Good Morning Baltimore

Taking our cues from Tracy Turnblad, the heroine in HAIRSPRAY:

Good morning Baltimore

Every day's like an open door

Every night is a fantasy

Every sound's like a symphony

On Saturday, a bus load of friends and family departed for Baltimore in true Tracy Turnblad style - ready to seize the day! 

The day went fast, but it was full! We visited the National Aquarium and saw turtles, jellyfish, and sharks. We even had some fun in the gift shop (see the pic of my husband, the "shark," below). 

 

Afterward we went to Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium where we saw shrunken heads, replicas of the crown jewels, pictures of Justin Bieber made entirely from candy, and more! I had to snap a pic of the Zoltar machine (Remember the movie BIG with Tom Hanks? One of my faves!)!

 

But this trip wasn't just about having a blast in B'more. We had a mission... to raise money for the American Cancer Society Make Strides Against Breast Cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about 1 in 8. Out of the 26 on our small bus, two were breast cancer survivors - a strong testament for why we need to keep working toward a cure. Our trip on Saturday brought us $147 closer to that goal. 

Throughout the fall we will continue to raise funds under our team name, Zumba Fitness Instructors and Friends. On Saturday, October 18th, we'll come together on Harrisburg's City Island for an early morning tailgate party followed by the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk. We'll be joined by 6,000 participants who are dressed in pink and passionate about the cause. An unforgettable event! Will you join us? See the links below for ways that you can get involved!

You can help! 

MAKE A DONATION

JOIN OUR TEAM

VIEW AND SHARE THE FACEBOOK EVENT

#makingstrides #cancer #baltimore #hairspray #zumbalove

Zumba Instructor Convention 2014!

Home sweet home after another amazing year at the ZUMBA Instructor Convention in Orlando, FL. 

I shared the past four days with over 6,000 members of my Zumba family. We learned new choreo for our classes, snapped selfies with our fave Zumba celebs, and danced (A LOT)! It's impossible to express how much this trip means to me or how much I learn each year, but I wanted to share my top takeaways from 2014... 

1. I learned that our Zumba Fitness classes are the best medicine for a bad day. In our opening session, we had the opportunity to listen to Harvard's most popular professor, Tal Ben-Shahar. His expertise? HAPPINESS! And guess what he told us - there is scientific proof that dancing (like we do in our Zumba Fitness classes) improves our mood and makes us HAPPIER! 

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 16 million adults in the U.S. had at least one episode of depression in 2012. Healthline shares that one in ten Americans will be affected by depression in their lifetime. Yet a powerful antidote is found in dance and movement! Some studies show dance and movement to be as effective as prescription medications! Zumba is particularly good at this because the moves are simple, repetitive, and allow students to be successful! Learn more about happiness from Tal Ben-Shahar. 

ZES Donna Giffen

2. I saw my end goal. During Convention, I has the opportunity to participate in a number of master classes with some of the best Zumba instructors around. Seeing instructors like Steve Boedt, Donna Giffen, and Pepper Von gives me a glimpse of how good we can really be! But these instructors are not amazing because of their dance ability (although they are great dancers!). They are amazing because of their ability to teach, lead, perform, and allow their students to succeed! It's not about what THEY are doing on the stage, but what they are enabling YOU to do on the floor! 

Seeing them in action inspires me to keep working and improving my own skills, so I did something very scary... I signed up for a personalized feedback session and taught a song in front of 30 Zumba Instructors and two ZES (Zumba Education Specialists), Donna Giffen and Daniela Cesnekova. End result? The group was super supportive and I walked away with practical things I can do to improve my teaching (like closing my fingers to add power to my Beto Shuffle)! Bye Bye frog hands!

ZES Pepper Von

3. I joined a movement to change the world. I've said this before, but I truly believe that Zumba Fitness is an incredible force for the greater good. During my Saturday morning master class, Pepper Von closed the session with a simple but powerful challenge - to put out one positive thought each day. Imagine if all 6,000 Convention attendees commit to it, and then encourage their students to do the same? Zumba Fitness has no geographic boundaries, and our influence can be worldwide. I'm taking the challenge. Will you? 

But it didn't stop there. We've all been seeing videos of our friends and family dumping ice water on their heads (and perhaps praying we don't get called out to do the same) as part of the #icebucketchallenge to raise awareness and funds for the ALS Association! While I was in Orlando, I was tagged and had 24 hours to either donate or dump ice water on my head! What else could I do, but grab our hotel ice bucket and head to the Hyatt's outdoor fountain (Watch the video)! And as part of our closing ceremony, some our our Zumba faves - CEO and co-founder Alberto Perlman, celebrity instructors Gina Grant and Kass Martin, and the man himself Beto Perez - took the challenge on stage! Zumba love in action!

It was another amazing year at #zincon2014! Can't wait to put my new knowledge and inspiration to use in the coming year! August 12-15, 2015 is already on my calendar (and if you are an instructor and didn't make it this year, put it in on your calendar, too! I want you there with me!). 

#zincon2014 #icebucketchallenge #strikeoutals #zumbalove #teamperry

For the Newbie Zumba Instructors

There are a lot of things I love about being a Zumba Fitness instructor. I love the amazing people I meet, I love the music, I love the dancing. But as I reach the three-year anniversary of my first Zumba class, there is something else that I enjoy - cheering for the newbie Zumba instructors!

