Samba Body

From Fransini Giraldo, native of Colombia, comes Samba Body: a fitness program based on, surprise surprise, samba rhythms. Finally, easy-to-follow explanation of samba and axé steps for non-Brazilians!

LinkedIn?

I joined three Zumba-related groups at LinkedIn. One is called ZIN-Zumba Instructors Network (as of today, 823 members):


Another is called Zumba Instructor Network (497 members):


The biggest group is called Zumba Community (1027) members):


Now I understand that the Zumba community is bigger than ZIN, so no surprises here. But what is the point of both ZIN-Zumba Instructors Network and simply Zumba Instructors Network? As far as I can see, both groups run discussions in parallel without much interaction with each other. For instance, what portable sound system is better. (That’s what I am looking into right now.) It is interesting to see different consensus opinions emerging on the same topic though.

Más de lo mismo

The long-awaited ZIN 34 has arrived — finally, not via England. I must say that my first impression of the previous ZIN offering was irrevocably damaged by that awful Pause, so I was really looking forward to this one.

Music-wise, is it OK but no more than that: from the opener El Amor, El Amor till closing El Amor (that’s right), not a single memorable tune. The DVD contains the one-on-one class with Maria Teresa Stone and live footage of (some of) the ZIN Day in London (8 May 2011) with Tanya Beardsley. Once again, no surprises here. Even the “surprise” appearance of Beto is not that surprising. There are couple of interesting salsa moves in Cali Ají, so I am sure I will watch this DVD again at least for that song.

Song List

1. El Amor, El Amor — Merengue / Reggaeton
2. Cali Ají — Salsa
3. Caliente — Reggaeton
4. Hey Pachuco! — Swing
5. Mambo — Rumba Flamenca
6. La Niña Fresa — Quebradita
7. Mi Alma Se Muere — Hip-Hop
8. Mi Vecina — Cumbia / Bachata / Reggaeton
9. El Amor — Cumbia / Reggaeton

Generic zumba, anyone?

Is there such a thing as “generic” zumba (as opposed to Zumba^®)? And why not? People are happily practicing (copyright-free) yoga or dancing (non-trademarked) salsa. Even Pilates now is considered a generic term free for unrestricted use. Personally, I have aversion to trademarks, logos and their kin. So, in principle, I shouldn’t mind.

Except I do. As it is all too often the case, here is a point where “in principle” and “in practice” are two different things. For, when I hear that someone “is already giving Pilates classes here and thinks of starting zumba classes soon”, that spells for me “sorry buddy, this place is already taken”. As if Zumba is something that you just add on top of your existing Pilates or Spinning programme when there is enough demand. I can ascribe it to a generally relaxed attitude here: zumba, Zumba^®, are you or are you not licensed to teach it — who cares?

The official Zumba website gives quite a list of “proper” and “improper” usage of the word Zumba. (How many ZIN™ members actually read it, I wonder in parentheses.) For example: ‘It is proper to say “I love the ZUMBA fitness program” and improper to say “I love ZUMBA”. (I am quite positive nobody ever would say “I love the ZUMBA fitness program”.) Or: ‘Do not change the spelling, insert hyphens or combine two words into one.’ Or: ‘“The California Zumba Center” is not allowed’. By the same token, “zumbafuerteventura” is most likely “improper”. Ah, well, who cares.

Joneeba!

Zumba is not the only dance fitness program in the world, you know. I received Joneeba! by Djoniba Mouflet today (which is a proof that Amazon delivers to Fuerteventura too). It was published in 2001 — incidentally, the very same year as Zumba was “established” (according to what is written on my Zumba vest).

OK, now I have to read it, and when I read it, I will probably write something about it. One thing that I found immediately appealing is written on page 47:

Joneeba footwear is quite inexpensive. As a matter of fact, I think my workout requires the cheapest footwear around: your bare feet!

I feel like I just saved £80!

Here’s the latest video from Djoniba Centre. Enjoy.

Aqua Zumba Vol. 4

AZ Vol. 4 arrived last week — redirected from my old UK address. I sent an email to Zumba Home Office to remind them that I have actually moved (and changed my address) some time ago.

Musically, it is not bad, although I find it too heavy on reggaeton — five tracks (out of nine) are either pure reggaeton or salsa/reggaeton or merengue/reggaeton. Rebolabum (axé) by Cecéu Muniz and Mama Canana (reggaeton) by El Vampiro are the highlights. I Like It Like That is marked as salsa but it is more like disco/cha-cha-cha hybrid. Either way, it is the worst song of the set.

Now the DVD. We are treated to the videos of the instructor dancing (very nicely) in front of the pool, where a group of ladies does some asynchronous moves. From time to time the camera dips underwater (just like in Blue Planet) to show us the lower part of the dancing body... which clearly does not belong to any of these ladies because it actually can move to the beat. Maybe it is the same instructor’s but I can’t say for sure. It would be more helpful if there was an alternate angle option or, even better, split screen showing simultaneously dry land vs (intended) underwater dance.

Song List

1. Rebolabum — Axé
2. Qué Tengo Que Hacer — Reggaeton
3. La Negra Tiene Tumbao — Salsa / Reggaeton
4. La Despedida — Merengue / Reggaeton
5. Yo Como Que Te Conozco — Merengue
6. La Morena — Merengue
7. Te Digo Adiós — Reggaeton
8. Miama Canana — Reggaeton
9. I Like It Like That — Salsa

Afternoon cycling

In the afternoon, I take my bike out and go to check another hotel. At least, this way I learn where is what in Corralejo and get a bit of exercise. The gyms look underused. And for a good reason. If you came to visit Fuerteventura, you must be mad to sit indoors and pump iron. You could do that in England, you know. Here you go to the beach, go for a swim, surfing, kite surfing, you name it. But if you live in Fuerteventura, and therefore non-resident of the hotel, you must be mad to pay €10 (yes, ten euro) for an hour in the gym.

And yet, what I hear is: “we have our own fitness instructors” or “there is no demand for this kind of thing”. What kind of thing?

I know, I know. UK has ridiculous number of Zumba instructors. For example: according to the Zumba website, as of today (6 August 2011), there are 190 Zumba instructors within 5 miles of Edinburgh, 199 within 5 miles of Liverpool, 283 within 5 miles of London and 286 within 5 miles of Glasgow. The supply simply must outstrip demand. But here in Fuerteventura, Zumba is almost unheard of. Therefore, no demand for Zumba whatsoever.

It is not all bad news. At the last place I visited, they gave me an email address and asked me to send my CV there. A CV! I took a look at my most up-to-date one. Not a single word there is relevant in any way, except for “born”. Better start to work on it then.

Welcome

Does the world need yet another blog? More specifically: do I need yet another blog? I was neglecting my other blogs recently. But here I am, busy setting up another one. For a change, this blog is to promote myself. For another change, I decided to try out a new blogging platform: Posterous. Too many changes, perhaps; something is bound to work in the end.