Not Zumba, but Carumba!

Studio A
Photo credit: Studio A

So last evening, the girls and I had a different kind of girls' night out. No cocktails. No dinners. No pulsating club music.

We went to a fitness class. Yes, a fitness class. On a Saturday night. lol. But it was awesome, and we had a great time.

Being a working girl, and a working girl who works at one end of the island and lives on the other end, workout time is always a sacrifice. I start my day by waking up at 3am to make it to the gym so I can be back at my desk in time for a 7am start. With the disgusting traffic every day, staying behind late is not even an option as many times I have left the office near 7pm and still face the traffic at that hour. If I am to workout in the evening, I would rather do it out of a traffic zone and so I am always looking for good workout options nearer the "home" end. So when I found out about Studio A, I was curious.

Studio A is a new dance and fitness centre - a labour of love for Arlene Wilkes, a professional dancer and teacher, who has a pretty impressive background, having done countless productions in Norway, where she once lived. Now she is back and she is bringing her love for dance to the Southland. Her studio offers jazz for kids, teenagers and adults, ballet for the 12-16 group, modern dance, Ashtanga and Restorative yoga and carumba. It was the carumba class which saw us replace heels and maxis, for sneakers and tights for the Saturday night pump.

What is Carumba, you ask? Well, I have never done zumba so it would be remiss of me to compare the two but both marry dance and aerobics. According to the Studio, carumba is a combination of Caribbean folk dance, jazz dance, Latin dance and aerobics to a mix of soca, African, Latin and International music.

Now as I have blogged here, I am hopeless at aerobics and such activities which requires one to have a great sense of coordination. My girlfriends shared the same hopelessness and this is how this Saturday night flex came about - sisterhood in being aerobically challenged, and if nothing else, it would be a laugh.

So armed with a bottle of water infused with wheatgrass, and a positive attitude, I met the girls at Studio A for a free carumba class to kick off the Studio's grand opening yesterday. I was a little daunted by the fact that there were onlookers, especially as I know I do not look cute while working out, but soon we forgot they were there. As the workout started, we soon were just focused on ensuring we got the steps, and after that, well...it was just plain fun. And a serious sweat. Arlene took her time with us first-timers and between her great teaching style and the awesome mix of music, from folk music to Ella Andall, to Bunji - well, we were stomping, twisting, stretching and wining in no time. Fun. It was an amazing class and I think I can safely say everyone had fun and it is for anyone and everyone, regardless of fitness level.

So we will be back and I am adding 1 or maybe 2 carumba classes to the weekly fitness pump to keep it interesting as I get bored so easily with fitness stuff. Thanks Studio A for a fun evening. For more info you can check out the website or the studio's Facebook group.