It's Friday!!!

Here's footage from today's class.  

A typical Friday.

Here's how our morning starts.  

    

Sometimes in between songs, some of like to take 'breaks'.

On occasion, live performances...this morning our very own Heamoni Filimoe'atu, Melini Tukuafu & Lydia Muavesi favored us with Samoa Matalasi.  Amazing & talented Lydia is the one playing the piano / by ear, no sheet music.  The sheets you see on the piano are words to the song only.

We like to hang out a little after class.

Sharing a few more routines from our group.  This one, a class favorite:  Azonto by Fuse ft. Tiffany.  Choreography by Billie Sosi.  *Keep a close eye on the two who jump in towards the end...hoiiiii!!!*

Take You To Rio/Ester Dean

Choreography by Satomi Biggs

I'm In Love/Spawnbreezie

Choreography by Beti Tu'aefe

EMZ tees!

For those that don't know, our tee-shirts are one time prints only. By that we mean, once the shirts are printed & sold - that's it, design is retired. We have some of the following print left & offering a special on them. Buy one at $20 or two for $30. Once sold out, we are moving on. 

 

Thanks to Lydia and the original owner of this design - Emily from AZ, this is the next print...once we sell all the ones above.  

See us after class if you are interested in buying a shirt. Your purchase is greatly appreciated as it will help fund our trip to the Zumba Los Angeles Convention - February 2013. 

Thank you!

Gangnam Style

"Gangnam Style" by PSY is the 'in' song right now.  It's K-POP or Korean Pop.  Luckily for our group, they've been introduced to K-POP for a good while now.  When we heard the song, automatically we volunteered Souna to do the routine for this song.

Souna is the youngest of all of us who teach at EMZ.  She is a senior in high school.  She started attending EMZ with her mom the spring or maybe summer of 2011.  When I first met her, the first thing I learned about her -- she loves K-POP.

Later in the year, I came across a video put out by another Zumba instructor to a song by 2NE1.  I thought it would be fun to let Souna learn the choreo & teach it with me on stage.  She did an excellent job and from that day forward she's been teaching a few routines here and there with us.

Because of her age, she has to wait on licensing.  I believe you have to be 18 & she'll be turning 18 in December.  I bet I know what she's going to ask for her birthday....hahahahaha!

We are happy to have her on our team & grateful that her parents allow her to join us in the mornings and events outside our normal classes.

~Here she is teaching 'Gangnam Style'~

Thank you!!!

This is going to be a hard post.  Why?  Because there are so many experiences to share, but then that would mean a super long post.  I've chosen just a few to share.

We truly have some of the best students ever.  We actually don't refer to them as students but as our EMZ family.  They are always going out of their way to do nice things for us.  Many of them tell us it's simply their way of saying thanks.  I (Sinai) am always brought to tears that they would be kind enough to think of us.

Last month a few of our Latin class members put together a dinner for all of us instructors & our families.  When asked what we could do to help, they all told us to just show up & bring our families.  They prepared quite the spread for us.  Food was delicious & definitely great company!

Thank you to our Latin EMZ family members!

Also last month, during our stretch/final song, an older woman who spoke very little English approached the stage.  I saw her and was about to walk over to talk to her, instead she pointed to Liu and motioned him to go over.  She handed him a card and in Spanish told him to give it to us.  Liu told us that she had someone translate the card for her.  This is what her card said:

Dear Instructors:

Thank you so much for all your hard work. I have enjoyed your class so much. This past 3 months have been full of joy for me. I have felt so much better, I love Zumba and you made it possible; thank you for making it so much fun.

I am moving to Sandy and although I am happy; I can't help but to feel sad because I won't be able to attend class anymore. I am currently looking for something around the new area where I will be living. I will miss you all and I thank you for what you have done for me and what you do for the community.

Love,

Miriam Sanjines de Bracamorte

Again, brought to tears because she could've just left and not said anything, but she chose to write us a simple thank you card.

___________________________

Earlier this week, we received a bag full of whistles from a sweet lady in our class.  To some it may not seem like a big deal.  But to us, for her to recognize that some of us use whistles & not all have one, meant a lot.  She pointed out that each whistle is different and we should be able to tell them apart.  Silly to some, but very thoughtful.

Each morning he attends class, Z'Rock arrives early to sweep, mop up the main floor & stage for us.    The stage floor gets so dusty that it makes it hard to stay put when teaching certain routines.    

Thank you Z'Rock!

