Liza Natalia Fun to be fit
Have fun and lose weight? It seems like a contradiction in terms until you meet up with LIZA NATALIA, Indonesia’s Ambassador for Zumba, an exercise fitness programme with 15 million devotees worldwide. Liviani Putri reports
“Igained a lot of weight after giving birth to my second child, but the idea of exercising to take off the extra kilos felt like a huge burden,” says the much-loved singer and actress Liza Natalia. “In the past, I had done aerobics. But, to be honest, I’d found it boring, It didn’t make me feel energised at all. But when I discovered Zumba, my whole life changed.”
Zumba fans like Liza love the exercise fitness programme because it’s fun, and anyone can do it. It was created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto “Beto” Perez in the 1990s. Zumba involves dance and aerobic movements performed to energetic music. The choreography incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue and mambo. Squats and lunges are also included. Some 15 million people take weekly Zumba classes in over 200,000 locations across 180 countries. The Brazilian pop singer Claudia Leitte is the international ambassador to Zumba Fitness. Liza is Indonesia’s ambassador.
How did it all start for Liza? “Six or seven years ago, a friend living in the United States gave me a video to watch. She told me: ‘Liza, you have to learn Zumba!’ I was curious. What was that? She just said that I had to watch and she believed I would like it. My reaction when I saw the video was: ‘ Wow, that’s a Latin cardio, dance fitness exercise. What a fun way to work out! It seems easy. There are a lot of songs and dances in one practice session - and it’s not boring at all.’
“Then I started to do some research. My friend kept encouraging me to try Zumba because it was a hit in the US. I looked around in Jakarta and found a studio in Kemang. I tried it once and you know what? I fell in love with Zumba. The music is great! It’s 70 percent Latin dance and 30 percent international songs.
“I knew some fitness instructors, and a friend suggested we build a studio together. Since then, I have been totally involved in Zumba. Because I owned a studio, I decided I had to know more about Zumba and that I had to learn to teach it. I decided to fly to Perth to obtain instructor certification, because there was no programme available in Jakarta. When I told my husband ( entrepreneur Yusuf Khyber Hasnoputro), he said: “Let’s go!” We went there together and he took the certification course along with me.”
Armed with B1 instructor certification, the mother of Quinnara Latiza Brillians and Kinggara Marqueyoz Sucahyo opened a studio in Kemang called Liza Natalia Arena. She has been phenomenally successful, building up a membership of 1,800 Zumba devotees. “One class could be attended by 60 to 80 students, sometimes more,” Liza says. “We were soon running out of space in the studio, so I usually moved classes to the basketball hall.”
As Indonesia’s Brand Ambassador of Zumba, Liza attended a Jakarta ZIN ( Zumba Instructor Network) Academy gathering along with 500 instructors from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, India and Bangladesh at the beginning of December. It was a red letter day for Liza because Beto Perez came to Indonesia for the event.
“I had a photo shoot and an interview with him, and we performed together on stage,” she says. “To prepare for the event, I did a lot of strength training in the gym. I practiced Zumba three times a week and I made sure I was always eating clean.”
Liza says she has earned a total of six Zumba certificates, “starting with Zumba Gold, which recreates the original moves at a lower intensity. Then I took Zumba Toning. This is for body shaping and defining the muscles. In the US, they used maracas. Since these are hard to find in in Indonesia, I used dumbbells. Then I did Zumba Sentao. This combines strength and resistance training with innovative dance moves, using a chair as your dance partner. Next was Aqua Zumba, a high-energy aquatic exercise that creates less impact on your joints. Water creates natural resistance, which means each step is more challenging and helps to tone the muscles.”
Zumba teaching comes naturally to Liza. She remembers at 10 years old watching her mother, a gymnastics instructor, put students through their paces. “The trick is to create a choreography that’s easy to follow,” she says. Her experience as a dangdut singer helps a lot. “The music in Zumba is 30 percent international. Why? Because every country has its own traditional songs. When I’m teaching here, especially for the mass-class of 1,000 to 2,000 people, it’s impossible if we don’t include dangdut and other Indonesian music. Usually, I say: ‘Let’s Zumba together first, then we can dangdutan afterwards’. That’s the way I communicate with them.
“The result? Oh my God! They are really excited, and it makes the class really pumping and energetic. This inspired
“This is the right time when I can give back to society, have a good influence on others and, I hope, motivate a lot of people to have fun and get fit”
me to write an Indonesian song with a friend, ‘Yuk Zumba’, in 2014. I wanted it to be easy to remember, catchy, and combining Indonesian and English: ‘ Zumba bersama, zumba ria.. Yuk Zumba hiyee, yuk Zumba yeee, yuk zumba everywhere…’
“I had never thought about becoming a Zumba Ambassador. Then, in 2017, Zumba headquarters emailed me to announce my appointment as Zumba Brand Ambassador representing Indonesia.” The official celebration was held at Hotel Gran Mahakam Hotel, Jakarta in November 2017.
This success encouraged Liza to release her Zumba song as a single. She attended the worldwide Zumba Convention held in Orlando, Florida. “It’s a world-class event attended by 7.000 instructors from all over the world,” she says. “That convention was the first time I met Beto. I had an exclusive interview and I introduced my song to him. He liked it!
“When he came to Jakarta for ZIN Academy 2018, he asked me to present the song. That was an amazing feeling. They asked me to collaborate with another Indonesian singer. I have already proposed this idea to some singers I know and hopefully it will happen someday. On the other hand, people keep asking me where they can hear the song. Well, I have uploaded it to YouTube.”
What are Liza’s tips for living an active, healthy lifestyle? “The most important point is to have a willingness to commit yourself, and then try to manage a new routine. For example, if you have never put work outs in your routine, then try it at least once or twice a week, before or after work. You can practice at home as well as in the gym. There are a lot of options, like watching Zumba on YouTube. You can watch it on your phone, on your tablet.
“You should start eating healthier, too. Add more vegetables to your diet and fresh fruit. Then think about proteins and carbohydrates. It’s important to be wise in choosing what we eat, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t eat something tasty too! Cheating once a week is OK, but don’t do it too much. Because getting sick is expensive these days. There’s another good reason why it’s better to take care of your health.”
Who are Liza’s inspirations? “Of course, my family is number one, especially my husband,” she says. “He’s been very supportive of my projects ever since we got married. Even in the case of Zumba, he always stays by my side. For instance, he is taking care of all the paper work, the contracts and certifications.
“Next are the members at my studio. Because the essential thing is I want the members to follow the choreography happily and to get healthier together. Also, I’ve been through a lot in the entertainment industry, but what I’m doing today is not just for myself but for others. This is the right time when I can give back to society, have a good influence on others and, I hope, motivate a lot of people to have fun and get fit.”