By Taylah Eastwell
A vibrant local Zumba teacher has pledged to cart her boombox to Kalorama oval in coming weeks, running free dance classes to boost mental health following the devastating storm.
Ex-Kalorama resident and Zumba teacher Josie Rothon said the decision to run free classes came about after she experienced a bit of “survivor’s guilt” after the storm.
“I lived in Kalorama for 10 years, I moved to Mt Evelyn a year and a half ago, and on the night of the storms I was petrified because I just thought of the young family that bought my home. A few days later when I came up, my old street was just carnage, we’d lost four homes. I’d never heard of it before, but I felt what’s called survivor’s guilt,” she said.
Desperate to do something, Ms Rothon decided to run free zumba classes to boost mental health and give residents something fun to do despite the tragedy.
Ms Rothon runs online zumba classes for all ages and fitness levels after moving online during the coronavirus pandemic when she found herself out of work at both her other jobs. Despite her own difficult year, Ms Rothon was determined to help Hills residents get their smiles back.
“I had no power for ten days but that was fine compared to everybody else, so I started to think about what I could do. I’m a really bad cook, so I couldn’t offer cooking skills. I suddenly thought I could do free zumba because I’ve taught zumba on the mountain for 10 years,” she said.
After putting the call out on social media and receiving an overwhelming response, Ms Rothon now takes to the mountain three times a week to run her laughter-filled classes to anybody willing to join in at the Kalorama refuge.
“All these local mums replied and said ‘yes! It’s not too soon, let’s do it’,” she said.
Joined by red cross volunteers, emergency workers and interested onlookers, Ms Rothon’s classes are just as fulfilling for her as they are for locals.
“It’s beautiful because I’ve been teaching for 22 years and I feel like I finally get to live my life’s purpose, which is not so much making money but making people feel happy. It’s wicked, I feel like I can finally give back properly,” she said.
“I am one tiny aspect of what is going on here (at the Kalorama refuge centre). I’m here for the mental health, but there are people here for 12 hours each day, from 6am until 8pm helping in various ways. I’m just volunteering 45 minutes of my time which is nothing compared to everyone else, it’s just a collective family of kindness. It’s unbelievable,” she said.
“And do you know what’s really beautiful, there is so much food that has been donated here and the sweet thing is no one wants to take it because the community is so beautiful and special, they all think there is somebody else less fortunate than them… so there is enough toilet paper to cover the next lockdown in there,” she laughed.
Ms Rothon has committed to running three free classes a week at the oval on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 11am until the refuge centre closes.
“It impossible to feel sad when you’re dancing, my zumba classes aren’t really zumba anymore, they are more pop-infused laughter, my classes are cheeky and comedic and it’s not about getting anything right it’s about getting moving and just feeling, it’s just like a party,” she said.
“Anyone can do it from age three to 85 and any fitness level, even people that think they’ve got two left feet should try it because the collective energy of a huge group of women and men dancing is unbelievable. It’s just 45 mins where you get to forget about the sadness and the grief,” she said.
For more information, follow Josies Live Zumba Facebook group page or contact Josie on 0403 316 433.
