The Master Class with Nathan Blake

Saturday October 8th. I was at my friend's birthday party. I  could only stay for 2 hours as I was going to the master class with Nathan Blak to collect money for the Danish Susan G. Komen organisation. Every year in October, we have a day called "Pink Saturday" - where various people and organisations collect money for the cure of breast cancer. I wore my "Party in Pink" zumba top.

3 local instructors started off the zumba marathon/ master class... After them came a Swedish mom & daughter instructor couple. They were great. Lena and Amina was their names. They did a master class and after them, Nathan Blake did a master class. It was my 3rd. master class with Nathan. He's always a lot of fun and very different from others. He asked Amina to join him and here's a clip Lena put out on youtube

I took a couple of pictures, but didn't take a picture with me and him.. Oh well, I guess I could get another chance since he's already been here 3 times in one year... He must like the city ;) The next morning, as I was on my way to zumba, I actualy saw him dragging his trolley to the train. I was still kinda sleepy, so didn't even say good morning to him, which I regret. Sent him an apoligy on facebook to make up for it.
Here are my pictures from the master class:

we collected 30.000dkr. or 5.530$ for the cure of breast cancer that day! Last year we collected more, but more people came that time.. So all in all, I think it was a great achievement.

October 29th. I might be putting on my "Party in Pink" top again. This time we will raise money for the local children's cancer ward at the local hospital.. One of the instructors is known from the Danish version of "Dancing with the Stars." My new instructor is also among the instructors that evening. I think it will be a lot of fun. My salsa instructor also invited me to a Latin Halloween Party that evening. It would be a lot of fun, but I don't know if I have the energy for it.

Lately I've been having a zumba song stuck on my mind... I didn't know the title of it, so I asked my previous instructor in Brazil. This is the song that I've had on my mind lately. It's a very cute samba song, that Beto used when he was here in Denmark.

As you can see, Beto invited Brasilian people up on stage to dance with him. He was surprised with the many Brasilians in Denmark. I know the sound is horrible in the clip... So here is a better version of the song, but I thought you should get the chance of watching Beto.

We actualy use the song at the local sport arena, that is close to where I live. Maybe that's why it's stuck on my mind now? Well, zumba is cancelled for 2 weeks at that place, as the arena will be used for other sport turnaments. Good thing I have 2 other places to get my zumba fix.

Beto, Nathan Blake and me

Ok, I better write this now, before another week or two passes by. I already knew October would be busy, so I gotta do this while I have the time and energy for it. Well, it's 10 PM so my energy is hardly gone, but I wish to have this done once and for all.

Yesterday I attended a Master Class with Nathan Blake and a mother & daughter duo from Stockholm Zumba (Lena & Amina). More about that in another blog post. First let me think back about last Saturday. The Master Class with Beto Perez.

I joined up with a lot of other girls going by bus. We stopped in various citys along the high way, to pick up zumbanistas as we went by. It was a 6-7 hours bus ride. Some of the girls brought along a sign that we used as a bumper sticker. It reads "Zumba chicks on the road."

As we got to Ballerup Super Arena, we had to stand in line to get inside the building. The weather was extremely warm for an October day. I can't remember when we had a warm day like this in October before.

The line inside was not that long as they arranged a lot of check in points. You just had to use the check point that had your first letter. So I was in the "K" line. I got my two bracelets. One for the master class and one for the after party later on.

As you can see, they matched my sweat band pretty good.

At first we checked in our luggage. Then we went upstairs where the zumba shop was selling zumba wear. The line to get in was so long. Once you were in, there was also a long line to pay. Luckily I was able to skip the line as I was paying in cash.

I bought one top... But they alos had an outlet store and I ended up buying 3 more things. One of them being the the wind track jacket, that I have been eyeing for a long time.

