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editionap.ca
Taking Cornwall by storm : Christal Bowen
FRANCIS RACINE francis.racine@eap.on.ca
CORNWALL | The love of dance has always been a part of Christal Bowen’s life. It comes as no surprise then that, on August 13, 2007, the Cornwall native started tak- ing the friendly seaway city by storm with what is now well known as Zumba. “Back then, not a lot of people knew exactly what Zumba was,” she says, while harbor- ing a smile. “I was at Summit Fitness for the longest time. I had only !ve people in my class, and sometimes, I wouldn’t even have anyone.” With her classes now averaging 150 stu- dents, Bowen credits her patience as well as her approach in making her what she is now, one of Canada’s leading instructor of Zumba. “Even if I’d have one student, I always took the time to make sure that they left satis- fied,” she explains. “That way, I knew they would leave happy and probably bring their friends back next time.” Fortunately for the Cornwall native, they did. Zumba with Christal now attracts peo- ple from all over SD&G and even Brockville. “Some days, I’ll even have people from Europe stop by,” she says proudly. “They visit Cornwall and stop by on their way through.” Renting out the Nativity Hall ensures the Zumba instructor enough room to accom- modate the ever-growing number of her students. But even so, some unpredictable things are bound to happen. “Once, we were about to go in and start our Zumba, but we were locked out of it,” she says. “So I just hooked up my music to my car and we all did Zumba in the park- ing lot. Even the neighbours pitched in, with extra lights!” As well as organizing everything, Bowen takes it upon herself to create unique themes for all of her classes. “Some days, I’ll have glow party classes and even flash mob classes,” she outlines. “Next week, we’re even bringing country music to dance to.” With its popularity booming, Bowen decid- ed to incorporate charitable help within her classes. “Every year, we organize toys for tots ,” she says. “During one specific class, every par- ticipant has to bring in one toy to get in. This way, we amassed over 300 toys one year!” Bowen also had the original idea of mix- ing in Zumba with Cornwall’s very own downtown. The result: free Zumba at the corner of Pitt Street and Second, other- wise known as the Pommier Square. Every Tuesday, thirty or so participants dance to the rhythm of mostly Latin music, enter- taining the curious bystanders. “It’s amazing,” the instructor admits.
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“There are people we’ll see over and over every week. They go out for supper and spend the rest of the evening watching us.” When asked why she thinks Zumba has become so popular not only in Cornwall but all over the world, Bowen ponders the question, before answering. “I truly think that people want to get in shape and lose weight,” she says. “And Zumba is something of a workout, that doesn’t feel like one.” Along with downtown Zumba, Bowen also offers Zumba Toning, which includes body
sculpting techniques using sticks, Aqua Zumba, self-described as a pool party, Zumba Sentao, which incorporates chairs to improve strength and Zumba Gold, which is targeted to senior citizens. This, in turn, has helped potential participants in finding what they specifically wanted in their workouts. “Sometimes, there are people that prefer Aqua Zumba, since it’s totally different than my regular classes,” she explains. “Others simply hate the water and would
never do it.” Although she’s garnished much attention throughout the continent, the instruc- tor still feels she owes the residents of Cornwall for the opportunity they have given her. “Without them, I wouldn’t be doing what I love the most,” she says emotionally. “I want to thank everyone who attends, even if it was only once and I want to thank the ones that help me.”
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