Students and faculty joined Reach Out on Thursday evening for a fun night of smiles, laughter and Zumba.

Upbeat Latino music wafted down the hallway from the Ceddia Union Building multi-purpose room, inviting students to an invigorating evening of dance. Everyone stretched their limbs while waiting for the fun to begin, chatting happily about their plans for spring break. With water bottles ready, everybody was excited for an energetic and rigorous night.

Everyone slowly spread out on the dance floor in front of the stage to begin. Gretchen Pierce, a history professor and faculty adviser for Reach Out, took her spot on stage to lead the group in dance. She demonstrated a simple dance pattern that would be seen throughout the night, showing newcomers the name of the game. Reminding everyone to go at their own pace, she stressed the importance of doing your best and having fun. Then, the music turned up and Zumbathon was off to a fast start.

Though some were caught off-guard at first, because of the speed and energy of the aerobics style, everyone smiled and laughed as they followed Pierce with their best efforts. After the first song, students were warmed up and getting the hang of the moves.

Freshman Rachel Smith was excited to spend the night on her feet dancing.

“I am so glad I am spending my last night before break at Zumba having fun with my friends and de-stressing after all of my midterms,” Smith said.

Originating in Colombia in the 1990s, the dance-style aerobics class has swept the world by storm. Incorporating a mixture of Latino and pop music with traditional South American dance and hip-hop, Zumba makes it possible for people of all ages and fitness levels to enjoy dancing. With such a large appeal, there is no wonder why Reach Out uses Zumbathon as a fundraiser to fuel their yearly service project.

An initiative of the Honors Program at Ship, Reach Out spends every year crafting an academic curriculum for a school in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. By hosting fundraisers such as Zumbathon, Reach Out buys books and school supplies to bring directly to the school every January to implement their ideas.

Pierce identified the main goal of Reach Out is to help children grow in education.

“Reach Out is trying to inspire children in the Dominican Republic to go to school and love learning so they can have success in their future,” Pierce said.

Elizabeth Karper, junior and Public Relations Committee Chair of the organization, remarked on the deep impact the organization has had on her.

“I’ve been involved with Reach Out since I was a freshman,” Karper said, “I’ve been able to see the program grow, and I’m so proud of everyone that’s helped along the way.”

After a short water break, students were ready to kick up the pace again. With each song incorporating differing styles of dance and music, it was a toss-up to see what each track would bring. Some focused on Latino dances with fast steps and swinging hips, while others featured hip hop moves to famous pop songs. Most songs also included high kicks, air punches and low squats, creating a fun routine that made “feeling the burn” as fun as possible. No matter the song, however, you could expect every dance to make you smile and happy to move to the groove.

For one song, the dancers were split into two huge groups. Lining up facing each other on either side of the room, Pierce led the room in an ultimate Zumba “dance off.” Filled with laughter and over-the-top dance moves, it let everyone stop worrying about their form and just have fun.

The last few songs turned the pace down, until the last song focused solely on stretching and breathing. Reaching their fingertips high towards the ceiling and then bringing them down slowly to the ground, everyone let the stress roll off their shoulders.

Even though the music silenced and the dancing stopped, Reach Out will still be working towards their goal, eagerly awaiting next January to put their good intentions into productive actions for Santo Domingo.

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