I know some people find it silly to spend money on zumba clothes.. But zumba becomes a lifestyle and some of the clothes I realy like... Especialy those that have a funny print. I do find some of the zumba pants funky... However, I don't even fit an XXL in the zumba pants, yet I'm only a S in UFO pants. I think they should think about that. Some women, like myself, happen to have big thigs - which I now refer to as zumba thigs ;) Although a lot of fat has gone from my thigs, the muscles are still there! Anyway, I'll continue to use my UFOs.
While people were shopping, Beto and his film crew was testing all the settings, as they were doing recordings for a ZIN video, that is a dvd being sent to all Zumba instructors every month, I believe. Unfortunalyely I'm not an instructor, so I might never get to see it.

After shopping, I had to get in line again, to put my purchased items in my bags in my stored luggae.. Because I was shopping, I ended up being among the last 10 people to get in to the arena. The warm up crew was already going on. I snapped a picture before putting my camera in my luggage. Someone told me that cameras, wallets, towels and water bottles were not allowed.. So I left everything in my bags.

I changed my spot every now and then cause... Let's face it. It was too crowded. People would step on your toes, there were huge cables, not to mention the flying camera, to look out for. But all in all, it was an awesome experience. I did see people putting up a few clips on facebook from the master class, but I will leave it to you guys, to find those clips yourself :) There was one choreography that I can't wait to see again. Beto did a mix of river dance and Bollywood... I thought it was fun to do :)

As the acual master class was over, there was a surprise zumba act for Beto. In the end of the arena, I noticed a place with a short line and realised it was an area for having your picture taken with Beto. I asked someone if you had to bring your own camera, and they said yes... So I rushed out of the arena, picked up my bag with my camera, and rushed back to the arena to get in line. I took these pictures from the very end of the arena

I think it was easy to see, that Beto was very exhausted at this moment... He was so tired, which you can definitely tell in the next pictures.

However, he seemed to come a bit alive on my picture :)

I am so happy with the outcome of this picture. I feel like it was me and Beto shaking hands to a healthy agreement that zumba is the best thing that happened to me, and I will continue to zumba far out in the future!

After I changed into some more decent clothes, I met with the other girls that I travelled with. The Danish Zumba shop had arranged shuttle busses going from the arena to the after party. We got on one of those busses, but wanted to go eat some dinner first. On our way to the arena, we had made reservations at a vegetarian restaurent that offered a yummy buffet. It was so nice. I think I will definitely go back there some day. We sent all our luggage in a cab to the bus that would take us home later... After dinner we went to the after party. But to tell you the truth. It sucked. It seemed like part of a shop had been turned into a club for the evening. More than 400 people bought tickets for the after party. Yet there were only seat for 10. There were no toilets. Outside there were 2 festival toilets. Come on. It totaly sucked!

A bunch of us left to find a better place. Afterall, this was the capital of the city and they wanted to give us that crap?!! On our way out in the city, some people stopped me to ask for directions to the after party.. They saw me wearing my new zumba wind jacket. I told them it sucked, and they told me there was a latin club called "Club Mambo" so me and one of the other girls went there. It was much better. There was a live band playing samba. I thought it was a funny way to end the night as it was the birthday of my regular zumba instructor, who moved to Brazil. We received a message saying that Beto had entered the after party. Beto left just 5 minutes later. They poor guy must've been so tired. It turns out that there was a better bar and party next to where the after party was held. That's where the VIPs had been hiding when the party was boring. Dj Francis was there and the party ended quite strangely! The last song he played was Guns n Roses "Sweet child of mine" - everyone thought it was a stupid song. But with my twisted mind, I turned it into a bachata :) Try for yourself

Just after 3 AM we went to find the bus where some of the other girls were already sleeping. We all had a great day and slept for 3-4 hours. I was dropped off around 7:30 AM and slept most of the day. I made sure to cancel next day's zumba!



when a picture says more than a 1000 words

More on the Master Class with Beto Perez when I am back to normal. Today I've been catching up on sleep. I spent 2 x 7 hours on a bus yesterday, so I'm very tired today. But it was all worth it!!!

