Zumba at Carver Rec Makes Exercise a Party
Just follow the sound of bells, salsa music, and laughter down the halls of Carver Recreation Center at Jefferson School City Center on a Tuesday evening and before long you’ll find Amanda Cempre’s Zumba class. If you arrive early enough you might be able to tie a bell-covered neon scarf around your hips before shimmying your way into one of Carver Rec’s popular group classes.
“This class is the real deal,” said Celia Thompson, one of Cempre’s students. “I think I speak for the entire class when I say that.” Cempre started offering the course in January when Carver Rec opened and she’s seen a steady increase in the class’s popularity. She started with just a handful of students and now has about 15-20 regulars.
Zumba combines a variety of dance, aerobic, and strength moves to create an energizing and playful way to exercise. Cempre mixes in hip-hop music along with music styles traditionally associated with Zumba, such as salsa, merengue, and mambo to her classes. Many of the songs are repeated for a month or longer, allowing students to gain confidence in the choreography.
Cempre acknowledges that the class can be intimidating. “Everyone who has gone to Zumba class has been in that position, and we do our best to make people feel welcome and excited,” she says, “Try not to be shy. Come in and try it once and I guarantee you will fall in love with it.”
Thompson echoes Cempre’s sentiments, indicating she had tried other classes and workout routines but now Zumba is her favorite way to exercise. “The class is great. It really makes you sweat,” she says.
Cempre’s Zumba class is offered Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30pm at Carver Rec. The entire group exercise schedule for Carver Rec can be found here.
Global Hip Hop Film Screenings at African American Heritage Center, Oct. 7 to Oct. 11
The African American Heritage Center at the Jefferson School will be hosting a series of documentary films exploring the evolution of hip hop across the globe October 7 to 11 between 5:30 and 6:30 pm each evening. The series will kick off with Hiphopistan: Representing Locality in a Global City, a Turkish film examining the intersection of hip hop, rap, and graffiti with traditional Turkish customs and culture.
The next two films will focus on hip hop culture’s intersection with the cultures of Ghana (October 7, 6:00pm) and China (October 8, 6:00pm). The week rounds out with two films that focus more closely on specific hip hop artists. On Thursday, Blaze: The Truth About Hip Hop features Christian artists discussing their work and on Friday, I Want My Name Back features the evolution of the Sugar Hill Gang, one of hip hop’s founding acts. Producer Josh Green will discuss I Want My Name Back after the screening Friday.
Suggested donations for shows range from $3 to $8.
Common Ground Offers Yoga Workshop for Sharing Yoga with Kids
On Saturday, October 19, Common Ground will host a workshop for adults who would like to introduce yoga to kids. Parents, child care providers, and teachers are all welcome to partake in the workshop, scheduled from 2:00 to 4:00pm.
The workshop will be led by Ruth Goldeen, who has been teaching yoga to children since 2000 as part of her occupational therapist practice at Kluge Children’s Rehabilitation Center as well as in general courses. She’ll cover yoga basics and how to introduce age appropriate methods for engaging children in yoga.
More information on the workshop and other offerings from Common Ground can be found at www.commongroundcville.org. There is a $25 cost for the Sharing Yoga workshop. Program fees from some workshops help Common Ground make the healing arts accessible to all by offering a sliding scale payment system.
Jefferson School City Center is a voice of the nine nonprofits located at Charlottesville’s intergenerational community center, the restored Jefferson School. We are a legacy preserved . . . a soul reborn . . . in the heart of Cville!
