I simply love the idea of supporting families in welcoming their babies into the world with as much joy as possible… spreading the joy has become a really important part of who I have become, and this journey has taken me in the direction of Zumba which fills people’s lives with joy, passion, dance and tremendous community spirit.
At 1pm on Saturday 14th July, Barkers Pool will come alive with brilliant music and fun and easy dance moves, as Beth Roche of B*Zumba, will be leading her passionate Zumba-goers and passers by in a few dances. They’ll turn up and begin dancing without warning or preparation in their norrmal everyday clothes. When the two dances are done all the participants will simply pick up their bags and walk off as if nothing has happened. However, they’ll then make their way down to Devonshire Green to do it all again at 1.30pm.
“I decided to bring the Zumba Flash mob to Sheffield this week to celebrate Big Dance week, and was originally inspired to do it because of seeing some fantastic ones on youtube which just had everyone smiling. i found this super inspiring as I just love the powerful affect that sharing joy and bringing something immensely positive can have and the knock on affects that ripple through thr community when people have witnessed or been part of something really special and magical. I am incredibly grateful to a number of the wonderful people who come to my classes gave me the confidence and determination to bring this exciting event to Sheffield.
Zumba itself, is all about having fun, building communities and getting fit at the same time; I thought what better way to embrace that idea than this Flash mob. To do a Zumba routine there is no need to be particularly coordinated, or “dancey”, though that can be part of it, and developed through Zumba. I see enthusiasm and “giving it a go” as the most important thing in Zumba. We have been doing the flash mob routines as well as others during our classes for the last few months, but we haven’t “polished” them for performance. We want the flash mob to be accessible to anyone can feel like they can simply put down their shopping bags and get stuck in.
I found Zumba through a series of circumstances, but haven’t looked back since, I went to classes as a participant for nearly a year before realising that, as a trained teacher and lover of dancing, this was what I needed to be doing as my job. The most exciting thing that I found with Zumba is that exercise can be so much fun (previously I baulked at the idea of doing any exercise other than a bit of swimming, and never really stuck at any attempts to get fit). What I didn’t expect, but what has made the biggest difference in my life has been how much joy there is during every single class. Even when I go wrong I have a good time, and plenty of people smile and giggle with me when I do. I feel an enormous sense of well-being and strength during the classes, and often grin so much that I feel like my cheeks have had a bigger workout than my legs!!!!
I have loved these past six months teaching Zumba with the most amazing bunch of people, who keep coming back for more, and bringing their friends along. Their energy and determination is awesome, many of whom come for some “me” time away from the kids, or simply to have a bit of fun. Because of the powerful feel good hormones being released duirng exercise and particularly when doing something enjoyable like Zumba, it can be quite addictive. Many of my participants come to every session that they are available for, and plan their week around it!!!
At the Flashmob everyone of all ages are welcome to join in, including children. A number of my participants are eager that their children are going to see what Zumba is all about that they spend so much time doing. I’m really excited to be going back to my roots as a school teacher by adding Zumba for kids (Zumbatomic) classes to my week of regular classes. I’m going to be running some Summer sessions to give people a flavour of what they are going to be like as well as giving children a great activity during the school holidays.”
