How To Bring Despacito Vibes To Our Quarantine Live
Live a more sensational life.
“Since quarantine life, I exercise every day. I’ve cut out all sugar and alcohol from my diet. I feel great-better than ever!” said someone else, on social media. Not me.
For me, life is more comfortable than it should be. I lounge in my PJ pants until noon (zoom calls only see your top half). I can snack and drink all day long with access to my kitchen 24/7. No gyms. No sports. I am active- actively saving lives by sitting at home.
These days are a bit predictable until I open Festi. When I saw Sensazao, a dance fitness class, being offered virtually, that became my quarantine challenge. Staying physically and mentally healthy by dancing seems like a good way to spend quarantine time.
Jazmin and Gabriela, the founders of Sensazao, are two sisters originally from Bolivia. After living in New York and Brazil they decided to set up their first studio in Alexandria, Virginia. They share their passion and incredible talent for street high-intensity dance fitness through Sensazao, which means sensation in Portuguese. Jaz is trained as a medical doctor and is working on getting her medical license in the US. Gabriela graduated as a civil engineer with hopes to get a master’s degree.
When you walk into their class, it is like stepping into a music video rehearsal for “Despacito,” but with people from our community. You see kickass dancers with tattoos and senior ladies trying to stay young and active. The classes have a welcoming sense of acceptance, tremendous energy, and uplifting vibes.
“We want to empower people to dance and be sexy because we know you can move to shine and be more confident,” said Jaz. If you watch Jaz and Gabriela dance, you want to be like them. Even if you can’t keep up with their artistic choreography and “isolation”, you know at least you’re burning lots of calories and learning a new move.
In addition to classes, they train and inspire students to become instructors. Adriana was attending class 6 days a week and Gabriela said to her one day “Hey girl, I think you should teach” and that gave her the confidence to do it. Adriana is now part of the Sensazao Crew, teaching her own classes. “It’s beautiful to see how you can change people’s lives for the better,” said Gabriela.
A good workout is just a side benefit when the fun is learning how to dance better than anyone you see on the Tik Tok. With the gyms closed, Jaz, Gabriela, and Adriana post virtual classes on Festi. They have built an incredible on-line studio with schedules at Sensazao.com. If you want to catch them in real life when the pandemic is over, look for Sensazao classes at Sport and Health, Onelife Fitness, and Fitness Snob (see video).