When I first earned the title of "Licensed Zumba Fitness Instructor," it took a lot of great mentors and friends to get me started (and it takes just as many now to help me continue to learn and grow).

Lynn Day Holsinger was the first to invite me to teach at a Zumbathon charity event. It was my first time to teach in front of anyone (let alone an entire GROUP), and I was only willing to teach one song. I practiced 5 Letras over and over (and over) again. Lynn's invitation was key in getting me in front of others for the first time. 

It was months later when Kim Lehman coerced me into signing on for my first weekly class at a small studio in Midtown Harrisburg, Absolute Wellness Group. It was a wonderful place for me to practice and learn. And I will always appreciate having Kim there to cheer my on at my first class!

The early days... Teaching at Absolute Wellness Group
Photo credit: Hanif at Pixlmotion

Now it's my turn to watch other new instructors come to the stage - and it is AWESOME! 

On Sunday we held a Zumba party to benefit Girls on the Run, a youth development program for girls ages 8-12. Shawna Strine (shown fourth in the photo below) is training for the Harrisburg Half Marathon while raising money in support of the organization. She brought together six instructors to help her in her mission: Me (Adrienne Thoman), Beth Davis, Stephanie Okuniewski, Sharon Keeny, and Mikki Davis.

Me, Beth, Steph, Shawna, Sharon, and Mikki

What a day! These gals were all licensed within the past 13 months, and within that time they have proven to be an amazing addition to our Zumba family! I love seeing their enthusiasm for Zumba Fitness, and their willingness to share their Zumba love for great organizations like Girls on the Run!

With these amazing gals in mind, I started to reflect on the past three years. I know I still have a long way to go, but here are my top takeaways... 

1. Forget perfect. In the beginning I dreamed of being able to execute a class without making any mistakes. After three years, it hasn't happened (and I don't think it's ever going to). Perfect isn't the point. I'm there to help my students to shake, sweat, and smile! That's it! And my "perfect" performance is nothing compared to joy, authenticity, and a sincere desire to share each hour of class with them. 

2. We're all different. This one was tough to embrace. When I first started teaching I saw so many talented instructors in our community. And as a new (and insecure) instructor, I wanted to be just like them! The problem with that? I had a completely different set of strengths as an instructor. But THAT is the beauty of Zumba Fitness. Some instructors are amazing dancers (Dena Clauser, I'm talking about you!). Some instructors create awesome fitness-focused choreo (Yep, that's Cat Cormany!). So find out what makes YOU unique, and embrace it! 

3. It's not a competition. In the beginning it's easy to feel like it's you versus every other instructor in your area. It's not. Be the best instructor you can be, and people will be drawn to you because of the unique gifts that only YOU can bring to class. Focus on developing your own skills, and don't get caught up in criticizing others. Instead, celebrate their successes. As a community we can either tear each other down, or build each other up to incredible heights. I choose the latter. 

Shameless plug! STEPHANIE OKUNIEWSKI is teaching her FIRST FULL ZUMBA CLASS this Thursday night (August 14) from 7-8pm at the Halifax Ambulance Building (31 Bunker Hill Road, Halifax)! She will be subbing my class while I'm at the 2014 Zumba Instructor Convention in Orlando, FL. Come out and support her as she makes her debut!

Have you ever thought about becoming a licensed Zumba Fitness instructor? Find a training near you at www.zumba.com!

Timeline: Falling In Love With Matthew Lillard

Valentine's Day (February 14, 1998). After masterfully turning recycled egg cartons into little tulips (Take that, Pinterest!), I went to deliver them to their intended recipient (a friend named Mike). During my visit, I found a few new faces in the mix. One looked strangely like Matthew Lillard (Remember him from Scream?). I don't remember exactly what he said when I told him about his doppelganger, but I do remember that I laughed. And just like that, he won me over.

First Date (January 24, 1999). After sitting through The Blair Witch Project and almost throwing up in the parking lot afterward (We watched the entire movie - with all of its jumpy camera movements - from the front row), I finally convinced him to ask me out. January 24 was when we found ourselves on our first date, and we walked around the Millersburg square (romance!). That date was followed by many more, and I enjoyed a long thread of actually being able to pick the movie we were going to see in the theater (this has long since ended).

The Pug and the Proposal (2003). After graduating from SHIP, I moved into a little one-bedroom condo with my love. And in that little condo I received two amazing gifts - both while sitting on our couch in the living room. First came Puggy... He told me he was helping his brother to move furniture, and walked in holding my little sweet pug in the palm of his hand. The following year he gave me something I love just as much - a life with him.

My wedding day (August 4, 2006). Eight years ago today I was standing on the beaches of St. Lucia, hand in hand with my best friend. We spent the morning of our wedding at the pool and wore flip-flops to the ceremony. A perfect day. I can hardly believe eight years has passed since we were married (15 since we started dating)! Since that time we've moved out of the condo and into a house, welcomed our bullmastiff Max, graduated from college, went back to college, changed jobs, and more.

The days above are all important parts of our timeline. But it's not the "big days" that are the most meaningful. It's the inside jokes and the funny stories; the way we know that the "little pink thing" is Piglet and "cheetah speed" is fast; the way we sit at the Eagle Hotel and fight about our conflicting political views; the way he can make me LAUGH about pretty much anything, anytime, anywhere (It's always dangerous to sit next to him at any event where you should be quiet). My Matthew Lillard lookalike has been making me laugh since day one, and I love him more each and every day because of it.

Happy anniversary, Babe! Love you!