One year on

You know what, I just realised that I did my first real Zumba class exactly one year ago. Time for a progress report?

Well, there’s not much to report. My morning class on Tuesday and Thursday was all but dead for weeks — only one student was attending and then not always. So I decided to stop the morning classes in the Botanical Park for a while. The only class still running is the Wednesday evening at FuerteFusión. Sometimes I have two students, once I had eight students (all hip scarves were in use!) but most often I have four people there. I can’t say this keeps me extremely busy, but at least it’s a weekly event I look forward to — something the morning classes ceased to be long time ago.

One rainy sunny rainy (yes sometimes it rains even here) day I was sitting and contemplating whether it was the time to close the shop and concentrate on something else. Ironically, it was exactly when my Facebook page accumulated 100 “likes”. To help me to celebrate this momentous achievement, Facebook presented me with €30 publicity voucher, which I can spend to promote my page so it could get even more “likes”. Oh bother. I would prefer just €30 in cash. It turns out that in order to redeem the said voucher, I have to give Facebook my credit card details. Thanks but no thanks, I’m fine.

A year on Fuerteventura

One year ago this day, I came to live on this island, without much of a clue what I am going to do. By that time, my old job was already fading from memory; not that there was any chance (or desire) to find anything similar on Fuerteventura. On the other hand, I was freshly qualified as a Zumba and Aqua Zumba instructor and, according to the Zumba web site, there were no other instructors on the island. The phase transition from an unemployed scientist to an unemployed fitness instructor was almost complete. Here are a few things that I’ve learned, Zumba-wise:

1. People are not exactly queuing to attend Zumba classes here
2. I can give a 90-minute class of Zumba and stay alive
3. I can give four Zumba classes a week and still stay alive
4. If nobody turns up for the class, it is not the end of the world. The beach is nearby
5. It is unlikely that Zumba classes will pay my bills

Is one year a long time? Not really. Not on Fuerteventura anyway. Things do not happen fast on la Isla Tranquila, and if they did, it won’t be la Isla Tranquila any longer. With or without Zumba, I’m here to stay.

Zumba, as seen in Gran Hermano

Where is everybody? I mean, everybody? OK, let’s see, there was Semana Santa, then Feria de Abril, then Día del trabajo... But that’s it. Is it? There were very few people attending recently. And when I say very few, I really mean very few. You know that even if just one person turns up, I give a class. During the last two weeks, three classes were cancelled. Not a good sign.

If you remember, two months ago I did my first fundraising Zumba class in CEIP “Antoñito El Farero”. Which I thought was a success: local people were talking (at last!) about Zumba. So I did expect a little bit more turnout for our second Zumba event on 7 May 2012. Obviously I was wrong. Maybe it was too short a notice, but there were far less people yesterday.

Could it be that everybody was watching Gran Hermano instead? For some time, my fellow Spanish Zumba instructors were discussing Zumba being promoted on The Big Brother. Personally I do not subscribe to a view that every publicity is good publicity. Zumba, “as seen in Gran Hermano”? If I never heard about Zumba, I would probably say “no, thank you”.

Still, I got my endorphins going wherever they go, couple of new songs were learned for the occasion, and there were children who apparently enjoyed Zumba too (especially the fact that some of them got to wear hip scarves). Tamara did two songs with me, Hecha Pa’lante and La Gota Fría. All in all, I think it was not a bad class.

Song List

1. Mbube — Warm-Up (1) — African song — by Miriam Makeba
2. Samba De Janeiro — Warm-Up (2) — Samba Dance
3. Chillin’ — Merengue
4. Vivre — Salsa — by Zap Mama
5. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
6. Busamba — Salsa / Cha-cha-chá
7. La Peinada — Quebradita
8. Hecha Pa’lante — Bellydance
9. La Gota Fría — Cumbia
10. Hindu Cumen — Indian Fusion / Cha-cha-chá
11. Mambo — Rumba Flamenca — by Bandoleros
12. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
13. Aña Pa’ Mi Tambor — Salsa — by La Excelencia
14. Zorba — Sirtaki
15. Vuelvo al sur — Cool-Down — Tango — by Gotan Project

La vida es un carnaval

Spring is here, and the carnival came to Corralejo! So it was decided (a) to move classes to 10 am (by mid-day the sun is getting really hot) and (b) to dress up for the occasion. (And beyond, because in search of carnival accessories I went to FuerChina shop and bought there, among other stuff, the bellydancing hip scarves for €2.90 each.) We had two lovely classes on Tuesday and Thursday.

