68 South Bay Accent Janani Chalaka of Bombay Jam (front, right) leads instructors during a video shoot. that’s what a workout is supposed to do: release those endorphins and help you feel energized.” And what if you have two clumsy left feet? “People come with two left feet, and they eventually leave with a left foot and a right foot; we give them confidence,” says Marks, explaining that it takes several classes to master the repeated routines. Instructors from all types of fitness programs stress the importance of not giving up after one class. “Sometimes one class is not enough of a chance,” says San Jose Nia instructor Terre Pruitt. “It’s new, you’ve never heard of it, you’re all confused or a little apprehensive.” She’s seen people walk out after one session and never return. “You need to come back at least three times, check in to see if the routine is going to be different the next time, even try a different teacher.” With that advice in mind, put on your dancing shoes—or rather your gym shoes—and make your move. You could end up losing a few inches, and maybe some inhibitions, too. Here are five popular dance-inspired fitness programs offering classes in the area. BARRE There is music to lift your spirits and keep you in motion during a Barre workout, but no actual dancing, even though Barre comes out of a classical ballet tradition. The barre is a stationary handrail used for centuries to prepare the bodies of ballerinas for the rigors of the dance. In the mid-20th century a classically trained British dancer named Lotte Berk combined her barre training with rehabilitative exercises after an injury. The workout came to America in the early 1970s, but remained under the radar until the late ’90s. Recently, Barre studios have sprouted all over the region and the The class is mostly women and some men, ranging in age from late teens to people in their 50s and 60s. Jan Mandala- Comeau of Campbell confides that she’s 62, although she doesn’t look it. Wearing a flat cap over her curly blonde hair, she says she’s been coming to U-Jam for several years, ever since she walked into a room at a gym thinking it was a Zumba class. “I took it once, and I was hooked.” Suzy herself was a Zumba instructor until nearly five years ago, when she and Matt combined her unique brand of choreography and his eclectic style of mixing music to create U-Jam Fitness. The business grew quickly—there are now nearly 700 U-Jam instructors across the country, with more certified all the time. DANCING TO A NEW WAVE U-Jam is part of a wave of new danceinspired fitness classes emerging since the wildly popular Latin-based Zumba came on the scene more than 15 years ago. For a little more than a decade, programs from the low-impact Barre—which takes its inspiration from classical ballet training— to high-impact hip hop have been popping up all over the fitness landscape. And in the last several years, international dance forms like Bollywood and hula have been layered atop certified fitness standards, putting a new spin on traditional dances. Most dance-inspired fitness programs adhere to a typical format of aerobics with a warm-up period, followed by cardio, some strength training and finally a cool-down. Some use interval training techniques, incorporating both low-intensity and high-intensity exercise interspersed with rest periods. And unlike formal dance instruction, dance fitness classes don’t stop to make sure students master precise routines—classes keep moving for maximum cardio benefits. What’s behind this fast-growing fitness phenomenon? Janani Chalaka of the Bollywood-inspired program Bombay Jam thinks it’s about fun and finding motivation to exercise. “With dance fitness we feel we appeal to people who want to work out but who find it boring or want to do something that’s just fun, and they can let go of their stresses and their worries and what’s going on during the day,” she says. “Everybody likes to party, and you might come to a party in a bad mood, but you don’t leave in a bad mood. So it always lifts your spirits, and ROB FADTKE; OPENING SPREAD: COURTESY OF NIA TECHNIQUE AND JUST LIKE IN BOLLYWOOD FILMS, THE MOVES ARE NOT NECESSARILY BASED ON TRADITIONAL INDIAN DANCES.
South Bay Accent - Feb/Mar 2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above