Ninety-five percent attitude, 5 percent talent — that’s how instructor Mara Bacon-Chang sums up the Street Jamz Werkout class.
That formula affords participants a lot of room for creative freedom, which was welcome news for someone like me who does not possess the grace of a trained dancer.
Street Jamz provides a Zumba-like cardio workout with a hip-hop vibe. "We sweat out toxins and just have a lot of fun," Bacon-Chang said. She refers to participants as "swerkers," a play on "twerking" (a form of hip-hop dance) and "sweat plus work."
The Monday and Wednesday night sessions at the Honolulu Dance Studio are filled with both seasoned dancers and wannabes who are there to have a good time. Bacon-Chang, 44, a fifth-grade teacher for Kamehameha Schools, said she initially started the classes for dancers "who grew up and had children but never lost the love of dance."
"I realized I wasn’t getting any younger, my friends weren’t getting any younger, but we all miss dancing," she said.
Jackie Munoz of Kailua has been taking classes for about a year. She said she didn’t have the means to go to dance classes as a child, and as an adult she was focused on her daughter’s dance training.
"I’ve always loved to dance. And now I’m a 45-year-old mommy doing hip-hop," she said. "I really like the music. She uses stuff from the ’80s and modern mixes that I’d probably never hear otherwise."
Hercules Kahooilihala, a 28-year-old Honolulu resident, started taking classes with his wife a couple of months ago. "This was brand new for me, but it’s da bomb," he said.
Kahooilihala regularly surfs and bodyboards and says his cardio fitness has greatly improved since taking classes.
"Sometimes I’m the only guy in the class," he added. "That can be a plus. Who doesn’t want to be in a roomful of women?"
The Street Jamz class is so high-energy that you don’t even have time to realize you’re working out.
We began with a warm-up and then jumped right into choreography, moving and changing positions at a relatively quick pace. Basic moves, such as box steps, grapevines and triangles, required some coordination, but as long as I kept moving, I was able to work it out.
Partner work was a little trickier, but the laughter that filled the room proved that fun took priority over perfection. The moves can be done at a low- or high-impact levels depending on ability level.
Some of the hip-hop moves require students to contract and expand abdominal muscles to work on core strength. And the constant motion builds stamina.
Dress comfortably for class in clothing easy to move around in. And good shoes are a must since there is a lot of jumping around.
The class I attended was primarily filled with folks in their 30s and 40s, but all ages are welcome.
One suggestion: Don’t skip the stretch and cool-down at the end. Otherwise you may find yourself the next day with achy, tight muscles and the harsh realization you’re not as young as you used to be.
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“Tryouts” features exercise and wellness classes and other fitness activities. Reach Nancy Arcayna at narcayna@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4808.