The new song we tried this Thursday was Busamba (from Aqua Zumba Vol. 5). I think I managed to confuse most of my students with some non-traditional steps, so have to work on cues for it.

This year’s theme is “musicals”. Whatever I am wearing is supposed to represent Berger from Hair. I should say the ’60s wig did not stay on my head longer than warm-up, mostly because I couldn’t see much in it.

Zumba in the school

Once upon a time, I mean, Some time last Autumn, I went to my son’s school, CEIP “Antoñito El Farero” to attend the parents’ meeting. Apart from discussing Timur’s progress, we’ve talked with his teacher about the end of the year school trip, or rather, the ways of raising money for it. I have suggested giving a class of Zumba at the school, and, to my surprise, got an enthusiastic response. Nothing followed though for three months or so. And then... I was asked to do it!

So: on Monday 5 March I did my very first fundraising Zumba class with 25 people attending! Tamara helped me a lot, not only managing to attend the class after her chi kung marathon, but also doing one song with me. (I know, I know, I do have to work on those cumbia steps, but still, I impressed myself by remembering most of them.) Also, several students from my morning class came to support me. All in all I think it was a success. After the class, a number of ladies came to talk and I hope I will get some new students. Most importantly, Spanish audience seemed to like what they saw and did. In the evening, the president of school’s AMPA (Asociación de Madres y Padres de Alumnos) sent an email to all the parents which I found very flattering... Fingers crossed, we will have another Zumba party!

Song List

1. Anatomic — Warm-Up — by Afro Celt Sound System
2. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
3. La Fiesta Ya Se Encendió — Merengue
4. Taboo – Axé / Urban
5. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
6. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
7. The Click Song — African / Cha-cha-cha — by Miriam Makeba
8. La Batidora — Reggaeton
9. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
10. Rosa — Cumbia
11. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
12. M’Toto — African — by Zap Mama
13. Last Tango in Paris — Cool-Down — by Gotan Project

The Click Song

The final result of the last month’s Zumbathon (released on 27 February) is... €7,443.50 for charity! Well done Zumba Lanzarote!

In case you did not notice, I was not writing anything here for the last three weeks. I am pleased to say that the morning classes saw an increase in attendance. (On Thursday 1 March we had 11 Zumber@s, including two gentlemen!) Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the classes in FuerteFusión. Two people at most. Where are all those who wanted the evening classes? As a result, this month there won’t be classes at 19:00. I am taking a two-week break and then the classes will resume at a different time slot. Watch this space!

The new songs we practiced these weeks were La Fiesta Ya Se Encendió (ZIN 36), La Vida Es Un Carnaval by Celia Cruz, Samba De Janeiro (ZIN MegaMix 24), The Click Song by Miriam Makeba and Vivre by Zap Mama.

Campeona del zumba?

Yesterday, several enraged fellow ZIN members shared a link to this fascinating item in El Periódico Mediterraneo: a reportage from... Campeonato de España de Zumba (Zumba Championship of Spain)! Well, if there is a championship, then there must be a champion. The article is subtitled: “Raquel Gil es la primera campeona de España de la historia y este fin de semana irá a las Olimpiadas” (“Raquel Gil is the first Spanish champion in history and this weekend will go to the Olympics”). More than that: according to this publication, Ms Gil said that

Siempre ha sido mi gran pasión y además de competir, también doy clases.

It [fitness] has always been my passion and, in addition to competing, I also give classes.

The article is written in such a style that a reader is instantly getting confused. Competing in what? Classes of what? (Of “el zumba”?) Which Olympics? It also could be that the author, Miguel Ángel Sales, has no clue what he is writing about. There is no such thing as Zumba Championship. (Not yet, anyway.) Also, a quick search shows that there is no Zumba instructor by the name of Raquel Gil.

But enough of that. For the last two weeks, in addition to my morning classes, I was giving an evening class in FuerteFusión. In fact, I should have given two evening classes, but Wednesday 9 pm proved to be too awkward time for anybody to turn up. (Either that, or football was getting in the way.) Next week, both Monday and Wednesday classes will be at 7 pm.