Many more to share, but for now...this will do.

To all who make it possible for us to have class -- Cannon Stake & their Stake Presidency, individuals who open the building each morning and to all of you who show up ready to workout -- from the bottom of our hearts, we THANK YOU!!!

We instructors are indeed grateful for you EMZ family, for your love & never ending support.

Last but not least, to our wonderful immediate families who allow us to volunteer our time to offer this service, we love & thank you!!!

Jersey Day - September 14

Tomorrow, September 14

Sport your favorite TEAM jersey/tee Day!

We didn't realize it was BYU/UTAH rivalry week this week.  

In respect of other teams, feel free to sport your favorite - meaning it doesn't have to be BYU or UTAH!

Flashback photo's from last year's BYU/UTAH rivalry week:

Also, don't forget to bring a flag (big or small) or a hand towel.

And bring some cool shades (glasses) to wear during Souna's routine to this song:

*Note:  Souna's routine is different from one in video.

B E L I E V E

I love this quote!

Believe in yourself!  

__________________________________

Leaving you with another video.  This one was from this morning.

We get a little loud & crazy in the mornings, but hey -- anything to wake up at 5:30 am!

September 11, 2001

Stop competing with others...

You are your only real competition. Be the best person you can be - inside and out. Don't worry about what someone else has that you want. Our bodies are built differently. Admiring is one thing, but wanting to be like someone else is purely another. Enjoy the beautiful body you have and work on improving it. I know...easier said than done...but try. ♥

-Jenny Grothe

___________________________

Even though I'm into Zumba not running/figure/bodybuilding, I still like to stop by her FB page:  Recipes for Gals in Figure and Bodybuilding

as well as read her blog:  Jen - Fit's Playground.

Check out her FB page or blog for recipes, tips and motivational stories.

Happy Monday!!!

Beautiful Betsy

I saw this beautiful picture posted on Facebook and I figure, since it's on Facebook, it's free game, right?  I thought I would share this picture and share a little bit about Betsy.  She's probably going to kill me for this, but oh well.

I met Betsy over 20 years ago when we worked together.  She was someone that was easy to get along with and could always make you laugh.  In fact our little group that sat together at work got separated by our supervisor because we were laughing too much.  She eventually left the company I work for and moved on, but throughout the years we kept in touch.

A few years ago I ran into her over at our local rec center.  We chatted for a bit, caught up on each other's lives and then discussed Zumba...my new favorite workout.  From there I don't remember exactly what happened, but I started to notice her in the Zumba class I was taking.

A couple years later I decided to become an instructor and started teaching the early morning classes.  Betsy started to come out on a regular basis.  It really boosted how I felt about being a brand new instructor.  Even with years of taking Zumba classes, the whole instructing thing was totally different.  For me, seeing someone who takes Zumba classes elsewhere catching my class, made me feel like I was an 'ok instructor' for them to come out on a regular basis.

Several months into it, I went on vacation and was going to cancel class.  Beti & Betsy stepped in and taught  the class while I was out.  Not sure if that's what did it, but from that day on, they were excited and signed up for the Zumba instructor training.  By the way, they did an awesome job subbing while I was out.

Betsy brings a lot of fun and spunk to our classes.  She is our merengue queen.  Whenever I need a merengue in the playlist, I throw in one of her songs.  Leave it to her to introduce the whistle to our class.  First time she brought it, I think she startled all of us on stage.  She surprises our guests with it.  It's kind of funny 'cause they are totally caught off guard.  She definitely knows how to work & get the crowd cheering.   She is always happy...seriously she is.  You can count on her to cheer you up.  She's always looking for the good in others and she helps keep our team balanced when we have our 'moments'.

Something many may not know about her...and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing this...Betsy has rheumatoid arthritis.  There are days when she teaches and is in a lot of pain.  She doesn't let it stop her.  In fact there was a time when we told her to take a break and rest up.  That is the kind of person she is, always thinking of others before herself. 

A long with volunteering her time each morning to teach Zumba, she works from home and is a mother of 8...gosh, I hope I have that right.  I know she has lots of kids and some are grown adults, which you would never believe are hers 'cause she looks young!

Now that you know a little bit about her and how far she's come, I hope it will inspire & motivate you.  She is an inspiration to me!

Love ya 'B'!!!

\

Proud of ya & keep it up!
You are almost there!

