Now that we’ve been meeting as the EXPerienced group for a few weeks, I thought I’d take this opportunity to discuss choreography, particularly as it appears in Aqua Exp.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to know that Zumba choreographers fall into two groups: those who are dancers who want to get a bit more exercise in their dancing and those who are fitness experts who want to make exercise a bit more fun. (You’ve probably already guessed that I’m a dancer who tries to slip in exercise here and there.)
If you’ve been dancing with me in Aqua Gentle (the Friday class) for a few months, you will have noticed that some routines are more danceable than others. Compare the dance we do to “Forget You” by Cee Lo Green to “Tumbaye” by Oscarcito. Both routines fit the music and get you moving. “Forget You” could be something you perform on a dance floor. As it happens, I adapted that routine from a land Zumba routine someone put together as a kind of line dance suitable for weddings. Contrast that with “Tumbaye”, which has a lot of arm work, particularly in the version we now do in Aqua EXP. It is fine as an Aqua Zumba routine and was written to be an Aqua Zumba routine by Richard Gormley, who was and still is a fitness and yoga instructor before he got hooked on Zumba and Aqua Zumba. It just feels different.
When I started teaching what is now our Aqua Zumba Gentle group, I had a really hard time finding routines that could be done by anyone, even those who rarely (never?) exercise and those who have never done movement in the water. I ended up modifying some of my favorite land Zumba routines so they could work in the water.
There are two big challenges in doing this. Aqua Zumba is done at what is called “water tempo” or “half tempo”. In land Zumba (“full tempo”), the dancer usually makes a move on every beat — one, two, three, four. In Aqua Zumba, we move on every other beat — ONE, two, THREE, four. As you’ve figured out, it takes more time to move in the water than it does on land, so I have to slow the movements down or pick slower songs.
The other big challenge is that hardly anyone in the official Zumba community writes Aqua Zumba routines for beginners. As an officially licensed Aqua Zumba instructor, I get two new Aqua Zumba routines sent to me every month. As a result, I have access to around 140 Aqua Zumba routines. About 20 of those routines can be done by people who are new to dancing in the water. I’ve only actually used one of those routines with you — “Por Dejarme Sola”, which we used as a cool-down routine for a few weeks. (YouTube video for music here.)
Now a seasoned veteran instructor, I’ve gotten used to adapting other people’s Zumba Gold and Aqua Zumba routines so we can do them in class. Even more encouraging, I have written some routines for you all by myself. If you were dancing Aqua Gentle with me last fall, you might remember we did an entire class of Halloween-themed music. “Monster Mash” and “Love Potion Number Nine” were new Cougar creations, inspired by bits of land Zumba routines.
The bonus of this is that I am willing and able to at least try to write a routine to any song someone suggests to me. If you have a song you really like to listen to, by all means, mention it to me in before or after class or send it in an email to info @ dancingcougar.net. This is one way to get me to stop focusing on Baby Boomer and Motown music. Those genres just happen to be really easy to dance to.
As always, keep dancing and keep having fun!