I love it when a first falls into my lap. I had a planned first for today and was mulling it over as I stepped into Zumba class at the Joplin Family Y – South. I was a few minutes late and the first dance was under way. I made sure that I smiled and waved at everyone and then joined the class, front row and to the right. Zumba was a first for me, way back in February (Day 38). I was concerned I’d be able to keep up with the pace, and had intended for my first Zumba experience to also be my last. I fell in love with the Latin based dance routines and have a great appreciation for Dave, our awesome Zumba instructor. I attend class three times a week and miss the workout greatly if I have to skip a class.
Today, Dave paused after the first dance to let me know, since I was late, that we were learning a new routine today. And….oh yeah….we were going to be filmed today. What? was all I had time to say before we started the next routine. Just as we finished the second number, a camera man with KODE Channel 12 appeared at our door, all smiles.
What I didn’t realize was that this was a professional shoot. I had thought Dave meant that he was filming us today, to use as promotional material. The Y is creating a new commercial spot, to be aired on TV. The camera man was here to get footage from all over the Y, including the Zumba Gold class.
I don’t know if the others in my class realized it was a commercial shoot….or it was just me that was discovering this fact. But when Dave spotted the cameraman, he moved to his music list, announcing we were going to do the new dance. We protested! If we had to be filmed, at least let it be a routine we knew well!
Dave is a brilliant guy. He knew exactly what he was doing, introducing a new dance for the filming. We Zumba Gold ladies get used to the dances and can move through them on auto pilot. I am focusing on awareness and being present in the moment….and yet, I can still suddenly realize my mind has left my body, even as it is dancing, and that I’ve lost track of where we are, exactly, in the routine. You’d think turning the wrong way and facing the rest of the class as they all face the correct way would be enough to make me pay more attention….but no. By cuing up a new song, with new moves, Dave got our full attention. We had to watch him carefully and keep our focus sharp, or risk a mis-step on film.
The camera man reminded us to smile. It’s a workout, especially when we are learning new moves, yet we laughed and smiled as we danced. And with all eyes on Dave, we moved through the new routine well. At the end of the number, the guy from KODE thanked us and left to capture more footage. Our routine will be shortened down to a snippet of the commercial, I’m sure. It was a fun, first experience, being filmed for a commercial during Zumba class, and I decided to claim it. I’m learning to be much more spontaneous and today, I didn’t even try to hide behind a classmate. I just went with it. And then, it was back to our regularly scheduled Zumba.