Breakdown Sesh w/Beti

As promised, we filmed a couple videos this morning.  Nothing professional.  In fact it was filmed on Maki's iPhone.  The lighting in one of the videos is not that great...oh well, you can still see us.  Choreography for both videos were done by Beti 'Iloa Tu'aefe.  Bet (short for Beti...lol) has come a long way physically.  Check out her picture below.  She is an awesome instructor!  We are so proud of her and happy that she is a part of our team.

This song is a Tongan song.  I'm not sure who sings it.  Title of the song is:  Ta'ahine Mali Mali Mai.

We tried to be serious for as long as we could.  Lol.  Title of this song:  La Vida Es Bella by Ana Isabelle ft. Chino y Nacho.

Hope you enjoyed our videos.  More  videos to come from the other EMZ instructors.

Labor Day - September 3

We debated whether or not to hold class on Labor Day.  In fact, to be quite honest, we were going to cancel class.  As it got closer to Friday (the Friday before) we decided we should have class for the members who can't make it due to work and what not.  Along with that, I personally needed the workout, especially knowing the holiday weekend included chances of overeating.

As far as instructors, majority of us showed up to teach.  We were missing 2 I believe.  I know the pictures and some videos show us goofing off most of the time, but one thing for sure, the leading instructor is always doing his/her job to lead.  Now the others, no guarantee what you're going to get from them.  Most of the time, they follow & sometimes, they add their own flair...lol.  You just have to be there to see what I mean.

This particular morning, someone was suppose to do warm-up...and um, he was running late.  And the plan has been for him to do warm-up all last week...and that didn't happen.  We had a little payback for him.  We normally alternate songs between all of us.  I thought I would throw in a fast one back to back with his medium tempo one.  Yeah, I was getting some dirty looks during his routine.  Hahahaha...thanks Liu for always being a good sport.

As if that wasn't enough picking on the poor guy, during his 3rd routine, not even planned, we slowly left the stage and left him solo.  He didn't even notice we were standing at the side until 3/4 of the way through his routine.  Only he can walk off and call us 'jerks'.  Lol.  Some may not get our humor, but that's just the way we are with one another.  It's never about competition who's the better instructor or who has the most fans.  We goof off and make fun of each other, crack jokes, play jokes on each other, but in the end, nothing but love for one another.

At the end of the class, we were in for a surprise visit from Billonce and 2 assistants.

Never a dull moment at EMZ.  The second song was an encore that we threw in.  I blame Ame for that Billie.  Lol.

After class, we decided to go out to breakfast.  We ended up at Golden Corral, but a little early.  Here's what a few of the instructors were doing as we waited patiently for the restaurant to open.  Stay tuned for more videos!!!  Go to YouTube and subscribe to our channel:  TheEMZCrew.

You Should Be Dancing - September 1, 2013

This past Saturday, our group was invited to participate in the first ever biggest Zumba event to be held in Utah.  Unfortunately due to it being Labor Day weekend & prior commitments, not everyone from our team was able to participate.  Those of us (Dana Rossi, Sisilia 'Iongi, Beti Tu'aefe, Sela Misinale, Maki Chavoya, Souna Vea, Meliame Te'o & myself) that were able to, did the best we could to represent EMZ at this event.

It was a great event & an honor to be a part of it.  

Thank you Christian Weibell for all the hard work you put into it. 

Thank you La Osario for being a fun & crazy stage manager & keeping everyone on their toes.

***********

Before heading out to UVU, we decided to stop by Maverik and pick up some 'snacks'.  Don't judge us, we had to make do with what we could find there.  Lol!!!

Upon arrival, this was the view from afar.

We arrived a little late, so we just hung out taking pics & goofing off like usual.

This is the trio that rode up with me.
L to R:  Ame aka Suka, Silia & Sela

Going over choreo.  Come to think of it, I don't think we completely went through the entire routine. 

Poly friends from Southern Utah:  Clifford Tapusoa (between Silia & Ame), April Keil (bottom right) & her daughter to the left of me.

Waiting anxiously on the side for our turn.

We did two routines:  EMZ & Oye.  In addition to the two routines, Xscape Fitness challenged us to a Booty Battle.  They are lucky we didn't have the entire Crew or it would be over.  Hahahaha.  It was lots of fun and aside from the joking, we truly love Xscape Fitness.  A few of their instructors have been guests at EMZ.

Here's video footage that someone took from the main floor.

I must say, Utah has some amazing instructors!
It was a fun evening reuniting with Zumba friends and making new ones!
Looking forward to next year's!