Welcome to the Enchantment of ZUMBA

"Are you new here?"

An elderly woman sitting on a bench spoke to me.

This was the women's locker room.

She must have realized I was a newcomer immediately by seeing me looking around nervously.

"Oh, um, yes."

I didn't know where to look. That was because the elderly woman was completely topless.

"You can use any locker you like."

As she said that, she taught me how to use the locker as if it were her own room.

"Oh, I see. Thank you very much."

I replied while struggling with where to look, and the elderly woman stared at me and asked,


"...Are you here for ZUMBA?"

she asked.

"Oh, yes."

Anyway, grandma, shall we get dressed?

"I'm here for ZUMBA too!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Yeah, I get it, but grandma, let's just get dressed for now.

I fixed my gaze on a spot where the grandma's upper body would be blurred and responded.

Yes, truth be told, I had signed up for a ZUMBA trial lesson.

I had been spending every day stuck to my sensitive son, who was in first grade at the time and had stopped going to school, and with zero time for myself, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Just hanging out the laundry
Just washing the dishes

Just doing those things makes tears well up on their own.

Oh, this, I might be in trouble.

Even when I spend some cafe time alone at my favorite Starbucks, I end up thinking about my son anyway.
My mind is completely filled with thoughts of my son.
Even when we are physically apart, my thoughts never leave him.

Nothing gets reset.

I thought about it.
Something stronger!
Something that would forcibly blow my son out of my thoughts!
Isn't there anything like that!!!

I searched and searched, and what I arrived at was,

ZUMBA

When I watched the videos, everyone looked like they were having a blast, dancing wildly with their energy through the roof.

This is it, this is the only way.

I'm going to become a party animal!

And so, I decided to become a party animal and blow my son out of my thoughts.

But, however... the only people changing in the locker room so far are me and a grandma who is topless.

Only two students... that can't be right, can it?
Surely not!!!
No way, no way!
You want me to become a party animal with just this grandma?
...
That can't be it, no way, no way!!!!

In my mind, I desperately tried to erase the image of me and the grandma doing ZUMBA together.

Even though I was waiting in front of the classroom, it was still just me and the grandma 10 minutes before the start time.

I felt anxious.

Five minutes before the start time, the other students finally started to appear one by one.

I was relieved from the bottom of my heart.

From the fact that they arrived right at the start time, I could tell they were all regulars.

They all seem to be good friends.

Grandma called out to me as I stood there all alone.

Only 2 minutes left!

Since Grandma was no longer exposing her upper body, I looked her straight in the eyes and

That's right!

I replied.

Someone came running in at the last minute. I knew immediately it was the instructor. Because the instructor's,

hair was

green.

Whoa, they're really giving off a party-animal vibe. They even have green nails to match.

I made eye contact with the green-haired instructor.

I'm here for a trial session. Nice to meet you!

I said, and they replied,

Thank you! Please enjoy yourself!

Their sparkling smile was so dazzling that I squinted. Wow, so this is the smile of someone at the pinnacle of party-animal status. How precious.

My heart pounding, I followed the others into the classroom. Feeling the typical awkwardness of a newcomer, I stood modestly in the corner at the very back where I wouldn't stand out. Then, I looked for Grandma. Grandma was standing in the front row, full of enthusiasm, doing her warm-up exercises.

Wow! Grandma! That's amazing!

I cheered her on from the back. I had been worried about what I would do if it ended up being just Grandma and me doing ZUMBA, but as it turned out, the room was bustling with about 30 students. Apparently, ZUMBA is quite popular.

The students in the front row were wearing matching T-shirts with "LOVE ZUMBA" printed on the back. You could really smell the party-animal vibe that comes with being super motivated. Especially eye-catching were a woman with bright red lipstick and twin tails showing her midriff, and a woman with sharp, beautiful eyes who looked like a female version of Mitsuhiro Oikawa. I felt a particularly strong love for ZUMBA from these two.

Then, at the instructor's signal of "Alright, let's begin!", loud music started playing, and suddenly,

Whew!!! Yeah!!! Woo!!!

And just like that, they started dancing with incredible intensity right from the start.

Grandma is also really getting into it.

Wow, this is amazing.
I'm stunned.

For now, I'll try to move by imitating them.

I've done a little bit of ballet and jazz dance, so I can't shake those habits and dance loosely.

I have to laugh at how stiff my movements are.
I'm as rigid as a robot trying its best to do the moonwalk.

