By Anelia K. Dimitrova
River Place Plaza in downtown Cedar Falls is often the site of summer concerts in the evenings.
But on Saturday morning, the green artificial grass turf in front of the stage popped with the color of rhythm, the shape of body movement and energy of unbridled joy generated by two dozen Zumba-loving enthusiasts.
Led by the spunky Paola Ramirez, they took on the challenge to stretch their arms, move their feet, rotate their hips and shake their bodies as they hop-stepped to the upbeat tempo of the music pumping from a boombox behind the instructor.
The Zumba class is part of the Outdoor Dance Fitness series, offered for free by the Cedar Falls Rec Center. Upcoming sessions are as follows: Dance Fitness with Andrea on June 7 and August 9; and Zumba with Paola on June 21.
For almost an hour on Saturday in that open space by the Cedar River, the mundane gave way to the moment.
Paola wore a belt that read, “Join the Party,” and a pair of fluorescent yellow-green sneakers similar to the attention-grabbing color of street construction crew bodywear). It also happened to be the matching color of the sneakers worn by her friend and fellow instructor, Andrea Reeder, a ball of energy who was one of the students today.
A Zumba dance frees the mind of daily worries, Paola told me afterwards, which is one of the benefits of practicing it.
“Dancing, you’re actually working your brain,” she said. “There is no way that you could be dancing or following an instruction, like moving by the rhythm and you could be thinking, ‘Did I forget to turn off the stove?’ So it’s like a brain workout at the end of the day. And more than that, you’re producing dopamine, that’s what makes it feel like you can eat the world after dance.”
A Dominican Republic native, Paola brings the energy and charisma of her roots.
She’s magnetic and caring and encouraging and all of it comes off so genuinely and so gracefully in the way she reaches out to the energy levels of others that it brightens the space around her.
During the class, it didn’t matter how coordinated students were (or if they occasionally stepped on their own feet or tripped inadvertently, of course, on an untied shoelace). What mattered was that they were there, that they were dancing together, and while they all were at different levels of agility, the joy they shared belonged equally to all.
From time to time, moms sipping coffee and pushing strollers as well as early-rising bikers who had concluded their route, stopped by to watch the class.
Paola teaches Zumba at the Cedar Falls Rec Center, and once in a while, also instructs the belly dancing class, where energy and creativity build self esteem and confidence in people of all ages and walks of life.
She told me she started teaching Zumba in 2011, but has been instructing in Cedar Falls for about a year.
The music she plays speaks to many cultures and is another attraction to the class. On Saturday, Rocio Davila and Zury Arestegui, originally from Mexico, and Haydee Fontana, originally from Brazil, from time to time sang along with the tunes while they danced.
In addition to Latin music, Paola also played Miley Cyrus’ hit song “Flowers,” the “I-can-love-myself-better-than-you-can” anthem of empowerment, and several participants, including this writer, hummed to its self-affirming message.
Paola later told me she was inspired by the story of Zumba founder, Colombian choreographer Beto Perez, whose story she likes to share.
“He actually created Zumba by mistake,” she said. “He was going to teach a class, but he forgot his music. So he went to his car and started grabbing all the CDs that were there, with all these rhythms and he started playing it and it was the best class ever. That’s how it started, from a mistake.”
As a seasoned instructor, Paola has her own stories of the impact of Zumba classes on her students. She said group exercise and music connects people across time, space and cultures. She recalled the story of a student who told her that she had found a family in her Zumba class and a community where she “belonged.” Another student told her that the music Paola plays during class connected her to her son in Bombay.
Here in Cedar Falls, Zury, who owns Zury’s Taco Bar on College Hill, said she loves the Zumba instructors, Paola and Andrea, for their personalities and professionalism.
“When I feel like the world is on top of me, my Zumba class is a breath of fresh air,” she said. “The Zumba class is the best therapy I ever had.”
Fist bumps, high fives and hugs ended the session along with a group photo.
Amy Kapanka, a professor in the Health Sciences Department at Hawkeye Community College, expressed appreciation for the experience of dancing together. Earlier, she had taken a Tai Chi class under the open sky at River Place Plaza and was thrilled to be a part of the Zumba class on Saturday.
“What is really nice here today is there are people not only from the (regular rec) classes but from the community,” she said. “This is such a great gathering space to get all people together and I think that’s the beauty of dance and music is getting all people together.”