¡Olé FuerteFusión!

Great news everybody — this Monday 9 January my friend Chantal opened a brand new dance studio called FuerteFusión. It is located at Calle Bajo del Mejillon 5, opposite the post office. Hopefully the people who wait in a queue there will hear the music and pay notice. When I first saw the studio in December, I thought it won’t be ready for couple of months. Two weeks later, it opened the doors. There will be classes of salsa (both Cuban and LA style) and bachata every weekday. And guess what, yours truly is going to give Zumba classes there! To start, there will be two classes a week: Monday 19:00—20:00 and Wednesday 21:00—22:00.

In fact, I did the very first free class on Wednesday. OK there were only four people attending but this is a start. This time I opted for (almost) non-stop programme, just under 60 minutes, without breaking down the steps and no talking. I thought it went rather well... This impression was reinforced on Thursday when one of the zumberas told me that she really enjoyed the class because I did less talking (than usual, that is) and cut down on pauses between the songs.

Today I got some feedback from the Wednesday class. Hmmm. Apparently, omitting the breakdown was not that good idea, at least for those who never did Zumba before. Also, it looks like I have to use more verbal cues during the dances — again, that is something that I was trying to avoid. Another day, another lesson.

Last week, I introduced Taboo (aka Chorando Se Foi) from ZIN 36. The new song this week is a slow merengue, La Noche from ZIN 29.

Song List

Tuesday and Thursday

1. Mayoral — Warm-Up — by Novalima
2. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Los Campeones de la Salsa — Salsa
5. Taboo – Axé / Urban
6. Chori Chori — Bhangra
7. Bubamara — Romani — by Fanfare Ciocărlia
8. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
9. La Peinada — Quebradita
10. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
11. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
12. Mueve la Booty — Merengue
13. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
14. La Noche — Flamenco / Merengue
15. Vuelvo al sur — Cool-Down — Tango — by Gotan Project

Wednesday

1. Anatomic — Warm-Up — by Afro Celt Sound System
2. Chillin’ — Merengue
3. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
4. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
5. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
6. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
7. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
8. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
9. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
10. La Batidora — Reggaeton
11. Zorba — Sirtaki
12. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
13. Last Tango in Paris — Cool-Down — by Gotan Project

The last class of 2011

Call it (or don’t) the Christmas effect, but the numbers were dwindling these last two weeks as follows: 4, 3, 2, 1... Yes just one student today. We still had our exercise but I hope there will be more people next Tuesday — which will be next year already!

The new song this week is Auld Lang Syne by Salsa Celtica: it starts as cha-cha-cha, then becomes salsa. For cool-down, I used Hippo by Johanna Juhola.

¡Feliz Navidad!

The sports centre is closed from 22 December 2011 to 9 January 2012. So, since today, we are back to El Parque Botánico.

The new song this week is Bubamara by Fanfare Ciocărlia. I am really fond of it, maybe because this is the first choreo I ever created all by myself. Also, for our Christmas Special in the Park today, we did two songs which I promise not to repeat until next Christmas (otherwise it wouldn’t be Christmas Special, right?): Los peces en el río as interpreted by Lhasa and La Placita by Guaco.

Merry Christmas everybody, and see you next week in the park!

Song List

Tuesday

1. Latin Ritual — Warm-Up
2. Zumba Samba — Brazilian Dance
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Los Campeones de la Salsa — Salsa
5. La Peinada — Quebradita
6. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
7. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
8. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
9. La Batidora — Reggaeton
10. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
11. Hecha Pa’lante — Bellydance
12. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
13. Mueve la Booty — Merengue
14. Zorba — Sirtaki
15. Bubamara — Romani — by Fanfare Ciocărlia
16. Corazon Bandolero — Cool-Down — by Yerba Buena with Diego El Cigala

Thursday

1. Aganjú — Warm-Up — Bossa nova — by Bebel Gilberto
2. Chillin’ — Merengue
3. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
4. Bubamara — Romani — by Fanfare Ciocărlia
5. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
6. La Peinada — Quebradita
7. Los Campeones de la Salsa — Salsa
8. Los Peces — Villancico — by Lhasa de Sela
9. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
10. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
11. Hecha Pa’lante — Bellydance
12. Zorba — Sirtaki
13. Kulikitaka — Merengue — by Banda Brasileña De Carnaval
14. La Placita — Cool-Down — by Guaco

Are we having a blast?

