By Jamie Ducharme, News Staff
If forever lingering on the Marino Center’s Zumba class waitlist is not quite cutting it anymore, there is a new fitness option in town: The Z Spot, Boston’s first Zumba-only studio.
Lena Andrade, owner of the Z Spot, is a Zumba instructor and student in Northeastern’s leadership management master’s program. Andrade’s background is far more diverse than dance, though: Before opening the Z Spot, she graduated from Cleveland State University in 2003 and worked as a corporate trainer and consultant with companies like Capital One, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Morgan Stanley.
“It came to a point where I wanted to do something on my own,” she said. “I always wanted a dance studio. I knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when.”
Clients are drawn to the Z Spot, Andrade said, because of its sole focus on Zumba.
“My members like the fact that they can go to a studio that is exclusive to Zumba, they can just drop in, they can pick a class, and they can also build a camaraderie with the other members,” Andrade said.
Though the studio has been open and offering one to three classes a day since February (more classes will be added soon), the studio will be hosting an open house Saturday. The event will feature complimentary classes, a yoga posture clinic, product samples and a master class in Zumba Sentao, which couples traditional Zumba moves with chair choreography.
Andrade said Zumba combines fitness, entertainment and culture, appealing to a wide range of people.
“Anyone can do it, no matter what age group, what size,” she said. “It really is for everyone.”
The Z Spot, located at 121 East Berkeley St. in the South End, offers a non-traditional workout experience, Andrade said.
“I would say we’re different than the gym environment, being a studio; you’re not going to get your big conglomerate gym,” she said. “When we were putting it all together, my girlfriend [who was helping out] said, ‘It actually seems more like a spa.’”
Though a Zumba-only studio does not offer as much variety, it may still be a viable business model, studies show.
Zumba and other dance workouts were ranked ninth in popularity on the American College of Sports Medicine’s Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2012, up from the 24th spot last year. Zumba ranked above classes like yoga, spinning and boot camp this year.
In a December 2011 CNN article about the study, Zumba Fitness chief executive and co-founder Alberto Perlman underlined Zumba’s staying power.
“I think people are waiting to see if we’re a fad, but class numbers are getting bigger and Zumba is getting more popular,” he said in the article. “So now, people realize we’re here to stay.”
Freshman health sciences major Jordan Mandell, who said she regularly takes Zumba classes at the Marino Center, said she liked the idea of a Zumba-only fitness studio.
“I would rather go to a Zumba-only gym because you know the people who are teaching the classes are doing what they’re good at,” she said. “They can really cater to Zumba.”
The Z Spot offers several discounts for students, including individual classes for $12 instead of $14, passes to five classes for $50 instead of $60 and passes to 10 classes for $90 instead of $110.
“With the college students it’s much easier to get them to do it in groups,” Andrade said. “They’ll bring two or three friends and say, ‘We all love it, we all have fun.’”
Mandell also said she enjoys the social aspect of Zumba.
“It’s more fun to go with friends who can commiserate over how ridiculous you look,” she said.
Andrade, who was a Cleveland Cavaliers dancer, a coach for the Boston Bruins Ice Girls and a professional fitness trainer, said it was dance that drew her to Zumba.
“As a dancer and as a fitness professional, it was nice to find another outlet,” she said. “But it was hard back when I started [doing Zumba in 2005] because nobody knew what Zumba was.”
However eclectic her combination of careers may be, Andrade said it works to her advantage.
“Not only can I teach corporate people how to do their job,” she said, “but how to work their bodies.”
Even with a corporate background, Andrade said opening the Z Spot was no easy task.
“It’s a tough decision to say, ‘I’m going to leave everything that is typical for a college graduate to do and do something on my own,’” she said.
Still, Andrade urged college graduates to pursue starting a business, provided they’re willing to work hard.
“It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight,” she said. “You need time, patience and you need to be motivated not to give up.”
Andrade said hard work paid off for her.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” she said. “This is me, and this is what I want to bring to people.”
