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Fit and Funky
African-dance diva Chandra is at the head of the class, her arms slicing the air, chest contracting in and out and shoulder-length braids defying the kente-patterned headband meant to hold them back. Master drummer Gafiel pounds out driving, infectious rhythms once used to send messages from village to village. Today they are meant to make us move.
"Up, two, three, four! Reach two, three, four! And back!" Russell shouts. We do our best to follow.
"This is Funga!" she says, explaining the origins of this African-dance-based movement.
"Fling your fingers toward the stars. You're giving thanks to the gods of the heavens. Now, to the ground and thank the Earth!"
Over the course of an hour, I shed my high-priced tennis shoes and the athletic socks I swiped from my husband, choosing instead to take to the wooden floor with bare feet, stomping to beats that can't be resisted and rolling my hips like Mama told me not to.
As the beat slows and we wrap up, we're exhausted but exhilarated. Our pectoral muscles, triceps, biceps -- and stamina -- are better off for the wear, and we leave with a little extra bounce in our steps. That was some kinda workout.
Increasingly, more fitness experts and exercise instructors are fashioning their workouts to a different beat. There's the hip-hop crowd working out...