Classes with hits of the moment burn up to 500 calories –

What can’t be missing for a lively class are the hits that can’t get out of our heads and make us take our feet off the ground on holiday. So imagine when the class is specific to this! Today, it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t offer dance classes with the most pumped songs of the whole year — and that can burn up to 500 calories in 60 minutes!

Increasing well-being to the sound of Anitta is very tempting, isn’t it? Know that activity brings even more benefits. “Dance, in general, in addition to performing cardiovascular work, increases aerobic resistance, muscle strength, motor coordination, flexibility and the social side, since you make friends and improve your self-esteem”, says physical educator Eliane Dana (teacher Batata), from Companhia Athletica, in São Paulo.

If you’ve already convinced yourself that you want to learn how to roll, do the square and go down to the ground, you must first understand that there are some differences between the classes offered in each establishment. “The choreographed practices have different objectives. O fitdance and the zumba, for example, focus more on improving the body. So the movements are easier and are based on strength and conditioning exercises: if you do it for one side, you have to do it for the other”, explains dancer Bella Fernandes, choreographer of the program “Dancing Brasil”, on TV Record, dancer by Claudia Leitte and teacher at Les Cinq Gym, in São Paulo.

The videos that we struggle to copy on social networks, such as those by Daniel Saboya or Justin Neto, have another concern, the performance. “In them, caloric expenditure is not as important as body empowerment and body awareness,” says Bella. It is here that you take some lessons about musical rhythms as a bonus.

Dance classes: How they work

The course of the classes will depend a lot on the teacher, the frequency with which they are given in the week and the evolution of the room in general. Therefore, there is the possibility of learning to dance one hit per week, per month, per semester… And so on. During the pandemic, many of the classes are being taught online.

To the choreographies they are also in charge of the instructor, and each one has his own strategy to assemble the movements. While Bella prefers to bring ready-made songs to the students, Eliane builds and adapts the show according to the class. “It’s good because I can see if there are more beginners, what are their main difficulties and adapt the steps so that everyone leaves happy”.

However, you have to understand that it may take some time before you start doing the funk step like a professional. “Usually the person dedicates himself in just a few hours a week, so the evolution can be a little slow. But we do not fail to notice the improvement in body memory and more fluidity in the movements”, says Bella.

breaking prejudices

And before you leave thinking “I could never do it” or “I’m too clumsy for this”, let’s remember that everyone goes to sessions to learn too? To disinhibit the more shy ones, Bella says that, during the first 20 minutes, she usually introduces some basic steps of the song to be taught or even dynamics that promote a greater understanding of the group.

With time, the shame goes away and the relationship with yourself evolves. “A dance it is also art, it puts those who practice it in evidence, it brings sensuality and gives you control over your own body”, says Bella.

The choreographer also argues that bringing the hits into gyms puts an end to somewhat backward thinking. “Funk shows that it’s a musical style like any other and everyone can rock and be sexy”.