YMCA of Clark County. “Once they realize that
nobody is paying attention to them, they’re OK. I
will look at them to make sure everybody is doing
it right and to hype everybody up.”
Cunningham, who had come to take the class
and support Todd, said she likes the positivity
of the class. “We have plenty of songs where
we’re like, ‘Freestyle!’ or “Tell your neighbor
she looks good!’ ”
The classes are very high-energy, which is
contagious. Michaelia Gilbert has been going
to Todd’s class for a few years with her friend,
Alexis Naegerlein. Both women said the class
can seem intimidating to those not familiar with
hip-hop dance, but that the instructors break the
moves down and start it out slowly, moving into
faster combinations.
“Everybody comes their first time, and you
don’t know what you’re doing,” Gilbert said.
“You’ll have a lot of fun, and you’ll burn a lot of
calories. There’s no reason to be embarrassed.”
Amy Wilson, group fitness director at the
Louisville Athletic Club in Jeffersontown, agreed
that embarrassment shouldn’t play a part.
“People are so afraid that everybody is looking
at them,” Wilson said. “ ‘I don’t want to come
to class because everybody is going to see how
uncoordinated I am.’ Nobody is looking at them
except the instructor. … If you go right and
everybody else goes left, who cares? It’s not ‘So
You Think You Can Dance,’ we’re not on TV,
we’re not videotaping, we’re just having fun and
getting healthy.”
Wilson teaches a popular dance fitness class
– in which she incorporates popular music,
including Zumba-style (Latin) music, Bollywood
and hip-hop – twice a week at LAC. She touts
the fun factor in getting people used to group
fitness classes.
LAC also offers a Country Heat dance class.
Tenley Green teaches it for LAC, as well as at
Better Bodies Fitness. The class is taught in a
way that teaches the steps one or two at a time,
then combines them into full choreography at
the end of the class, speeding it up for a big finale.
“I like it because you just keep on moving and
you don’t have to know what you’re doing,” said
Chris Bensing. “I don’t know what I’m doing half
the time. … I tell people, ‘Don’t watch my feet
because they’re not doing what they’re supposed
to be doing!’”
WHERE TO DANCE:
U-Jam: YMCA, Clark County,
Floyd County, Southern
Indiana (State Street). Allows
two free visits to test out
U-Jam before you have to join.
Dance fitness: Downtown
YMCA, LAC Jeffersontown,
Jazzercise, various locations.
Country Heat: LAC various
locations, Better Body Gym
and Training Center.
LET OUR
PLACE
BE YOUR
PLACE
Zumba: YMCA, LAC,
Jewish Community Center,
Better Bodies, various other
locations.
For more information:
LouisvilleAthleticClub.
com, YMCALouisville.
org, UJamfitness.com,
betterbodyfitnesscenter.com.
“Everybody comes
their first time, and you
don’t know what you’re
doing. You’ll have a lot
of fun, and you’ll burn
a lot of calories.
There’s no reason to
be embarrassed.”
–Michaelia Gilbert
PARTY ROOM AVAILABLE!
2441 State Street
New Albany
(812) 944-9999
www.tuckersaf.com
/TuckersAmericanFavorites