TERRE HAUTE — “It’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy!” Kelly Renteria said as people from ages 7 to 84 swayed and danced to the heart pounding, hypnotic Latin rhythm. They’re exercising with the new dance craze called Zumba that is sweeping not only the Wabash Valley, but the country.
Renteria is one of many Zumba instructors in Terre Haute and one of three at the Fifth and Poplar Wabash Valley Senior Activity Center — which is seeing more action than it has for a long time as it hosts a number of Zumba classes weekly. Kelly has lost more than 80 pounds the past year exercising and instructing Zumba. She is enthusiastic to explain about it and quickly tells about a young girl who has been introduced to Zumba.
Shannon Berry, age 11, has being exercising with Zumba since last August. She’s excited that she has gone from an 181/2 to size 11 in clothing. But that’s not all. She no longer uses an inhaler for asthma when she runs and can now play basketball with the best.
“People aren’t intimidated to come here,” Renteria said, noting the ages and different sizes of people. “They’re not worried about keeping up with some 20-year-old in Spandex.”
There are three instructors at the Senior Activity Center with several classes being so large they are divided between floors and instructors. The cost to attend Zumba at the Senior Activity Center is $4 for members per session and $5 for non-members, or $30 a month for attending unlimited number of classes for non-members and $20 per month for members for unlimited attendance. Membership to the Center costs $30 for those under 50 years of age and $25 per year for those age 50-plus.
Zumba was created by a Miami-based dancer name Beto Perez. It combines numerous moves from many Latin dances including Cumbai, Merengue, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Mambo, Rumba and Caypso, to name just a few.
Zumba has been called “nothing short of a revolution” and the single most influential movement in the fitness industry today. The Latin movements are easy to follow and vary from fast to slow while they work muscles to sculpt and tone as well as burn body fat like crazy.
It is a highly expressive, dynamic dance but it is more than exercise and good for you, many point out. It is definitely an aerobic workout but the one word that is most used to describe it is “fun.” Perhaps that’s the reason why friends and family get together to Zumba and socialize.
“It’s fun,” Dee Reed explains. “I don’t like to run and I don’t like other aerobics, but Zumba is fun — you’re dancing and you don’t realize you’re getting a lot of health benefits while you’re dancing.” Reed attends Zumba classes at the Union Hospital Professional Building at 1606 N. Seventh St. She also likes the idea that Union Hospital offers a health assessment and use of all exercise equipment for Union Hospital Fitness Center members. You don’t have to be a Union Hospital Fitness Center member to attend Zumba classes but the benefits are well worth it, Reed said.
Stephanie Strole has exercised for 20 years but claims there’s nothing like Zumba. She has lost 25 pounds over the past year, even as a “professional exerciser.” She attended several classes, fell in love with Zumba, became an instructor and now teaches at the Coaches Corner at 750 Oak St. Zumba has grown so fast there that they offer 18 classes per week with between 450-500 participants.
Studies show that you burn 500-700 calories during one hour of Zumba but Strole says at the Coaches Corner they have increased the aerobics part of the dance in portions of their workout and says participants burn between 800-900 calories per hour. The instructors teach about how to properly fuel your body, too, she said. “They (Zumba participants) love the results,” she said, “And they’re going to get results!”
Katie Cope is enthralled with Zumba. She attends class twice a day, six days a week at the Coaches Corner and has lost 50 pounds since October. With results like these and love of the dance, word is getting around at how well Zumba works. Strole has been requested to start offering classes at the Wigwam skating rink at 4600 N. Smith St. in Terre Haute and also at a fitness center in Clinton.
The cost for each Zumba session at the Coaches Corner is $5. Child care is also available at $1 per child per session. You can check out Zumba with Stephanie at zumbawithstephanie.com.
The most recent statistics show as of July 2008, there were 30,000 trained Zumba instructors in 35 different countries. To get on the bandwagon, tone and sculpt your body, burn fat and lose weight, and have FUN, you won’t have a hard time finding a Zumba class nearby.
Want to Zumba?
For more information on the ones mentioned in this story, Zumba class times and costs to attend, you can contact them at the following:
Wabash Valley Senior Activity Center: (812) 232-3245 or (812) 870-7479
Union Hospital Fitness Center: (812) 238-7311
Coaches Corner: (812) 232-2290
Wigwam Skating Rink: (812) 466-4987.
Features
Zumba exercise classes sweeping the Wabash Valley, nation
- Features
-
-
Terre Haute museums keeping history alive
Even if you don’t have a mystical Egyptian tablet that brings museum inhabitants to life at sunset like character Larry Daley in the “Night in the Museum” movies, history can come alive for you, your friends and family at the many museums in the Wabash Valley.
