Jammin'

The speakers are pumping. Sweat droplets are flying in all directions. There's a giant smile on my face, and my body is moving to the beat. I am completely lost in the music as I dance my cares away.

Zumba still makes me feel this way, even though I've been teaching lots of classes every week for almost six years. That doesn't just happen. I have to keep up with the latest hype. I get bored easily, so I have to constantly change up my classes to keep myself interested. If I'm not energetic and enthusiastic about what I'm doing, how will I be able to motivate my class participants?

I stay inspired by attending continuing education workshops and researching ways to improve myself as an instructor. I am also always looking for hot new music to introduce to my students. I took a road trip to Columbus, Georgia for a ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) Jam session over the weekend, and it ignited a fire inside me that I will be able bring back to my classes!

A ZIN Jam Session is a three hour workshop for licensed Zumba instructors in which we learn new choreography created by a Zumba Jammer (instructor selected by Zumba Home Office to teach). This particular Jam Session focused on Reggaeton, a popular rhythm that we use in Zumba, and was led by Jammer Ahaja Scott from Atlanta.

I was willing to drive three hours each way to go to this jam because I feel like I could improve my own choreography of Reggaeton songs. The ones I come up with are kind of boring and repetitive. I definitely got my money's worth out of this one! I left feeling much more comfortable with it, and super inspired to introduce my students to more of this rhythm.

Ahaja, nicknamed "Baby", explained the history of Reggaeton music to us. It is influenced by Caribbean and Latin music, and originated from Puerto Rico and Panama in the 1980s. Then she demonstrated the main steps that the Zumba program uses for Reggaeton music, and showed us many variations of each one. Next, she guided us through complete choreography for two different songs. We practiced and practiced, and she had us take turns teaching the songs ourselves in front of the attendees.

Here is a link to one of the songs: La Pregunta by J Alvarez

The first time I heard the song, I thought it was kind of boring, but Baby made the choreography amazing! Even though the rhythm is slow, she put sexy moves together to make it really focus on core muscles. I hope my class loves it as much as I do!

Another incredible part of the Jam Session, was the list of Reggaeton songs that Baby included in our handout. It was comprised of fifteen songs that would be perfect for our classes. I picked out a few that I am in completely in love with, and will be working on my own original choreography for them. My classes are going to see much more Reggaeton in the future. The Jam Session motivated me exponentially, and I know my teaching tonight will reflect that passion!