No, seriously. What on earth do they (whoever authored that official Zumba page) mean under “having a total blast”? What is “blast” anyway?

The thing is, we are all guilty of word devaluation. We say “fine” when we mean “acceptable”, “great” when we mean “better than usual”, and “awesome” when we mean “good”. Likewise, we say that we are “happy” when we are merely satisfied with something. To quote the recent BBC news report,

A UK wide survey has revealed that dancing and going to the gym are among the things that make us happy.

Sure, I am glad that 2 million people in Britain attend Zumba classes, but... really? Going to gym makes us happy?

All in all, Zumba classes is a product that we sell and our students buy. One cannot buy or sell happiness. I can only hope that my students are looking forward to classes, enjoy the classes, feel good after the classes.

I think I begin to understand why Zumba is such a big hit in overworked countries like US and UK but met with much less enthusiasm here in Spain. For Zumba to succeed here, a different, um, marketing approach is needed. Spaniards are not likely to buy a “blast”. (Nor “Latin-inspired”, for that matter.)

That’s enough ranting for now. The new song this week was La Peinada. Also, I used the Gotan Project’s version of Last Tango in Paris theme for cool-down.

Song List

1. Mbube — Warm-Up (1) — African song — by Miriam Makeba
2. Adouma — Warm-Up (2) — Afro-pop — by Angélique Kidjo
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Los Campeones de la Salsa — Salsa
5. La Peinada — Quebradita
6. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
7. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
8. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
9. La Batidora — Reggaeton
10. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
11. Hecha Pa’lante — Bellydance
12. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
13. Mueve la Booty — Merengue
14. Zorba — Sirtaki
15. Last Tango in Paris — Cool-Down — by Gotan Project

Zumba in the park

There were two public holidays this week: Día de la Constitución (6 December) and Inmaculada Concepción (8 December). Since the sports centre was closed, the classes took place in El Parque Botánico de Corralejo. I hope everybody who came did enjoy our alternative location, and we had quite a few new faces too!

The new song this week was Los Campeones de la Salsa by Willy Chirino.

Song List

Tuesday

1. Anatomic — Warm-Up — by Afro Celt Sound System
2. Chillin’ — Merengue
3. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
4. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
5. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
6. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
7. Zorba — Sirtaki
8. La Batidora — Reggaeton
9. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
10. Aguanile — Salsa
11. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
12. Hecha Pa’lante — Bellydance
13. Culiquitaca — Merengue — by Toño Rosario
14. Muna Xeia — Cool-Down — by Sara Tavares

Thursday

1. Mbube — Warm-Up (1) — African song — by Miriam Makeba
2. Adouma — Warm-Up (2) — Afro-pop — by Angélique Kidjo
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Los Campeones de la Salsa — Salsa
5. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
6. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
7. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
8. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
9. La Batidora — Reggaeton
10. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
11. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
12. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
13. Chillin’ — Merengue
14. Zorba — Sirtaki
15. Meditation on Dvořák’s Slavonic Fantasy — Cool-Down — by Sophie Solomon

Wheel and website

The pavements of Corralejo are starting to take their toll. On Thursday, I noticed that one of two suitcase-type wheels in my sound system is broken. Visits to the local hardware stores so far were not promising. Next week, because of public holidays, we are doing the classes in different location, namely in the Botanical Park (El Parque Botánico). Thankfully, it is much closer to my house, so if the wheel is still not fixed it is not a big problem.

In other news, I have launched my new — bilingual! — website built with Weebly. Thank you Elena Ureña for Spanish translation — so professional! (On the “what to bring” page, I have left Zumba’s footwear recommendations exactly as appear on their Spanish FAQ page.)

It was a quiet(er) week, so the classes were not too crowded. We tried two new songs: Zorba and Hecha Pa’lante.

