Chapter 2: Feel This Moment

Chapter 2: Feel This Moment 

My life is my music…let’s dance! 

    
     Lucy popped in her ear buds and briskly walked down the lane. The club was within walking distance and she intended to soak up all the beauty of Boomerang Valley on this gorgeous winter day. The mountains seemed larger than life and the snow had melted which made her footsteps steady and determined as she picked up her pace. She had just enough time to reflect on how she had made it this far into her Zumba journey…

     Lucy stepped to her spot on the gym floor of the YMCA in Billings, MT ready for her certification training to become a Zumba Instructor. She surveyed the other 50 ladies and one gentleman also eagerly awaiting their ZIN instructor's nonverbal cues to get our day started. As Lucy inhaled deeply, the music penetrated her very being as Christina Aguilera sang, "I just wannna feel this moment"! Lucy’s hair was up in a ponytail, she had on her cutest Zumba shirt and pants. She was ready for the master jam session which was kicking off the day long certification. She was really here! She was finally doing it! By the end of the day Lucy Lemon would be a Zumba Instructor!
     Lucy had never even heard of Zumba until moving to Saint Anthony, Idaho. As much as she hated the move to Idaho, this remained her one bright memory of that dark, dreary, icy winter. At church, the Relief Society had her do a spotlight on herself one Sunday, so of course when she mentioned how she loved to dance, the first question was, "Do you Zumba?" Zoo...what? How was it possible that as a dancer she had missed the Latin Dance Fitness craze sweeping the nation? Some women pulled her aside after church and let her know where to go for Zumba in their little town. And so Lucy went to her first Zumba class at the elementary school gym at 4pm the next day. How cool that as part of the benefits package all teachers in the school district received, they got to Zumba for free! The rest of the community had the option to come for only $3 per session.
     Lucy was overwhelmed by her first time doing Zumba with about 40 other people. Wow! This was the happening place to be in teeny tiny Saint Anthony. She was beyond lost. How could she even consider herself a dancer? She was going left when they were going right and she was facing forward when they were facing back. Sheesh! The instructor used zero verbal cues yet everyone knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Everyone that is except Lucy! The Latin rhythms pulsed through her body as she did the salsa, merengue, and cumbia. And then more international songs were introduced. Ah yes, Waka, Waka...she recognized and kept up pretty well. But then when Jai Ho began, she truly lost herself in feeling the music. The instructor had strategically placed this song where all participants were receiving the ultimate benefit of the endorphins surging through their bodies. As Lucy spun in a circle, she had found total oneness with her spirit and body. She knew she was born to Zumba!
     Lucy quickly found a different Zumba class at the dance studio in town which accommodated her busy schedule a bit more. This time the instructor was a Latina girl who really taught her how to feel the music. Her class met in the upstairs dance studio with splintered floors and murky mirrors but Lucy thought it was heaven, a place where she could escape her motherly duties and rejuvenate herself. The more she went and learned the routines, the more she realized this is what she wanted to do. She started inquiring about the process of certifying and since her instructor was leaving for the following semester...the time was right! Or so she thought. The following week, Lucy slipped on the icy cement steps outside her house and smashed her tailbone. Not only could she not Zumba, she couldn't walk! This was the darkest time in her life spiritually and physically. Ironically, things had to become darker than ever, before the brightness beyond what she could imagine could occur.
      Lucy had a slow recovery that dark, snowy winter in Idaho. She had never been so happy to resume normal household chores as the chiropractor worked with her little by little. The treadmill in her living room was her sanctuary. At first she could only walk by placing one foot in front of the other but then slowly after time, she was able to jog for up to two minutes at a time. Eventually, she built up enough strength and endurance to jog for miles at a time. Then the day came where she knew she was ready to go back and dance. Lucy couldn’t describe the joy that filled her heart when she went back to the elementary school gym for the community Zumba class! She had built confidence and was able to follow the nonverbal cues better than ever! And then the sad announcement came at the end of the class that this was the instructor's last time teaching due to going back to college. Lucy felt like all the air had been let out of her balloon. Then she had a thought, "I could certify and I could teach!" She overheard a couple of other woman talking about their desires to certify as well so Lucy decided it would only be fair for them take the helm. After all, they lived there and would be there a long time. At this point, in her Idaho adventure, she knew she only had a couple of months left until her family would finally move back to Montana.
     One of the first things she did once they moved back to Boomerang Valley was to reinstate her membership at the Boomerang Valley Fitness Club. Lucy was thrilled to sign up for a summer class of Zumba with a newly hired Zumba instructor named Misty. Misty encouraged Lucy to get her certification for the next year and a half. As usual, life got in the way ;) Lucy was called to serve as the Boomerang Valley Ward Relief Society President in the fall and for the next few months, every time she tried to sign up for a certification, something else would always take precedence. She enjoyed being an active participant in Misty’s classes but knew in her heart she wanted to instruct her very own class. Lucy helped out with choreography and was her right hand gal when it came to performing at the county fair. Every month for a year, Lucy would get on the Zumba website to check for openings in trainings, and every time she would come away feeling discouraged at either the wrong timing or lack of money to sign up. She finally gave up until March of 2013.
     Late one night, Lucy got on the computer and lo and behold...she found a time that would actually work and had the money saved out already too! She was afraid to get too excited. How would she get to Billings? She didn’t like driving long distances. She talked to Drew and expressed how much she really wanted to do this. They looked at the calendar and figured out that Boys Basketball State Tournament was that same weekend in Billings so while she was certifying Drew could be in the gym watching games! Awesome! She waited a couple more days and then finally registered!
     The day of certification ranks among one of the most fun days of her life! Dancing from 8:30 am to 5pm? Yes, please! Of course they did a lot of learning too. They learned all the basic Zumba core steps such as cumbia, salsa, merengue, and reggaeton. The ZES Zumba Instructor broke down the instruction portions and then they would practice what had been learned. Lucy had a blast! Her favorite part was learning about the anatomy of a song. Every song lends itself to four or five zumba moves and then along with adding variations, a song is super easy to choreograph using the zumba formula. Lucy exited the building as a certified Zumba ZIN Instructor! Drew took a picture to put on facebook and then hugged her tightly. “You did it!” he whispered in her ear. “Yep, I sure did!” Lucy replied more pumped than she had ever been in her life.