-
Treat your valentine with a rose and song
A rose is a rose … until it is sent anonymously in February with a lyrical, heartfelt appreciation.
-
Turn-of-the-century tea shines during season of romance
You can take part in the season of romance at a turn-of-the-century tea hosted by Fortnightly Club members at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Fortnightly, 421 N. Sixth St., Vincennes.
-
Catfish tournament returns to Turtle Creek Reservoir
In partnership with the Indiana Catfish Association, Hoosier Energy is sponsoring its fourth annual Turtle Creek Open catfish tournament from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 17 at Turtle Creek Reservoir in Sullivan County.
-
Actors needed for 3D films to be shot in Bloomington
The Indiana University 3D Production Class is seeking local talent to cast in its 3D Student Film Showcase to be screened at IU Cinema at 6:30 p.m. on May 1.
-
Rosedale students, staff to prove they’ve Got Talent
Rosedale’s Got Talent and a Country Rhodes Fish Fry make for an exciting day in Rosedale on Feb. 18.
- KARAOKE: Feb. 9, 2012
- Nightlife: Feb. 9, 2012
-
Terre Haute artist putting ‘The Good Housewife’ on exhibit in New Harmony
Former Terre Haute artist Mary Ann Michna will exhibit a series of mixed media artworks titlted “The Good Housewife” at the Women’s Institute and Gallery in New Harmony.
-
ISU School of Music scholarship concert Sunday
Tickets are available for the Indiana State University School of Music’s 21st annual Wind/Percussion Scholarship Concert, scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday in Tilson Auditorium in Tirey Hall.
-
Fowler Park Pancake Breakfast coming up
The Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department will host the 26th annual Pancake Breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 in Fowler Park Log Barn.
- Dance lessons: Feb. 9, 2012
-
EIU readies love songs for Valentine’s Day
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, Eastern Illinois University’s Choral Ensembles are planning to celebrate the majesty of love.
-
‘Play It Again Sam’ to open at Old Town Theatre
The Woody Allen comedy “Play It Again, Sam” will open Feb. 17 at the Old Town Players Theatre and Arts Center, 432 Broadway St. Performances will continue Feb. 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26.
-
Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
- Bingo: Feb. 9, 2012
- Museums and Exhibitions: Feb. 9, 2012
- Book signings: Feb. 9, 2012
- Theater: Feb. 9, 2012
-
Dicky James and the Blue Flames give strong performance in Memphis
Terre Haute-based Dicky James and the Blue Flames weren’t the big winners at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn., last week, but the group did win accolades and made contacts that should help it raise its profile nationally.
-
‘All Dolled Up’ exhibit opens today VU’s Shircliff Gallery
“All Dolled Up,” an exhibition of handmade dolls, will open today at Vincennes University’s Shircliff Gallery of Art.
-
Marshall Senior Diners’ Club staging ‘Movie Monday’
Senior Diners’ Club at Harlan Hall in Marshall will be sponsoring a “Movie Monday” at 1 p.m. Feb. 27 following lunch.
- COMMUNITY: Feb. 9, 2012
-
Concerts: Feb. 9, 2012
An asterisk (*) indicates tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com.
-
Butler Theatre to present version of ‘Tartuffe’ starting Wednesday
Butler Theatre presents a contemporary version of Moliere’s “Tartuffe” beginning Wednesday in Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168.
-
VIDEO: On the Banks of the Wabash far away …
Paul Dresser left Terre Haute a niche in history.
Opportunism, squabbling and fading memories gradually washed that gift away, like the unending flow of the Wabash River he immortalized in song.
-
Story of homeland foundation of vocal group
Since their earliest recordings and performances, the South African-based Grammy Award-winning male a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as individuals and as a group, have maintained a respect and a reverence for their past.
-
Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
-
RCAA member presents ‘Waterfalls’ at Vigo Library
February brings a stunning exhibit of waterfalls by photographer Spencer Young to the Vigo County Public Library in Terre Haute.
-
River Wools’ Stitch Red/Wear Red part of First Friday events
Downtown Terre Haute’s First Friday is a monthly evening that encourages collaboration among downtown merchants, museums, galleries, and university and commercial venues.
- More Features Headlines
-
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Coroner: Houston Autopsy Results Weeks Away
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Severe Cold Wreaks Havoc in China
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Turkey's first face transplant
Adele's revealing "60 Minutes" interview
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Bobby Brown on Houston's Death
Exclusive Video: Bobbi Kristina Leaving Hospital
Lusetich: AT&T Recap
'Bachelor' Free Falls into the Ocean
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
Grammys 2012: Highlights
2.12: Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- Phil Mickelson
2012 Grammys: Rihanna
2012 Grammys: Taylor Swift
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
FUEL TV: Punk Payback Gym tips
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
