It’s 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. In the aerobics room, hidden behind the yoga balls, mats and dumbbells is a Zumba class taught by Jamie Revell, a marketing senior at Tulane.

Originally from the Chicago area, Revell said she has taught fitness classes since the summer following her senior year of high school in 2008.

According to Revell, she began her fitness career as a hip-hop dance teacher and then a Turbo Kick instructor before making the decision to become a certified Zumba instructor.

Revell said she wound up instructing at Loyola because the planning for aerobics classes at Tulane’s Reilly Center occurred over the summer when she was not present, leaving her with conflicting school and teaching schedules.

“I kind of just got to fill in the gaps really, which is kind of unfortunate because those gaps might not work with my school schedule,” she said.

Revell said she then heard that the Loyola Director of Athletics and Wellness Michael Giorlando was looking for a Zumba instructor. She proceeded to contact him and was hired to teach once a week.

“She [Revell] makes it a fun process of getting a workout,” philosophy freshman Reilly White said.

For those unfamiliar with Zumba Fitness Class, Revell described it as being 80 percent dance and 20 percent fitness on intervals of fast and slow movements.

According to Revell, Zumba originated from Colombian fitness instructor Alberto Perez, who forgot to bring the music for his class and simply used the music tapes from his car while improvising moves for his class. Thus, each Zumba instructor has complete autonomy over what music is chosen for the class, as well as which dance moves are used.

Etefia Umana can be reached at [email protected]