Get ready for Sentao

One of the most popular faces of Zumba in India, Jegatha Muralidharan, or Jags as she is popularly known, is all set to take that popularity to an international level. The first and only Zumba Jammer from India, Jags will soon be attending the Orlando Zumba Convention in Florida, where Zumba Jammers from all around the world will be meeting for a five-day congregation of workshops and networking.

Being a Zumba Jammer, she is licenced to create choreographies for Zumba tracks and train Zumba instructors world-wide. Although there are about 50 people from India going for the convention on their own, Jags is one of the only two Indians who have been “invited”. She had attended the convention last year after being declared as the first Zumba Jammer from India.

“It is a big achievement for me to be representing Zumba in India,” she says. But her story with Zumba dates back to three years, when she moved to Hyderabad. “I moved to Hyderabad from Goa three years ago and Zumba was not a popular concept in the city then. After a lot of planning for six months, we started Zumba training here and it was the flash mob that we did in one of the malls in the city that upped the craze for Zumba,” says Jags, who is a self-taught Salsa dancer and has won several international and national Salsa competitions.

And dance also brought love in Jags’ life as she met her husband, Karthikeyan Krishnan at a Salsa Congress and then they started Dance Jockey in Hyderabad, which is known to be one of the toughest courses in the city to get into. “This time, I will be getting a certification in Zumba Sentao, that is Zumba done with the help of a chair. I plan to conduct the first-ever Zumba Sentao masterclass in Hyderabad when I return,” she adds.

Jags will be leaving for  Florida on August 11 and she is absolutely thrilled. “At the convention, there will be Zumba instructors from all over the world and a line-up of about 200 workshops. But more than anything, this is my opportunity to learn new moves and implement them in Zumba classes here in India. This is truly a dream for me. I am looking forward to it,” says Jags.