Zumba eating in to class ratios!

D

disarm

Changui
Male-Female ratios have been down in recent months, which I've been told by a few different teachers is because a lot of women are going to Zumba instead. At my classes now it isn't unusual for there to be up to six women short. Where as a year ago it was always the other way round!

Anyone else experiencing this problem? Zumba is just an exercise class!
 
disarm said:
Male-Female ratios have been down in recent months, which I've been told by a few different teachers is because a lot of women are going to Zumba instead. At my classes now it isn't unusual for there to be up to six women short. Where as a year ago it was always the other way round!

Anyone else experiencing this problem? Zumba is just an exercise class!
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I did some zumba classes, it was full of women.
Maybe we should do zumba instead :lol:

In london ratio changes day by day but generally girls are a little bit more than guys. And I don't think that zumba is very popular here.
 
I stood at the back of a Zumba class for a few minutes, but it's ok, no-one saw me. :)

Zumba seems to be taking over, all the classes that I frequent and have visited all over the country, are putting on Zumba classes now. Some of which, are putting on more Zumba than Salsa.
 
disarm said:
I stood at the back of a Zumba class for a few minutes, but it's ok, no-one saw me. :)

Zumba seems to be taking over, all the classes that I frequent and have visited all over the country, are putting on Zumba classes now. Some of which, are putting on more Zumba than Salsa.
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If Zumba is relatively new in your area you may have a short-term blip in Salsa attendance, particularly if there's a schedule clash. Zumba has been here for at least a couple of years now and I don't think it affects Salsa that much.
 
We easily get numbers like 30 girls and 10 guys. I would actually be happy if Zumba or similar takes some of the girls so that we don't have to go through the waiting list drama every time.
 
azzey said:
Zumba has been here for at least a couple of years now and I don't think it affects Salsa that much.
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I'm sure a number of salsa instructors around the world have lost their spare tyres due to being forced into diversifying into zumba.

Re. the op: it's a shame to see reduced numbers, but, as with the k word, if people prefer it to salsa then seeing them leave was inevitable one way or another. At least the people remaining are more likely to have a passion for salsa.
 
DJ Yuca said:
Re. the op: it's a shame to see reduced numbers, but, as with the k word, if people prefer it to salsa then seeing them leave was inevitable one way or another. At least the people remaining are more likely to have a passion for salsa.
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Quantity or quality? Of course quantity is also important for a scene but if you think people who prefer zumba or K to salsa, it's not a big loss for us ;)
 
I think it depends if you assume that everyone comes in already loving salsa music or salsa dancing. I agree most people will have seen something to intrigue them, but real love for the music and dance will probably develop through experience (at least in UK) - so if they never get to a salsa class they will never have the chance to develop that love. As one of these people, I can easily see that I could have ended up doing Zumba instead of Salsa and how much poorer my life would be as a result! Shudder. :eek:

Edit - though I would probably have a perter arse. Hmm. ;)
 
I agree, my classes/events finally took off in the face of a massive Zumba surge in the city which predated my success, and continues to this day.

I suspect it just takes any scene time to adjust to something 'new' in town, and then it will settle back down.

Zumba will claim those it claims, and you'll recover numbers that are immune or not interested. Further zumba can also feed your classes as it's an 'in' to 'latin' movement, and some folks find they want more, especially if they start getting into the music and find out there's so much more you can do with it :)
 
I know a handful of salsera friends who like going to a zumba class because it has some similarity in movement and music with the dances they already like and is therefore a more fun way to burn calories. They still dance salsa. And if some people come at salsa as a way to move, get exercise, burn calories, there's no harm in trying zumba and discovering that it's a cousin to salsa in that regard (I'm not saying it's the same thing, by any means). We frequently sweat at a salsa club as much as a work out class, but are expected to wear heels instead of gym shoes, cute outfits instead of gym clothes, and makeup! Plus, to an undiscerning ear, all the music sounds the same, so the end goal is met: exercise to fun music and dancing. They aren't interchangeable skill sets for the most part, so I imagine those who wanted more than another exercise class will stick it out to try Latin partner dancing classes at some point, just as some folks try salsa class, discover it's not for them, and find that Zumba is a fun alternative.
 
I see that a London salsa studio is advertising a 'Its a Girl Thing' workshop which includes Cuban body movement, footwork, and 'Havana mix-up'. I instantly thought of zumba comparisons, and how many salsa teachers could probably run more authentic salsa based workshops that would pull in a lot of zumba women looking for a workout plus some dance thrown in.
 
A few months ago I thought I would try Zumba. I thought I would really like it because I love Latin music. Turns out they don't really play that much Latin music. At the 4-5 Zumba classes I tried at a few different places it was mostly reggaeton, hip-hop, or some pop fusion stuff I didn't care for. And when they did play Latin music, I found myself thinking, "Why am I doing these silly little moves? I want to DANCE!" :cool: So that was the end of it.
 
I always think that things that explode onto the scene tend to burn out equally as quickly.

We have three general salsa groups in Bristol, yet in the small town that I live in just outside Bristol which is 1/20th the size of Bristol has three Zumba groups, running four or five nights a week!

I'd be very surprised if Zumba is still around in 2016. Salsa is a slow burner and has taken several years to grow, that looks like slowly but steadily increasing.
 
splashiton said:
I always think that things that explode onto the scene tend to burn out equally as quickly.

We have three general salsa groups in Bristol, yet in the small town that I live in just outside Bristol which is 1/20th the size of Bristol has three Zumba groups, running four or five nights a week!

I'd be very surprised if Zumba is still around in 2016. Salsa is a slow burner and has taken several years to grow, that looks like slowly but steadily increasing.
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I agree.
In Sheffield where Kizomba came on to the scene very early (it must be at least 5 years old?) due to a couple of Angolian guys coming to live in the City the initial buzz has died down a bit from what I've seen. There are a hard core group of maybe 10 or 15 dancers (at least 5 of them are teaching) and the rest sort of dabble but it would be impossible to run a regular successful dance event without the Salsa backbone.

In the case of Zumba when I checked on the website there was something like 93 registered "instructors" within a 5 mile radius of City Centre and many had classes! I have however already witnessed several classes close. At one time it was Aerobics, then Step Aerobics, then Boxercise,....etc. All are still around but not the "mainstream" attraction they once were.

All these type of events/activities ebb and flow but I think Salsa/Mambo has lasted the longest and I think will outlive most if not all "fads".
 
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