December 29, 1998 — “Do you feel good? Say yeah!” cried Colleen Manji, instructor for my brief and often blundering foray into the estrogenic world of Jazzercise.
“Yeah!” responded my classmates, approximately 20 women of varying ages moving in relative unison to the music’s dance-club beat.
I was feeling alright, too. But I was too busy trying to get the steps down to respond to Colleen’s call.
Colleen, 43, is a sparkplug, with the positive energy of an entire squad of football cheerleaders. She led us from a stage in the front of the room, doing the routine and yelling instructions and plenty of praise into a microphone headset I’m sure she didn’t need.
“Do you believe in yourself?” she screamed. “Who’s here to feel better about themselves?”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about myself. Sure, my heart was pumping and I was working up a good sweat, but I didn’t feel totally comfortable.
It’s hard to do a plié and feel confident about your masculinity.
It’s hard to do a leg kick and not question your virility.
It’s hard to do Jazzercise without turning into Richard Simmons.
Yep, I might as well have been coated in baby oil, wearing leg warmers, short shorts and a rhinestone covered tank top.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
“We all came here to party! Who came here to party?” cheered Colleen, hopping down from her stage to join us.
It was at that moment that I realized something. I realized that I was smiling. I realized that I had been smiling the entire time.
“Plié, heel out, heel out. Good! Keep it going!” Colleen shouted. “Now, three kicks with the right. Three, two, one, hop, hop. Now kick with the left foot!”
I did feel good. And I threw away my inhibitions and took Colleen’s advice: “Fake it until you can make it.”
I probably faked it more than I made it, but I kept moving. I was glad there wasn’t a mirror in front of me. I didn’t want to see how goofy I knew I must have looked.
“Dan, you’re doing so good,” Colleen said into her microphone. “Everybody on the count of three say, ‘Dan looks great!'”
Colleen is as much a therapist as she is a fitness instructor. She truly believes in the power of positive reinforcement. And it works.
“One of my very big goals is to work on here,” Colleen, pointing to her head, said after the 45-minute class. “To help people look inside and see themselves and to improve and to feel better and to look better. In Jazzercise all over the world you will find the most positive people.”
Positive describes Colleen, a certified Jazzercise instructor for nine years. When I met her she had little bells attached to her sneakers. Her voice was hoarse from dishing out so much praise.
“Colleen is such a good teacher,” said Brenda Gentile, 47, an art teacher at South Hall Middle School and Jazzerciser for the past year and a half. “Doesn’t she make you want to do it? She has so much energy.”
Jazzercise is an aerobic dance activity that combines cardiovascular, muscle toning and flexibility exercises into one workout. According to Colleen, more than 300,000 people participate in Jazzercise classes worldwide. Next year will mark Jazzercise’s thirtieth year of existence. It must be doing something right.
“We want to work on the body, mind, soul connection,” explained Colleen. “One of the advantages to being dancing and music is that people kind of get into that artistic, happy, creative side instead of that analytical side they’re using all day long.”
Colleen’s classes, held seven times a week in the YMCA’s Holiday Hall on Jesse Jewel Parkway, attract people of all ages — even the occasional guy. And most everybody leaves with a smile.
“It’s a fun way to exercise,” said Gentile. “It’s more fun than just sitting downstairs in the weight room by yourself. Plus, you make new friends. I’ve met a lot of nice people here.”
As I was packing up and preparing to leave, Colleen invited me back for another class.
“You did great,” she told me. “You picked it up really fast.”
Ah, the power of positive reinforcement.
I thanked her for her kind words, and left — with a smile.