Thrive Week ended on a high note last Friday with UBC’s Largest Zumba Class, held at noon in the Student Rec Centre.
The event was notably well-organized with signs directing students to the gym where they were signed in. Students were also given a stress ball and the option to check bags and coats. Waiting for the event to begin, students could head over to the photo booth, grab a piece of fruit or rehydrate with some fancy cucumber or lime-flavored water.
The Unaccompanied Minors a cappella group kicked off the event with some tunes. But unfortunately, without a functioning speaker system, their presumably lovely voices mostly left unheard.
After a brief introduction, Kirby, our enthusiastic zumba instructor, got the music cranking and we jumped into it. Arms were flailing, friends exchanged looks of confusion and pretty much no one was doing the same thing — but Kirby, the instructor, powered on. Pretty soon, everyone embraced the zumba mantra that there are no wrong moves as long as you’re moving and getting your heart rate up.
After the first 15-minute set was up, red-faced zumba-ers enjoyed a brief but seriously impressive performance by people in possession of some actual hand-eye coordination — the UBC Thunderbirds Dance Team. The second round started and with some more manageable moves and step-by-step breakdowns, the crowd wasn’t looking half bad.
Another 15 minutes later, the event wrapped up, sending a hundred energized students back into UBC life — hopefully a little more energized, a little less stressed and a definitely bit sweatier.