Well, by popular demand I will be having one additional FREE Zumba class this month at Dance Place San Diego. You can see all the details here:

Free Zumba with Michelle Osorio - Sun 8/19 @ 11 a.m.

Hope to see you on Sunday at 11 a.m.!

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Update: the class has been moved to Sunday, August 12.

Only one Zumba class this month because I’ve been so busy with Comic-Con (pics to come), PRIDE and then moving. If you’d like to attend my free class in Point Loma then here are the details.

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Taught a class today at 11 a.m. and realized I have not posted my times on my blog. So here they are! All courses are at NTC Promenade (Liberty Station) in Point Loma. The building is Dance Place San Diego.

Classes are free (pay what you can). Donations accepted to help pay for the studio rental:

Sunday, June 10 at 11 a.m.

Sunday, June 24 at 11 a.m.

As some of you know, I occasionally teach Saturdays at 2 p.m. (or 11 a.m.). It really just depends on the requests of those who promise to show up. So feel free to contact me (Facebook is best) and let me know if there is a particular time you’d prefer.

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February 18, 2012 in La Jolla: I will be doing a day-long workshop to become a certified Zumba instructor. I think I have been enjoying the workouts off-and-on long enough (years). It’s time to take the leap! I am so excited! I won’t be quitting my awesome IT day job (I love it too much), but I already have my first post-cert goal which is to host some informal classes with my friends and family who are either curious about trying Zumba or need a kick in the butt to work out more. What’s more fun than having a fitness party with people you know and like?

According to this mysterious person’s journal entry, there will be clothing and other merchandise for sale so I’ll be sure to bring some cash with me. I’ve always wanted Zumba-branded gear, but the reviews at their online store indicate the sizes are really random and I didn’t want to deal with returns. Now I’ll be able to try stuff on right there. Yay!

I’ve begun to research what to expect at Zumba Basic 1. Aside from “bring cash”, I also learned I should show up early to fill out paperwork and ultimately get a good spot toward the front in the master class. I also plan to bring my own protein drinks, some snacks and an energy bar. It’s too bad I won’t know anyone there so I am going to make an effort to make friends. I need to find where I put my mini Moo cards.

Though the workshop will focus on salsa, meringue, cumbia and reggaeton, I will be expanding far beyond that as I put my numbers together. In fact, my favorite teacher, Christen has concocted some ridiculously fun routines to songs I currently hear on the pop radio stations. Some Zumba purists complain about people teaching songs that are not Latin in style, but I love when instructors take the time to choreograph moves to pop and hip hop music. I think it helps reach out to more potential students and makes Zumba something that can be loved universally!

I also love when instructors/choreographers break out of the norm and choose some old school Michael Jackson or a blast-from-the-past number. It makes Zumba feel timeless and reminds us it truly is for anyone (no matter what their age or cultural background). I definitely intend to have an eclectic song playlist when I start teaching!

What I look forward to most (besides having an excuse to get my loved ones together to party) is coming up with choreography. I will leave you with some examples of my very favorite original workouts, choreographed by Zumba instructors! Enjoy and… wish me luck!

 
Song: Don Omar - Taboo / Instructor: Lucia Meresova
Lovely, classically Zumba in style and fun. No wonder it’s an award winner!

Song: Pitbull - Hotel / Instructor: Amber
Ignoring the terrible audio, look at how easy the moves are.
It’s a great workout and looks sexy!

Song: Kenny Loggins - Footloose / Instructor:Amber
Great example of an enthusiastic teacher, interesting song choice (from the 80s) and varied age range of students. Look how fun this looks! Nice finish move too.

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It’s been a long time, eh? I stopped blogging for awhile to focus on some IT studies and continue Twitter-bombing. It seemed the right time to get back into writing on here though when I started work on “Werewolves with Top Hats,” a song (and music video) I am working on after playing World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Rolling a Worgen character (a Rogue in this case) has led to many fun adventures. In short time, I came to realize nearly me entire guild had one of these werewolves-with-top-hats as one of their tons. They are fun to play! That fact, plus the adorable Penny Arcade strip about it ultimately hit me with “Boomer’s Day Off” style inspiration. I ended up coming up with a tune, and later lyrics. I quickly recruited my DJ/bassist friend John Jolley to help me turn it into a full-fledged song.

In a short period of time, we’ve managed to put together some great costumes thanks to Ben Peterson (”Zedd” in ./Shutdown and “Smoker” in Boomers) and his wife Kathy. They not only got us costumes on a small budget (using the Internet and thrift stores), but Kathy even made us some werewolf masks for the female dancers. So far we’ve rehearsed and filmed the dance routine, but the singing portion (starring moi) occurs this Saturday and the following weekend we shoot Toby McBane’s story segments.

Here’s a sneak peak of what to expect (a clip from our dance rehearsal):

The above video is from my personal YouTube channel where I’ve decided I’ll start posting little production diaries on occasion. That way I don’t muddle the Kill9 channel up with a bunch of random clips. Expect more updates on this blog and on my MichelleKenobi channel as production continues!

None of this would have been possible without generous donations from Scott, a.k.a. DJWhiskey71 who didn’t want financial hardships to keep our Kill9 YouTube channel quiet and sad. While devoting much of my time, money and energy to my nerdier technical studies, I have missed being creative. We’re all grateful to Scott for his contributions which have paid for the costumes as well as for food to feed the cast and crew.That’s all for now, but I will post again soon with photos from the actual dance shoot we shot outside our friend Pyro’s house last Saturday. Oh, and expect the actual music video to premiere on our channel in early March.

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