Zumbatastic Review And Video

“THIS is not a lesson, it’s an experience,” says the very flamboyant Zumba instructor, Chris. I wasn’t entirely sure what sort experience I’d signed up for given the class was being held at Sachas Hotel in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Sachas HotelFor those of you who don’t know, Sachas isn’t exactly in the running for hotel of the year. With floods of comments on Trip Advisor - including: ‘The duvet also had mould on it. It definitely wasn't part of the pattern’ - it’s no wonder the hotel is exploring other avenues outside of hospitality to make profit.

It’s actually much easier in the dark too. You can’t really make out faces so therefore you can’t see anyone blushing when Chris encourages us to roll

and thrust our “fanjitaaaas”

One of which is hiring out their Washington Suite (AKA the most kitch and camp ballroom in the house) to Zumbatastic – a Zumba fitness class held on Monday evenings (6-7pm and 7-8pm) and Wednesday lunchtimes (12.30-1.15pm). It’s certainly one way of breathing new life into a decrepit hotel.

If you’ve never done it before, Zumba can be a little daunting at first. It’s not as formulaic as aerobics or step and participants are encouraged to let their inhibitions go. Zumbatastic takes this carefree attitude to a whole new level, however.

Chris, a fully qualified official Zumba instructor and dance teacher of ten years, turns the ballroom at Sachas into a makeshift nightclub by turning off the main lights and turning on the multi-coloured disco lights. He sets himself up on the stage like a male Minogue and there are moments where I think he genuinely wishes he was in gold lamé hotpants. There’s no choice but to join him in his boogie wonderland. And it's wonderful.

Zumbatastic in Sachas Hotel It’s actually much easier in the dark too. You can’t really make out faces so therefore you can’t see anyone blushing when Chris encourages us to roll and thrust our “fanjitaaaas”. Now this may sound odd, but rather than just breaking the ice, Chris prefers to bulldoze straight through it, making everyone feel at ease from the get-go, whatever your shape or size.

It’s not as though we hadn’t been given any warning of his methods. Upon entering we were told this is Zumba ‘with a hint of camp’ and rather than send anyone rushing for the nearest fire exit, it started the class as it meant to go on – full of giggles and glee. I could imagine Chris in ‘Glee’, coming to think of it, but for now he remains a Zumbatastic morphing of Coronation Street’s Sean Tully and Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin with enough potential energy to power the entire hotel, let alone that one room.

The lovely Chris

It’s hard to put into words what went on during the hour’s class. It’s a bountiful blur of high pitched ‘whoops’, torero bull fighter arm movements, Salsa dancing feet, Beyonce bum shakes and a carnival queen who was better than anyone else in the room. I am of course referring to Chris.

Funnily enough he had mentioned at the beginning of the class that there’d be two types of Zumba this evening “my movements and your movements”, all in good humour of course. Posers and perfectionists need not apply.

What I do remember is that everyone had a fantastic sweat on. My straight hair had got so wet from all the cardio that it had transitioned back into its natural curly state – always a sign of a thorough session and in Zumba you actually burn between 600 and 1000 calories per hour according to Chris. In addition to the fat burning, there were eruptions of laughter from beginning to end and finishing off with a communal can-can confirmed us as one big sweaty, happy family. Exercise doesn’t get better than this.

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