No. 13 - Zumba

Zumba ® Jammer Update
March 14, 2012
No. 13
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Elliot
Welcome New ZJs!
Join us in welcoming the following Zumba Jammers to the ZJ Team! These 12 new ZJs completed their
training and are now approved (and excited!) to jam around the world (with the noted restrictions in Section
1.3 of the ZIN License Agreement). We know you will make the new ZJs feel like part of the team and help
them get started!
Alexi Montes – Mexico
Alhery Varela – Mexico
Cecilia Mills – United States
Cesar Espinosa Camarillo – Mexico
Cinthia Valencia – Colombia
Claudia Gutierrez Mendez – Mexico
Cristina Gonzalez – Mexico
Cristina Benavides – Mexico
Efren Munoz – Mexico
Kelly Stewart –Trinidad
Manny Sanchez – Mexico
Marco Armando Garcia – Mexico
2012 Zumba Instructor Convention – August 9-12, 2012!
The 2012 Zumba Instructor Convention registration opens March 19 th !
More information on the Zumba Jammer training, Zumba Jammer meeting, and ZIN Jam Sessions at
Convention will be provided in the next update! (We are still tweaking some of the plans!)
We look forward to seeing you at the Convention!
Be Prepared for your Session!
Are you prepared for your ZJ sessions? Use this checklist to be sure you are ready to give not just a Jam
Session but an event that will impact not just your participants’ routines but also raise their expectation of
themselves by your example!
The most prepared and successful ZJs decide what routines they will be teaching before the day of your
session.
Ideally, you have a track list, choreography notes, and agenda ready at least a week before your
session date.
If you do wait until the day of your session to put these materials together, we ask that for future
sessions you make an effort to plan ahead of time and make sure you are prepared for your sessions
well ahead of time. After all, you are providing a service and your participants deserve to have a wellstructured
and executed ZIN Jam session.
Please note that these administrative duties are addressed with specificity in your new ZJ manuals that will
be distributed soon. This check list is just to prepare you for some of the coming changes to the current
manual. We suggest that you start working on this schedule so that you will be ready when the new
requirements are published and enforced. As always, all requirements are based on proven methods that
lead to success.

Reminder: ZIN Jam Session Cost
It has come to our attention that some ZJs are passing on administrative costs to the participants. We
understand that costs and fees can affect your net profit but the price for all ZIN Jam sessions must be
standard at $30USD or local currency exchange equivalent. There are going to be costs of doing business
or overhead expenses related to ZIN Jam sessions including copies, travel and PayPal fees but these costs
should not be passed along to the participant in this program. We realize that this could affect your bottom
line but we also hope that some of the recent improvements, i.e., emailing (which should save you some
time), the advance copy of the Mega Mix volumes to help your preparation, continued promotion of the JAM
program to bring awareness to your individual jams and the ability/option of registering online help to
balance out any new fees. We are always working to help you!
Consistent Payments for Sessions
In an effort to be consistent, all ZJs using currency other than USD, please keep the $30USD equivalent the
same for all participants of the same ZIN Jam session. For example, if the currency exchange rate is 19.36
GBP upon receiving your first payment, round up to the next whole number (20GBP) and
charge every subsequent participant 20 GBP, even if at a later date prior to your session the exchange rate
is higher. This does not include payment received automatically through PayPal – because the currency
exchange rate is already defined by PayPal. This might be a little more work in the beginning, mostly
because it is different than what you might be doing now but this should actually help make registration
easier!
Stand Alone Choreography Notes and “Bonus” Songs
We discovered something that we want to share with you. Based on regular feedback about Jam sessions
through surveys, on the ZIN Forum and direct mail to the ZJC, we found that extra is not always better.
Because of numerous comments we have decided to make a new rule that probably won’t affect most of
you. Remember, rules are not created to limit or control the creative nature of your position but to
standardize a process.
Please take note that the distribution of choreography notes if there was no breakdown of that routine in
your ZIN Jam Session is not permitted.
“Bonus” routines/songs that are not explained (taught) are not useful and even can cause confusion with
participants and are irrelevant. Remember ZIN Jam sessions must consist of only 4-5 routines.
The only time “bonus” songs can be accommodated in a session is if you are teaching 4 songs and have
sufficient time to break it down a fifth song. Additionally, you must provide choreography notes for the fifth
“bonus” routine.
Again, this rule is not to stop you from being amazing, it is to stop creating mixed expectations by
participants who attend a lot of Jam Sessions.
Jamming in Newly Opened Territories
As you know, 2012 brought new changes to previously closed countries, which is awesome, but please hold
off on holding ZIN Jam sessions in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia until May 2012.
However, you may lead Zumba Master Classes in these countries if you wish. If you are going to be in
these areas a few times in the coming months it would be a great idea to host a Master Class. Holding a
killer master class is a great way to get the local ZIN members interested in a ZIN JAM Session!

