Pharrell William’s “Happy” blared through the Union Saltair Room as students grapevined to free Zumba lessons on Tuesday night.
This was the first event in the Union Programming Council’s weeklong “UPC Loves U” celebration, which aims to show students some love. The classes, which started at 6 p.m., were taught back-to-back for a half an hour each.
Anusha Buchireddygari, a graduate student in computer science, said she was looking forward to the event.
“I’ve heard a lot about Zumba lately,” Buchireddygari said. “I want to see what it’s actually like.”
Turnout was low, but energy was high. Several UPC board members — along with a few students — partied to Pitbull and Lil’ Jon as they tried to follow the instructor’s complicated dance routines.
The classes were taught by Deanna Hansen, a junior in linguistics and a certified Zumba instructor. Hansen began dancing Zumba a year ago and then started teaching as a way to be more involved. Tuesday night’s class, which cost UPC $45, was the second time Hansen has taught since earning her certification.
Hansen was excited about the opportunity to share her love of Zumba with others.
“It’s the best,” Hansen said. “Rather than sitting back and saying, ‘Oh, that looks fun,’ I want everyone to come out and see how much fun it really is.”
Clad in silver spangles, Hansen led the class through a series of lunges, jumping jacks and twists — all disguised as Latin dance routines. She kept the room’s energy up by shouting encouragement to students and clapping at the end of every song.
Camille George, assistant director of community service for UPC, said the event was a spin-off of last year’s UPC Relaxation Week.
“We figured everyone likes exercise and everyone likes moving, so what better way to give back than to put on a free, fun workout?” George said.
Lacey Despain, UPC’s community service director, said providing an exercise class is its own form of community service.
“At UPC, we love finding ways to serve students, and giving them a unique thing like a workout class — which a lot of people don’t normally get — is a fun way to cater to them and get people moving,” Despain said.
After the Zumba course, students congregated at a large orange water cooler to catch their breath and talk about their experience.
Divya Raj, a graduate student in computer science, loved the small class size.
“It was like a one-on-one on how to dance,” Raj said.
Buchireddygari said it was a fun first experience with Zumba and hopes to dance again soon.
Despain said Zumba was a great way to get students “pumped for the week ahead.” UPC’s Love U week continues today with free bowling and Thursday with a spa night and service project.
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