Song List

1. Mbube — Warm-Up (1) — African song — by Miriam Makeba
2. Adouma — Warm-Up (2) — Afro-pop — by Angélique Kidjo
3. Chillin’ — Merengue
4. Hecha Pa’lante — Bellydance
5. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
6. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
7. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
8. Zorba — Sirtaki
9. La Batidora — Reggaeton
10. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
11. Meneando la Cola — Salsa
12. Culiquitaca — Merengue — by Toño Rosario
13. Muna Xeia — Cool-Down — by Sara Tavares

One month on

I had my first real Zumba class here a month ago. A month ago already? And what do you think?

I like this class. I like people in my class. I hope they keep attending, bring their friends, spread the word and so on, so it grows organically. At this moment, I am not sure I even want to do a class every day, not to mention more than once a day. (Saying that, there is no imminent threat of this happening.)

The new songs this week are Zumbalicious and Meneando la Cola, plus Mbube for warm-up and Lua Nha Tetemunha for cool-down. Also, on Tuesday I tried Rosa (ZIN 32). I love this song and hope one day I will be able to do it properly — clearly it was not the case this time. Finally, on Thursday we did La Raspa (thank you Luisa!) — again, can’t say it was great but good fun anyway.

I feel very tired this week. This may have something to do with our stuff finally arriving from England, after almost four months. As a result, the living space is filled with boxes. On the plus side, all my CDs must be somewhere there. More new music!

Song List

1. Mbube — Warm-Up (1) — African song — by Miriam Makeba
2. Que Te Meueve — Warm-Up (2) — Merengue
3. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
4. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
5. Zumbalicious — Salsa / Reggaeton
6. Chori Chori — Bhangra
7. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
8. Rosa — Cumbia †
9. La Raspa — Mexican circle dance *
10. Chillin’ — Merengue
11. Meneando la Cola — Salsa
12. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
13. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
14. Lua Nha Tetemunha — Cool-Down — Morna — by Cesária Évora

† Tuesday only
* Thursday only

1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7

It may be premature to say that my relationship with Azul Yoga & Pilates Studio came to an end; however on Monday I was informed that, due to the lack of students, the Zumba classes will stop for now. Well, that was a short stint, but all in all not quite useless. In any case, I got Monday and Wednesday evenings back.

This week, the new songs are Caipirinha, Chori Chori, Chillin’ and Píntame (Thursday only); plus Aganjú and Que Te Meueve for warm-up. It is quite a lot of new material, and I am not entirely sure that I did all these songs as well as I wanted (I am still trying to master the art of understatement.)

Now I heard the statement “Zumba is not a dance class” so many times (just Google this phrase and you’ll see what I mean) that I almost started to believe it myself. However, all beliefs should be challenged, even the most absurd ones. On Thursday, by popular demand, I spent about eight minutes going with the class through the basic salsa steps: first, with help of Eddie Torres’ counting track, and second, using Sergent Garcia’s song Píntame, which is mainly salsa with a bit of reggaeton. For the exercise purposes, we carried on salsa steps (1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7 and) in the “reggaeton” section and it worked like a charm.

Song List

1. Aganjú — Warm-Up (1) — Bossa nova — by Bebel Gilberto
2. Que Te Meueve — Warm-Up (2) — Merengue
3. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
4. Caipirinha — Brazilian Dance / Bellydance
5. La Batidora — Reggaeton
6. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
7. Chori Chori — Bhangra
8. Zumba Samba — Brazilian Dance
9. Chillin’ — Merengue
10. 1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7 — Salsa count — by Eddie Torres
11. Píntame — Salsa / Reggaeton — by Sergent Garcia
12. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
13. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
14. Holy Incense (Tibetan Version) — Cool-Down — by Sa Dingding

One quebradita too much?

This was a strange week. On Monday evening, nobody turned up at the Azul Yoga & Pilates Studio. Tuesday, four students at the the Pabellón. It was good as we tried a few new songs. Wednesday: one person at the Azul. (Still, infinitely more than on Monday!) Still, a class is a class, and I would hate to miss another evening of Zumba-ing. Luckily, one staff member joined us. And on Thursday, nine zumberas, including two new faces.

This week, the new songs are Alegria Pa Zumbar and Zu Bailaito (Thursday only); plus Latin Ritual for warm-up and Holy Incense (神香) for cool-down. I thought Zu Bailaito was a good fun, but it is a challenging song, what with all the cowboy horse-riding, and I know it leaves quite a few of us exhausted — that’s why I put it just before the cool-down.

