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Library, YMCA team up for Zumba
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Published: June 21, 2009
The local library might not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of places to work out.
For some smiling participants, Zumba classes are starting to change that mindset.
YMCA volunteer Alisa Broadway has been leading Zumba, a fitness system that incorporates hip-hop and Latin music, at the Iredell County Public Library.
Shannon Keaton, Youth Services Outreach Coordinator, said she came up with the idea of incorporating exercise in the library after ordering DVDs and discovering a "cool hip-hop fitness one."
"It inspired me to call the YMCA and see if they could help in any way," she said.
That's when the YMCA and Broadway got on board.
Keaton said the program is attracting at least 10 to 12 people at each of its sessions, and expects that number to grow as the summer progresses.
This is the second year that the library and the YMCA have teamed up for youth exercise. The classes will continue at 6 p.m. June 25 at the library. Keaton said she expects to have four or five sessions this year.
"I think we've had a lot more participation because the economy is so bad," she said. "I've been super surprised at the turnout, but registration has been great."
Broadway believes that encouraging children to exercise at an early age gives them the life skills they need through adulthood.
"They are definitely more likely to exercise if they start as a child," she said emphatically.
Teenager Kirsten McGinnis was present with her grandmother, Kitty Reed, and was excited to get started.
"I wanted to come here and meet new people and have fun," McGinnis said enthusiastically. "My mom has done classes like this, and when I learned about it in my summer reading club, I wanted to do it."
Emma Church and daughter Gabby Martin also came for the experience.
"I'm here to spend time with her, so I guess I'm doing it," Church said with a laugh.
As soon as the music started, Broadway got the crowd of about 15 on their feet and tried to keep the energy up by cheering and shouting out the next steps. Some were more coordinated than others, but everyone had smiles on their faces, stepping and dancing to the beat.
Slowly, some people who just "came to watch" joined in, and soon the room was full of laughing women doing the fancy footwork.
For more information on Zumba classes, call (704) 878-3097.
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