World-renown Zumba instructor Nathan Blake teaches a class of more than 60 locals on June 15 at Urbana’s Fire and Rescue Department. Proceeds fom the event went towards Kids Connection Haiti.
“One. Two. Three. Blake TV!”
This began Urbana’s exercise session with world-renown Zumba instructor Nathan Blake on June 15. More than 60 enthusiastic “Zoomies,” assembled in Urbana’s Fire and Rescue Department, crowded before Blake’s camera, held aloft for good measure.
Zumba’s motto is, “Ditch the workout, join the party!” A mélange of salsa, hip-hop and merengue dance moves and traditional exercise regimen, Zumba first gained popularity in the 1990s when a dancer and choreographer improvised an exercise session from tapes of salsa dance music. Blake, who holds a dance degree from Hofstra University, brought Zumba into the limelight with his popular YouTube channel, Blake TV. Each video bears his trademark opening — a fervent one-two-three introduction from his fans, accompanied by a few boisterous Zumba-esque moves.
In this respect, at least, Urbana’s time with the master was no different. Blake, sporting a black fedora and a sequined glove, led attendees through a fast-paced Michael Jackson medley, complete with moonwalk. As the medley segued into Jackson’s “Thriller,” Blake directed Zoomies into one half of the firehouse. Together, they performed the dance montage made famous by Jackson’s zombie-apocalypse MTV music video.
“Zumba has changed how I exercise,” said Linda Bidlack, a coordinator of the event. “I forget that I’m exercising — I’m having so much fun!” But Bidlack was in attendance for a more personal cause. Proceeds from the event, totaling $881, went towards Kids Connection Haiti, an organization that seeks to provide job-training and financial assistance to young Haitian adults.
Bidlack sees in Haiti both tragedy and opportunity.
“When I was 8 years old, my family was stationed in Port-au-Prince for USAID (United States Agency for International Development),” said Bidlack. “Three months into our stay, my 5-year old brother fell into a coma and died — we didn’t know why. We had to leave the country. It was too heartbreaking to stay.”
Years later, as a student at Georgetown University, Bidlack met Astrid Fitzgerald, founder of Kids Connection Haiti. Despite painful memories of the past, Bidlack found herself willing to return to Haiti as a volunteer. She and her son, Will, will return to Haiti this summer as volunteers for Kids Connection Haiti.
But why Zumba? Bidlack’s sister, Amanda Strand, knew both Blake and the Zumba regimen. Blake was invited to Urbana to aid in the fundraising effort.
“Let’s have the two sisters come to the front,” Blake said before the Zoomies gave their one-two-three. “Now, tell about your cause.” Strand and Bidlack came to the front of the crowd. Looking into the camera, Bidlack outlined, once again, both her story of the past and her hopes for
the future.