I mean, more importantly, I can't keep up with this party-animal energy.

Everyone is cheering and whistling the whole time.
With huge smiles on their faces.

If I could reach that level, I'm sure it would be fun.

But man, I can't just let loose right from the start...

That armor called shame, you know.

The warm-up dance ended, and we took a tea break.

Everyone is already drenched in sweat.
They have such great expressions.
Is this the form of party-animal ZUMBA, having shed their armor and broken out of their shells!

Then, as the atmosphere shifted to suggest the main event was finally starting and the music began, centered around the girl with the exposed midriff and twin tails and the female version of Mitchy,

Whooooooo!

It got super lively again.
The girl with the exposed midriff and twin tails and the female version of Mitchy looked at each other while dancing, as if to say, 'Oh, shall we do that?', 'Should we really do that?', 'You do it!', 'Should I do it?', 'Go ahead, do it!'

W-w-what is about to start?

And just then.

Green-Head Sensei appeared wearing a Shohei Ohtani mask.

Whaaaaat?

The students are roaring with laughter.

I'm being left behind.

Instructor Otani Greenhead is throwing a ball in time with the music, really getting into the groove.

"Shall I do it?" The girl with twin tails hits the ball back, also really getting into the groove.

What is this ad-lib?

I-I can't keep up.

Perhaps because she noticed me, a first-timer, Instructor Otani Greenhead moved to the front of me.

I immediately looked away.

Please, take the hint.

Perhaps my strong wish got through, as Greenhead-sensei set her sights on another student and threw the ball.

I feel relieved.

The Otani routine ends, and another song starts playing.

Then, the female version of Mitchy turns around, and while saying "Whew!", she approaches me.

Uh... I can't do this.

Mitchy engages me without mercy.

I gave a slight bow.

Then, saying "Whew!" again, she walked away.

I-I-I'm so sorry. I didn't have the courage to return your "Whew!".

Mitchy's back looked a little lonely.

After that, the 'hue-ye-foo' continued, and the 90-minute ZUMBA party-people lesson came to an end.

In the end, I couldn't break out of my shell, and far from becoming a party person, I was overwhelmed by everyone's energy and finished.

Even so, I returned to the locker room thinking that, all things considered, it was fun.

Grandma was sitting on the bench in the locker room. With a towel around her neck and drenched in sweat, she was already topless.

When I finished changing and bowed to Grandma, she gave a light wave of her hand.

As I was about to leave, the 'LOVE ZUMBA' group came running toward me.

I was surrounded.

Is this your first time?
Are you coming next week?
Sorry for being like this!
You were surprised, weren't you?
Have you done this before?

It was a barrage of questions.

And then,

Sorry for coming over to engage with you like that!

The one who apologized was Mitchy, with those beautiful, sharp eyes.

No, no, it's me! I'm sorry I couldn't respond!

I apologized for the way I had returned her bow earlier.

I was thinking, 'Can I go? What should I do? Is it okay? Maybe?' but in the end, I just went for it!

She confessed that she had been struggling with that internal conflict at the time.

I never imagined there was such a conflict hidden within that 'hue-ye-foo'.

Mitchy was an incredibly nice person.

Seeing me off, I left the locker room.

On the way home, I was smiling as I pedaled my bicycle.


The party people, overflowing with energy and truly enjoying ZUMBA from the bottom of their hearts, were absolutely wonderful.

I was someone who couldn't break out of my shell and was always hesitant, but I received so much energy from everyone.

Come to think of it, I didn't think about my son even for a millimeter.

Or rather, I was so nervous about whether I would get harassed at any moment that I couldn't think about anything else.

But, you know.
For me right now, 'woo' is still, well.
It's exhausting.
It was fun, but 'woo' isn't for me right now, yeah.

Several years have passed since that stimulating day.


I wonder if Grandma is still wandering around topless.
I wonder if Mr. Greenhead still has a green head.
I wonder if the girl with the midriff-baring twin tails is still showing her belly button.
I wonder if the female version of Mitchy is still going around shouting 'woo-woo' at people.

What is it like to break out of your own shell?

Someday, I want to try breaking it.
If I do, I wonder what kind of world will spread out before my eyes.
I wonder if I could become a party animal like that too.

Enchanting ZUMBA

Someday, I want to try challenging it again.

When that time comes, I'll write on note,'I've become a party animal.'or something like that.