Life is good... busy, but good.

When I said that I would be busy with busy on top, I wasn't lieing. I chose to be busy, because I know, that if I'm not busy, I will be lazy. Now I can allow myself to be lazy when I get home from work and zumba, saying to myself, that a time to relax is in order. If I didn't have my active life to use as a good excuse, people could easily call me lazy. But no. I'm not lazy. I just priorotize my time differently. Zumba and dance is my main priority. However, if an invite shows up to from my friends and family, I will have to see if I can make it work. I have usualy been able to go straight from zumba to family and friends' events. My friend asked me if I wanted to go with her to a party. It's a party that I wish I could attend, but since Saturday is the big Beto Perez Zumba masterclass in Copenhagen, I won't be able to go. Hopefuly another party will show up. It's the first time that I'm attending a zumba event far from where I live.

Tuesday is still my day off, so I make sure to spend time with my friends that day. So in the past 14 days, I've been to the movies both Tuesdays and even Thursday after zumba, I made it to the movies with a friend.

The new zumba classes are great. I realy think that I chose the best of the 4 (soon 5) gyms in town, when it comes to the new zumba classes and instructors. There is one instructor that I'm curious about, though. But I don't know if I can make it work, as she only has classes Sunday afternoon and Sunday morning I already have 2 zumba classes. I will try to make it some day. The reason being, It's an African instructor and I would like to see if she uses African music or special steps.. But in the meantime, I'm happy with my classes as the are now.

The new instructor that I go to... at the new gym. She's really cool. Reminds me a lot of the Brazilian instructor I used to go to. I've seen my share of good and bad instructors whenever I've been to zumba events. Well, she's the one that comes closest to him. Her way of interacting with everybody is great. She's very friendly, makes her own choreographys, has an education in ergotherapy which makes her capable to help people with any injury related pain while dancing. She also said, that if we would like her to use certain songs, we should write them down and she will try to work out a choreography that we can use in zumba class. I told her that I like Brazilian funk and I reminded her of the two Brazilian songs that I already heard she had.. Except, she didn't know they were Brazilian... But I told her, so now she will try to use those songs when she sees me ;)
It's the first time I heard this song, but it has "Brazilian Funk" all over it ;)

She also uses this one

After the first zumba class today, someone came over to say hello.. I recognized her. It was my dentist assistent. I have a dentist apointment in October... But I have to reschedule as it was a time they suggested... and with my busy scheduly, it will have to be a Tuesday.

During this upcoming week, I have to decide on what clothes to wear for the zumba master class with Beto on Saturday and what to wear at the after party. I'm getting more and more excited, although I'm also a bit worried, as I'm going alone... I'm going with a bus full of other zumbanistas, so it won't be that bad. I know. Some of them I know. I just know, that if I don't go now, I might regret it later. Everyone suggests that I should become a ZIN myself since I have so much passion for it. However, I don't think I would have the time for it...  As for now, I think I have enough to do with just having fun :)

Keeping busy with busy on top!

It's been some pretty rough weeks, with the 2 hours of zumba every day, to say good bye to our instructor. Every Wednesday after the two hours of zumba, me and one of the other women rushed to salsa in the other end of the city. It's been hectic, but we didn't want to miss any of the classes.

The last day we had zumba with our instructor, we asked him to chit chat with us after zumba. We gave him a small present, that I had arranged. It was a framed certificat saying he was the best instructor in the world and I decorated it with some pictures of us all. The gift was a small keychain with a group picture and the name of our regular zumba place. From the look in his eyes and the big smile, I think he liked the surprise!! The last couple of days, we were allowed to video tape his choreographies to use as home work out dvds. For the fun of it, I had made a dvd cover and presented him. Sadly, at the time, we didn't have any dvd ready to put in the cover. I just thought he should see how it turned out. Well, a couple of days later, he asked me for a copy of the video footage, so I made him a copy of my bad recordings. I just put my camera in one place and didn't move it at all... so at times you can't see his feet and sometimes he's not even in the picture... But oh well. With my memory and what I can make from the recordings, I should be able to work out the choreographies!

