ZUMMBAA

Storyboard

This is my Storyboard for my digital short on Zumba. This is only the rough draft so it will probably look different in a few days when I finalize everything I'm doing. It consists of pictures and video while I narrate in the background.

Digital Short: ZUMBAAAA

Are you ready to party yourself into shape? That’s exactly what Zumba is all about! It’s an exhilarating, easy to follow fitness dance party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health. Since its inception in 2001, Zumba has become the world’s largest and most successful dance fitness program with more than 10 million people of all shapes, sizes and ages taking classes in over 110 countries.

Zumba began when Alberto “Beto” Perez, an aerobics instructor, left his house one day without his traditional aerobic music. He improvised by using his own mix of tunes in his backpack (salsa and meringue music he grew up with). Referred to as the “happy accident”, he created a new type of fitness dance that is all about letting the music move you instead of counting rhythms. In 2001, he brought the fitness dance concept to Miami, Florida and with the help of two entrepreneurs, started the Zumba Fitness, LLC. http://www.zumba.com/about/

As a member of the YMCA, I have been a participant in the Zumba fitness class that is taught four days a week there. It doesn’t even feel like a work out!

I got the privilege of interviewing one of my favorite instructors named Alleyne Schobol. She has been teaching Zumba for three years and other than being a stay at home mom calls her job at the Y an “expensive hobby”. I asked her why she chose to be a leader in Zumba and her response, “I felt so sexy working out that I wanted to show others how fun and easy it was”.

The Zumba dance steps are fairly easy to learn. Although the instructors don’t spend much time spelling it out for you, you can just pick up the steps while watching everyone else as you move to the beats. For a straight hour you not only sweat your butt off, but you also feel sexy as you do it.

One question people might have is if Zumba is for only a specific gender and age? No! Both men and women of all ages and of all shapes and sizes attend this work out class and most everyone enjoys the music. Although there might be some up-tempo hip hop and rap songs, the lyrics are clean so that the young and even the old will appreciate it.

While my focus is on what is appealing to Americans at the YMCA, I feel that this class alone is one main reason many women join the Y. Instead of paying a lot of money for each Zumba class you might take at a private dance studio, you get the same class plus a whole lot more if you become a member of the Y.

(Show some video of a Zumba class)

Project Update

Done:
*Interviewed 3 people
*Observation
*Intro to Paper
*Half of methods section in paper

To do:
*Interview at least 2 more people
*Prepare pictures and video for digital short
*Finish methods section

Intro to YMCA Paper

The YMCA

When I was in high school, I was continually left out of an important part of my friends daily after school activity. They were all members of the YMCA and would go there to work out. My family wasn’t members at the time therefore I wasn’t allowed to go without paying a ten dollar fee each visit. I remember telling my mom that my friends were so rude because they eventually quit telling me where they were going because they knew I couldn’t go anyway. At that time in my life, being a member of the Y meant so much that my friendships were altered because of it.

Today however, my family pays a monthly fee to be members of the YMCA. Out of the four people in my family, my seventeen year old sister and I use it most. My mom will go on occasion, and my dad has only been once at which time he was filmed in a music video, so he swore he would never return. By being a member of the YMCA, I have an insider’s perspective into my fieldwork site of choice.

The YMCA, or Young Men’s Christian Association, was founded by George Williams in London in 1844. This was a time of great turmoil and despair. For the young men who came to London to try and find jobs, there wasn’t much to offer. Troubled by what he saw, George Williams started the first YMCA with eleven people as a refuge of bible study and prayer for men around the area (ymca.net). The Y was unique because it strived to “meet social needs in the community and its openness to members crossed the rigid lines separating English social classes” (ymca.net).

“Years later a retired Boston sea captain, Thomas Valentine Sullivan, worked as a marine missionary and noticed that there was a similar need to create a safe ‘home away from home’ for sailors and merchants” (ymca.net). He was inspired by the stories of the YMCA in London and decided to form one here in the United States. On December 29, 1851, the first U.S. YMCA was formed at the Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts (ymca.net).

Overtime, the YMCA built housing to give young men moving to cities from rural areas safe and affordable lodging. Facilities included gyms, auditoriums and hotel style rooms. In 1861, a conference with President Abraham Lincoln led to a full-scale recruitment of YMCA volunteers that eventually totaled 5,000 (ymca.net) http://www.ymca.net/history/founding.html.

As the years pass, the YMCA continues to flourish not only as a place for members to work out, but also as a place of community and fellowship. Most people don’t think of the YMCA as a spiritual place, but it was built around Christian influences. If you take the time to look around, you will notice words, slogans and multiple brochures advertising small groups, bible studies, words of wisdom and spiritual vitamins.

Archive Piece from the YMCA

When visiting the "Y", members will notice brochures, pamphlets, schedules and all kinds of other material on tables, walls and shelves that help to make people aware of what is offered at the YMCA. One piece of material that I brought to class was a pamphlet of YMCA Small Groups.

When people think of the YMCA, they think of a friendly, caring and spiritual environment. The YMCA does a great job of showing what they stand for. This sheet discusses small groups at the "Y" that anyone can get involved in. Most of them are either eight week or fifteen week classes that allows members to interact with others and answers questions about different topics. For example, one of the eight week classes is titled "Journey to a Life of Courage" where participants can learn how to overcome fears of rejection, abandonment and perfection and build a life of faith, surrender, passion and courage.

By giving members an opportunity to interact with peers, answer tough questions, and just discuss life overall, it helps bring the YMCA community closer and become more of a large family. I believe that the "Y" purposefully formatted these groups so that they seemed more relaxed and discussion based rather than a bible study. This helps to attract those people who might not be very religious but want to interact with people who they can talk to about tough situations in life and become a better person.

Three Cups of Tea

The book Three Cups of Tea is a book about a man who stepped out of his comfort zone into another country and another culture to fulfill his calling by teaching children about equality, acceptance and perserverance through education. When you initially read the title, it doesn't mean anything to you until you dive deeper into the context. After learning what this title, Three Cups of Tea meant, it made me think of how much hard work went into this book and this story. We see how important it is to build relationships and listen to others with a kind humility. Greg Mortenson obviously accomplished this and earned the respect of many people who will never forget what he did for their community.

Does this book do a good job of conveying a culture?
Yes, I believe it does. Mortenson describes everything in such detail that it helps readers to feel a personal connection with him as if they were living the story in the book. It helped me to see what kinds of things go on in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, those things that I thought I knew about but really had no idea. One example that hit me was when he was talking about the children doing arithmetic in the dirt. I thought about how the dirt will eventually wash away and their arithmetic will only be a memory in their minds. A piece of paper or a pen is something we just take for granted but by reading this book, it made me aware of those little things in life that I should appreciate more.

Does the writing engage you? What techniques does the author use?
The writing is very engaging because the author does a wonderful job of allowing you to picture everything that goes on during Mortenson's adventures both at home and in Pakistan. Although this book was wonderful, it is a challenging piece because it's not a book to skim. You have to read each word and sometimes pause to understand what has just been said. The names are difficult to pronounce and sometimes you must read ahead in order to understand a passage completely.

Overall, I thought this book was a written form of a wonderful story. Greg Mortenson will die knowing that he has fulfilled his duty and allowed children of Afghanistan and Pakistan to learn skills that they can build lives upon and cherish forever.