By Shireen Hasan

Okay, all you couch potatoes (especially men), I challenge you to get up and prepare to ZUMBA!

Start your New Year’s resolution off on the right foot. Michelle Jones, at Matt Dishman’s Community Center, is the girl to move you on your way to better health and overall wellness. Michelle has been teaching ZUMBA for 9 years, starting at Sellwood Community Center, and has spent the last 7 years at Portland Parks and Recreation. Michelle says that she loves to dance, she prefers community centers and loves to see others’ joy of dance and the mental and physical benefits from ZUMBA.

Although Michelle teaches at a few locations for PP&R, she especially loves teaching her ZUMBA class at Matt Dishman Community Center because of the camaraderie and
diversity of a community of all ages, ethnicities, and all different levels of physical abilities. Her class even includes folks with developmental and physical disabilities participating in their own way, all dancing together.

Michelle feels that it is more than just exercise, it is a fellowship with each community exposing folks to music from around the world from Costa Rica or Africa, to name a few, which folks may not have the chance otherwise to experience. The Creator of Zumba, Alberto Perez, formatted ZUMBA for all folks to follow from beginner to advanced and all walks of life.