I know that it will be hard work to get as much from zumba as he gave me. Zumba instructors are all different, but I will always try to remember what he taught me. To put all my energy into every move, strech out the way he taught us and never give up. It so happens, that one of the gyms I go to, is offering zumba as of this up coming week. With 4 gyms and another one opening October 17th., there will be plenty opportunitys for zumba. I looked through their schedule and came up with the gym near the bus central in town, which is nice cause I will only have to take 1 bus. The local sport's club (outside my window) is offering a cheap membership and it still fits in my tight program, so I will sign up to support them and to take advantage of zumba next to my home. However, whenever I'm done there, I will have to take a bus or train to salsa in the other end of the city.

This is how busy I'll be in the future:

Monday: Latin Mix & Dance Fit
Tuesday: Nothing - this is when I go to the movies with my friends etc.
Wednesday: Zumba (where I live) & Salsa (freestyle - no partner)
Thursday: Zumba
Friday: Zumba
Saturday: 2 x Zumba
Sunday: 2 x Zumba

Taking advantage of 4 gyms. I wonder if I can get used to that. With this busy schedule, I also allow myself to skip classes. The classes Saturday and Sunday are morning classes, so I can still do other things those days. But as you see. I'm keeping busy with busy on top.

October will be even more busy. I will attend the master class with Beto Perez himself, when he stops by Denmark on October 1st. There is a party bus leaving from my city and I signed up to go with them. It's gonna be a long ride, but I asume it's gonna be a lot of fun, too. After the master class, there will alsp be an after party. I signed up for that as well. I don't exactly know anyone who's going, but I just think, that if I don't go, I will regret it. The bus returns home after the after party. I hope I can get some sleep on the bus.

The next week end, I bought a ticket for a zumba marathon supporting the breast cancer society. I attended the "Pink Saturday" last year, to celebrate my mom being cancer free for 10 years after breast cancer surgery. Well, I still want to support the case, so I will go this year as well. I even bought a new zumba top to wear in the month of October - breast cancer month.

The matching socks came along for free.. But they're absolutely too warm for me to wear for zumba. I use them as every day socks ;) Guess I can wear them on the bus ride in case I want to take my shoes off, but want to keep warm.

In the end of October, there is another zumba event in town. This time the money will go to the kids cancer department at the local hospital. Well, if I have the energy, I will go to that event as all.

Again. Keeping busy with busy on top, but also remembering to take care of myself. I know when my body needs rest!

Remembering New York and 9/11.

I skipped zumba today, to stay on the sofa watching the 9/11 Memorial live on tv.

I was in New York 1½ month before the 9/11. July 28th. 2001, I celebrated my birthday by taking a guided tour on a bus in New York. The bus took us under the WTC. We headed to the Statue of Liberty, where we took pictures with the Manhattan Skyline and WTC in the background.

 Picture taken from the Empire State Building,  July 2001

10 years later, July 2011, I returned to New York.

Me at the Empire State Building, July 2011... The WTC is no longer in the sky line

In July 2011, Ground Zero still had major construction work going on.

Watching the Memorial on tv today, I was pleased to see that the memorial park is now ready for use.

I guess I have to go back to New York some day, so I can actualy see the park and not just the cardboard template from the 9/11 Memorial museum!

R.I.P. to everyone who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks!

Tomorrow it's all over...

I apoligise for the lack of blog posts, but I truly have been busy with work followed by 2 hours of Zumba, for the past 2 weeks. Leaving early and returning home late.

It's been some awesome Zumba moments, which I'll write about when I have the time.

Last week I was a bit depressed since the instructor is leaving. But during the past 16 zumba classes, we have all become much better friends, as we've been less people at a smaller location. At times we were only 3 and the instructor. That's why I kinda see it as private classes! I'm sure we will all be able to stay in touch.


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