Participant Goal for 2012
Thanks to each and every one of you amazing ZJs and your successful sessions, we all continue to grow
and expand the ZIN Jam Program to reach more and more ZIN members around the world.
In 2011, our average participant goal for sessions was 19. In 2012, we have set a goal to have an average
of 22 participants per ZIN Jam session and to accomplish this goal we are asking for not only your help,
because we know you are all giving 110% of your time, but also your suggestions to help boost this
minimum average goal. We think that the program has gained recognition over the past year and that alone
should help! Also, we continue to add new ZIN members to the community every month. Where do you
think the best area for marketing the Jam sessions might be?
The Zumba Jammer Committee has been working on the 2012 ZIN Jam Program Strategy to continue to
improve the overall program, including the quality of Zumba Jammers (you are going to love what we have
in store for you!) and ZIN Jam sessions. You will receive more updates as to what our goals and plans are
for the program in future Updates or Emails.
ZJ Coaches and their Title
We don’t know about you, but we love the ZJ Coaches! This position was uncharted territory and these
ladies have really brought value to the ZJ team by defining teamwork, professionalism and passion with
their actions and support. Please remember that the Zumba Jammer “Coach” title is meant ONLY to be
used for internal purposes – the Coaches are just for us and not to serve any purpose outside our ZJ group.
Therefore, please do not advertise or publish that Dede McGaritty, Bianca Ayala, Anna Marchenko and
Alena Groopman are ZJ Coaches. Our coaches to the outside world are just ZJs. We ask that you be
aware that sharing with ZIN members that they are Zumba Jammer Coaches might constitute a breach in
your and their contractual agreement with regards to confidentiality.
ZJ and ZES Relationship
The recent Zumba Jammer Training in Mexico set a high bar for an excellent working relationship between
ZES and new ZJs. All three ZES from Mexico City attended the Training and subsequent ZIN Jam sessions
in Mexico City to show their support for the ZIN Jam Program and the new Zumba Jammers. This kind of
cohesion is what we need to not only grow the Program but help make new instructors successful and fill
sessions!
We hope that this is the beginning of a new standard for all ZES and ZJs! We suggest that all ZJs reach out
and work on building a relationship with your local ZES by offering assistant in their trainings or master
classes even if a chance for you to promote the ZIN Jam program cannot be given. Essentially, the
networking opportunity alone is worth your time! Be sure that any promotion you do for the Program at
trainings is approved by the ZES! Here are a few points to remember:
Always maintain a professional demeanor in your ZJ activities. (We know you do but we always like to
reiterate this one!)
Please do not ask ZES to use their email database to promote any session or activity. Even the ZES
wants to help; this kind or assistance could be inconsistent with the ZES contract.

ZJ at ZIN DAYS!
Fact! Networking with new instructors helps fill your Jam Sessions!
Fact! Getting to know ZIN members in person helps fill your Jam Sessions!
Fact! Building a reputation in the ZIN Community takes more than an email!
We hope that every Jammer participates in their country’s ZIN DAY! We would like to invite you to promote
the program and yourself among your ZIN Community during these events! If a ZIN Day is coming near you,
we will be sure to personally invite you to join us! Jam Sessions are quickly becoming a staple in a ZIN
members’ journey to success! Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity to meet and greet new instructors
and make friends. (Don’t forget to bring a lot of business cards!)
Pre-Session Survey by Alena Groopman, ZJ Coach
With so many Mega Mix and popular songs to choose from, sometimes it can be a challenge to come up
with the perfect 4-5 song track list for a jam. While I like to provide a variety of B1 and sometimes B2
rhythms, I also like to know what my participants are most excited about learning.
Offering a pre-session survey to registered participants can help you get to know your 30 ZIN members. I
like to include questions about their favorite rhythm, favorite song, how long they’ve been teaching, and the
one word that Zumba Fitness means to them, among other questions that give me insight on my
participant’s interests.
If most of my participants LOVE Merengue, then you can be sure that I’ll have one in the jam! If most of my
participants are brand new instructors, then I will have 4 songs from each of the 4 basic rhythms to really
ensure that they feel comfortable learning those songs with the Basic 1 steps they already know. Get to
know your ZIN Members even before they jam and be an even more successful Zumba Jammer!
UPDATE: Volunteering for Trade Shows
If you are interested in volunteering at upcoming Trade Shows, there is now a NEW process for
volunteering:
1. Look up trade show schedule (soon to be on the ZJ Dashboard)
2. Fill out the ZJ Volunteer Form (will be available on the ZJ dashboard soon).
3. Wait for special events department to contact you.
Note: Convention and Conference are not Trade Shows.
KUDOS
…to the Zumba Jammers who presented at the 2012 Zumba Instructor Conference in London for making
ZIN Jam sessions a success! ZIN Jam sessions received AMAZING ratings! Anna Marchenko, Anne
Herickx, Bernadett Fejszes, Eduardo Fajardo, Dede McGarrity, and Tamara Pitts – YOU ROCKED!
…and to Mary Ellen Thompson and Jeffrey Franssen for having two of the overall top rated sessions for
the 2012 Zumba Instructor Conference in London!