Song List

1. Latin Ritual — Warm-Up
2. Zumba Samba — Brazilian Dance
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Alegria Pa Zumbar — Samba
5. La Batidora — Reggaeton
6. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
7. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
8. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
9. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
10. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
11. Mueve la Booty — Merengue
12. Zu Bailaito — Quebradita
13. Holy Incense (Tibetan Version) — Cool-Down — by Sa Dingding

Two great classes

Yesterday I did my first Zumba class at the Azul Yoga & Pilates Studio. Four students (plus three staff members who just happened to be there) attended — much more than I’ve expected. The basement of the studio is cozy but rather small for eight people. Also, the room is rather echoey; I have to tweak an equaliser in my MP3 player to improve sound a bit. But it was a good fun. As I have one-hour slot (not one and a half, as at the Pabellón), and for a moment go through steps before each song, I had to drop couple of songs from the programme (marked with † below). In future I am going to talk less and have more time for dance!

Just as a week ago, it was raining today. OK that will be called “drizzle” in England but by the time I reached the Pabellón, I was soaking wet. Good thing I did not throw away original polyethylene packaging bag from my sound system — it kept the amp dry. We had a great class with eight zumberas, including two new students.

As promised, I will be changing the program by introducing a couple of new songs each week. This week, the new songs are Zumba Samba from ZIN 32 (which, incidentally, is not a samba at all) and Mueve la Booty; plus Rumba en la Noche for cool-down, but it does not look like anybody noticed any difference with last week’s Quiero Saber.

Song List

1. Anatomic — Warm-Up — by Afro Celt Sound System
2. Zumba Samba — Brazilian Dance
   
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
5. Aguanile * — Salsa
6. La Batidora — Reggaeton
7. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
8. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
9. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
10. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
11. Con Moviemento † — Bachata / Reggaeton
12. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
13. Mueve la Booty † — Merengue
14. Rumba en la Noche — Cool-Down — by Juan Manuel Cañizares

* Played only @ Azul Yoga & Pilates Studio
† Played only @ Sala Pabellón

More classes coming

Just a month ago, I was pondering if it was time to edit my Blogger profile already; more specifically, to change my occupation from “jobless scientist” to “jobless Zumba instructor”. This week I did two Zumba lessons at the Pabellón, so probably I am not exactly jobless Zumba instructor after all. But wait: next week, I will be starting new classes at the brand new Azul Yoga & Pilates Studio (Calle Dr. Aristides Hernandez Moran, near the Blue Jazz Bar). The classes will be on Mondays and Wednesdays, 19:30 to 20:30; the first class is on Wednesday 2 November.

My first real class

Sticking my posters around the town was fun, but it was mostly word of mouth (if you can call Facebook-ing that) that worked. I had six students today!

Tamara did come too and helped me a lot. That included showing a few steps which she really does better than me.

The program this week is almost identical to the one of my trial class last month, except for Baila Pa Emociona replacing Zu Bailaito. I thought quebradita will be a bit too much for my first lesson.

Song List

1. Anatomic — Warm-Up — by Afro Celt Sound System
2. Baila Pa Emociona — Calypso
3. Las Mujeres Lo Bailan Bien — Merengue
4. Aguanile — Salsa
5. La Batidora — Reggaeton
6. Dança Da Mãozinha — Axé
7. Tunak Tunak Tun — Bhangra
8. Bla Bla Bla — Reggaeton / Cumbia
9. Toul Omry — Salsa / Bellydance
10. Con Moviemento — Bachata / Reggaeton
11. El Baile del Gorila — Rumba Flamenca
12. Culiquitaca — Merengue — by Toño Rosario
13. Quiero Saber — Cool-Down — by Gypsy Kings

Quarterly report

I just realised that today is three months of my life in Corralejo. Are there any achievements to speak of?

Zumba classes given: one.
Children taught to ride a bicycle: two (14 and 10).
Space/time offered to give Zumba classes: one.
Hotels/gyms visited in search of said space/time: many.
Salsa classes attended: quite a few.

All in all, it was a nice Summer. I hope it will be an even better Autumn.