AURORA — There are thousands of Zumba dance fitness classes that have cropped up all over the world in the last several years, and sometimes it’s hard to tell them apart.
Erica DeGourville-Reyes, a zumba education instructor from Aurora and owner of Dance 2 Gather at 15232 E. Hampden Circle, says that it takes a special something to stand out among the often recycled music and repetitive gyration that dominates so many classes.
“Above average, inspirational instructors take the time to learn more and more to perfect their craft,” said DeGourville-Reyes, 37. “They learn to engage with their participants and they’re not just on stage just to be on the stage.”
DeGourville-Reyes took her first zumba class at a 24-hour Fitness in south Aurora in 2009. Though her first instructors were somewhat lackluster, there was very little that could dissuade her from falling madly in love with Zumba and pursuing it as a career.
“I took a ton of classes, and then I developed my own style and decided to take it to the next level,” said DeGourville-Reyes, who grew up on Caribbean music influenced by her Trinidadian father.
In 2010, she opened Dance 2 Gather in a space half the size of her current studio, which is in a strip mall near Mission Viejo. The walls are paneled with full-length mirrors and pastel paint, and a small stage is raised above the hardwood dance floor.
She moved to that location in 2011 and said she already needs more space, again.
VIDEO: Watch an enthusiastic Zumba workout
There are 3,000 registered clients of Dance 2 Gather, and at least 300 who attend classes more than once a week. DeGourville-Reyes teaches nine classes a week, and there are no fewer than three classes held at her studio every day.
“People tell me that I changed them, and that’s why I love what I do and I only want to grow more and more,” she said. “This is where my heart and soul is.”
Mary Dolan Cooper, 48, began taking DeGourville-Reyes’ classes about 18 months ago. Then 14 months ago, she became an instructor through the Dance 2 Gather apprentice program that DeGourville-Reyes started the same year she opened her studio.
“It changed my life,” Cooper said. “I lost 35 pounds in a year and I’m becoming a personal trainer.”
Cooper said it is DeGourville-Reyes’ high energy and originality that hooked her.
“She’s very motivational and entertaining,” she said. “Her classes are like a big family.”
The Dance 2 Gather apprentice program was developed so that DeGourville-Reyes could train other Zumba enthusiasts. The program requires a base-level certification from Zumba Fitness, an international parent organization responsible for more than 250,000 zumba classes worldwide.
“I always wanted to give back what I learned,” DeGourville-Reyes said. “And I also want a good pool of instructors who I can go to, who I know that I trust and have the level of training that I’m looking for.”
The apprentice program is modeled after Zumba Fitness’ education specialists, who travel the world and teach fresh techniques and coordinated performances to various studios in 180 countries.
There are about 100 certified education specialists through Zumba Fitness, said Allison Robins, spokeswoman for Zumba Fitness.
“Once they finish base-level training, they get licensed and can use that to go higher in the program” like DeGourville-Reyes, Robins said.
In fact, DeGourville-Reyes is choreographing her first mass performance, at Coors Field this summer. Before the first pitch at 2 p.m. June 7, DeGourville-Reyes and a few hundred of her closest clients will take the field and perform Zumba to two songs.
“It’s called the Day of Dance and it’s going to be one of the largest choreographed Zumba performances in the state,” DeGourville-Reyes said. “I can’t wait to see it come together. It’s going to be the next level.”
Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, or mmitchell@denverpost.com