      …Lucy realized she had walked the entire distance to the club lost in her memories. After she signed her time card, she headed up to the aerobics room, adjusted the settings on the stereo, plugged in her iPod, and donned the headset mic. If she were a Zumba Queen as her daughter suggested, this was definitely her tiara. She had arrived! And she intended to “feel this moment” just as her warmup song choice suggested. Lucy’s ZES Certification Instructor had told her to always bring your best to your Zumba class because you never know why your participants are there.
     One by one they entered the room: Lexie (Lucy’s sister), Misty (her Zumba instructor), Kimberly (glowingly pregnant), Maddie, Samantha, Danielle, and two token males Nick and Anton. Last week these were her classmates but today they were her students! She couldn’t wait to get started as they all congratulated her on her certification and wished her luck. Lucy adjusted her mic, introduced herself (although everyone already knew her), hit play, and instructed the class to start warming up by marching in place while clapping:

 “Ask for money, and get advice Ask for advice, get money twice” 

 Lucy cued a v-step: right arm up…right step forward, left arm up…left step forward right arm down…right step back, left arm down…left step back. 

“One day while my light is glowing I’ll be in my castle golden…” 

     As the music continued Lucy listened closely to the lyrics of the song and got a boost of energy as she looked at the smiling participants of her class. “I just wanna feel this moment!” The music picked up tempo, Lucy cued a merengue march…and the class was underway! 

http://youtu.be/JAZw3HlvzDM

Pitbull. Feel This Moment (feat. Christina Aguilera). Rec. 18 Jan. 2013. RCA Records, 2013.