Frequently Asked Questions
for WildKat Fitness Classes
Q: What should I wear and bring to class?
A: Just wear comfortable clothes and supportive shoes. The soles of the shoes should be relatively smooth (without much grip) so you can pivot on our sprung wood dance floors. The studio has a water fountain, but many participants prefer to bring their own water bottles as well as a small towel. Expect to glisten AND sweat!! ;) If you are dancing at home, clear a space at least a few feet in all directions and wear shoes if you have a hard floor. If you need to dance on carpet, you can choose dance barefoot like me for easy pivoting or what footwear works best. Note: for Resistance Band Training, I recommend bringing a short continuous loop "booty band" and a long continuous loop band (I use non-slip fabric bands by GymBee, available on Amazon).
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Q: I am new to dance fitness (or have not worked out in a long time), which class is best for me?
A: Every class I offer is intended to feel comfortable for all levels. To accomplish this, I progress each dance routine from slow, gentle, and simple, to faster, higher impact, and more complex. You can keep it simple throughout, or choose one of the other options for an added challenge! I invite and encourage you to modify any move so it feels comfortable for your body. Everyone in the room is modifying something (including the instructor!) so do what feels right for you. Just remember to keep moving for the whole hour to keep your heart rate up!
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Q: Do I need to register in advance?
A: Yes, please! Please sign up and book classes HERE.
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Q: If I love a song, can I come up front and dance with the instructor?
A: Actually, nobody has ever asked this question, but I would be thrilled if someone did! The answer is Yes! I invite you to step out of your comfort zone and kick up your workout a notch by coming up front with me when your favorite song plays! You don’t have to know the routine, just follow along as usual. When participants come up front, everyone has fun! Also, it helps raise the energy in the room and inspire other participants to let loose and be bold!
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Q: Do you take song requests?
A: Yes! I want you to have a blast in class, and part of that involves playing music that moves you. If there is a particular song, artist, or type of music you love, please share that with me! I always take requests into consideration and may even be able to choreograph a routine just for you!
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Q: Do you do private parties, festivals, and events?
A: Absolutely! I have had the pleasure of bringing dance fitness to many kid and adult birthday parties and company and retirement parties and camps as well as festivals and fundraisers and friends' nights. If you have an event in mind, please let me know! I also have choreographed partner routines for weddings and anniversaries.
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Q: Tell me more about how Zumba works and what kind of a workout I'll get.
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A: Zumba is "interval" or "intermittent" cardiovascular fitness training. We start with a full-body, low impact warmup and take you through a series of higher-intensity routines interspersed with lower-intensity "recovery" routines. We end with a lower-intensity, uplifting cool-down and stretch. You'll get an effective full-body workout without even realizing it. You should finish feeling amazing from head to toe! For a study on the effectiveness of a Zumba workout, please click HERE. The structure of a Zumba class includes about 90% Latin rhythms and will always have Merengue, Salsa, Cumbia, and Reggaeton songs, and usually other Latin rhythms like Bachata, Cha cha cha, Flamenco, and Latin Urban. At WildKat Fitness, we LOVE all forms of dance and bring this love and joy to each routine. I enjoy mixing in songs and rhythms from around the world, such as Bollywood, Bhangra, Samba, Brazilian Funk, Afrobeat, Caribbean, Soca, Reggae, Swing, Rock, French Pop, Irish, Scottish, American Pop, Hip Hop, Kuduro, Dubstep, and Dembow.
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Q: I've tried Zumba, and I'm interested in Bollywood Fitness...Tell me more!
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A: Like Zumba, Bollywood Fitness is "interval" or "intermittent" cardiovascular fitness training. We start with a full-body, low impact warmup and take you through a series of higher-intensity routines interspersed with lower-intensity "recovery" routines. We end with a lower-intensity, uplifting cool-down and stretch. You'll get an effective full-body workout without even realizing it. You should finish feeling amazing from head to toe! Bolllywood Fitness will challenge your mind and body in different ways than Zumba and is a great way to spice up your fitness routine. We will dance to a wide range of Indian music from Bhangra to folk, fusion songs that combine Indian music with other genres (like hip hop, reggaeton, cumbia, pop, bellydance etc.), and Western pop songs you've heard on the radio. Let me know if you're interested, and I might re-start a Bollywood Class in the future.
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Q: What do you do in Resistance Band Training?
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A: WildKat Resistance Band training is a unique program I created for us. The goal is to strengthen muscles and bones and connectors (ligaments, tendons, etc.) with a joint-friendly, lifelong workout set to instrumental covers of top-100 music from the 80s, 90s, and beyond. No squats, jumps, lunges, cardio, or floor work. All moves are done standing and the key is to control the band and isolate the muscle groups we are working with each move. I'll give you plenty of verbal guidance throughout. You will feel your muscles getting stronger with each class. I offer three levels of band resistance (different colors of bands with different resistance) and you can make any band you use more challenging depending on how you hold it or where you position it on your body. I'll explain everything in class! As mentioned above, bring your own bands or use mine. I recommend GymBee bands (both the short booty band and the long band). You can usually get sets of 3 of each on Amazon for under $30.
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