Dancing Through Life, One Pound At a Time

By Olivia Heinle

Earlier this year, Erestana Morales-Ortega couldn’t help but notice that her mid-twenty-year-old daughter, Maria, was unhappy. Weighing almost 200 pounds, she was insecure about her body, constantly standing with her arms crossed around her chest. “My daughter, she was heavy, and she had the stress. She would ask me, ‘Mom, what do I do?” explained Morales-Ortega.

In a quest to lose weight, and gain happiness, the motivated mother-daughter duo decided to open a dance studio located near their home. They wanted to become active, have fun and help others at the same time. On May 5, 2011, the Cardio Mix/Step Aerobics Studio doors were opened, but with no intention to make a profit.

There are two hour-long classes offered every weekday: aerobics and Zumba, a Latin-inspired dance fitness program. Each class costs only three dollars person, which is just enough to cover the rent of the building. “Right now the economy is very poor. The women are stressing out, so they can come here for barely anything,” said Morales-Ortega. She explained that exercise is the last thing on women’s minds during this rough economic time, even though it is something that could help them with their troubles and stress. With this studio running, there is no need for an expensive gym membership.

While there are many dance studios in the surrounding area, many women worry about what to do with their children during their dance lesson. Morales-Ortega decided that anyone was welcome to watch, wander and play at her studio. While moms shimmy away during their Zumba session, kids play games and entertain themselves in a safe environment.

The studio also offers a smoothie bar. The menu is full of protein shakes and other drinks that include ingredients to help shed pounds, including a hot apple cider with aloe vera. Many of the ladies stay after their dance lesson to drink a smoothie and socialize with their friends.

“We are like a family here now, we have birthdays and holidays, and we celebrate the baby showers,” said one of Morales-Ortega’s friends. They explained that when friends work together, they could help inspire and motivate each other to reach a final goal. They also laughed about how husbands were starting to get jealous of all the fun their wives were having every morning, so they have started showing up too. “Everybody likes it. You can buy a nice, new dress after doing this and then the husband likes it too!”

Many of Morales-Ortega’s students have lost an extreme amount of weight, but in a healthy way over a long period of time. By changing their diet and attending dance class, many women have lost over 50 pounds. Many of the students are older and didn’t believe that they would ever actually lose the weight; they started attending class to fix problems like high cholesterol. But as the months went by since the studio opening in May, most of the ladies have shed pounds…and found a new favorite hobby: Zumba.

According to Zumba.com, the trend was created in the 1990’s when a Colombian fitness instructor accidentally forgot to bring his normal music to class one day. He had to use his salsa CDs, which brought a new level of energy to traditional aerobics. After bringing it to the United States in 2001, the “Zumba Fitness-Party” program was born. There are Zumba classes in over 110,000 locations, attended by over 12 million students around the world.

The fifteen students at 2809 S. San Pedro St. could not be more grateful for the program. Throughout the hour-long class, they laugh, poke fun at each other’s dance moves and burn up to 1200 calories all at the same time.

And as for Maria Morales-Ortega…she’s gone from 190 pounds, to 124 pounds. Her proud mother says that her daughter has a newfound confidence since the dance studio opened. “She’s going for her nursing degree now, and she’s going out all the time with her friends, she is just so happy and an inspiration,” said Morales-Ortega.

While driving down San Pedro St., the average onlooker would most likely overlook the unmarked studio, thinking it was an abandoned building. But inside the gated doors, there is a family dancing and laughing away, one pound at a time.