you could breathe incorrectly while doing high-impact aerobic activity), and yell louder. Apparently, I'm really quiet. The hour was full of lots of adjectives such as "bad" and "terrible." I was lectured on "feeling" the music instead of doing choreography, for fear of "looking like a gringa" up there. Sigh. And all I wanted was to dance and workout.

Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.

My next session consisted of a lot of Spanish words. Apparently, I should be teaching in Spanish. I realize that ALL of my students speak Spanish, but they also speak English too. And those who don't speak it at least understand it. And I feel really confident in my ability to speak English. But Spanish it is. Arriba! Abajo! Fuerte! Rapido! And all yelled at the top of my very quiet English-speaking lungs.

Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off.

The next session was on choruses, verses, transitions, and all things musical. Now this, I really didn't think was an issue. A dancer I am not, but music I know. I completely understand the way the music is structured. I know what a chorus is. But we went over it...again, and again, and again.

Wax on, wax off.

So this week I've been helping teach part of Patti's morning class--the class that I will be taking over. I've inhaled and exhaled (respiro! exalo!), I've felt the music, I've listened to the verses and choruses and transitions, I've yelled as loud as I can in Spanish and when I run out of Spanish, I yell in English or make up some Spanglish (izquierda! dereche! cambio! side! backward! strongero!). And this week I've been hearing some nicer adjectives thrown my way, such as "good" and "bueno."

Maybe, just maybe, Patti does know what she's doing. I may actually be ready to teach next month.

Or at least beat the bullies in the upcoming all-valley karate tournament.