On a typical Friday afternoon on campus, a time when many students want to decompress after a long week of classes, Gavin Brezski ’22, is standing six feet away from a congregation of 10 students. He is “yelling” at them, positively encouraging the students, many of whom are dressed in colorful and vibrant clothing, to pick their knees up higher and move their feet faster. Breskzi’s body is moving rhythmically to the sound of up-beat Latin dance music.
Yes, Brezski’s Friday afternoon is dedicated to Zumba class, where everybody loves the encouragement and energy he brings.
“When you’re at a Zumba class, it’s not a time to take yourself seriously,” Brezski said. “I’ll get in people’s faces. If there’s a big dramatic ending to a song, I will flop onto the ground. I’m showing everybody that we don’t need to see ourselves seriously, we just need to have fun, get our heart rates up and feel good.”
Zumba is an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party. Brezski, a certified Zumba instructor, has cultivated a community of passionate Zumba-goers within the St. Joe’s student body. Every Friday at 4 p.m. in the upper gym of O’Pake Recreation Center, Brezski and his relentless energy lead students through a free 45-minute Zumba class.
Olivia Graner ’24 said Brezski is the main reason that she and her group of friends continue to attend Zumba class week after week.
“Gavin makes it so fun and exciting every week,” Graner said. “He’s literally just a firecracker and he has so much energy.”
Brezski said that his passion for Zumba developed during the fall semester of his first year at St. Joe’s. At the time, he said he was not in a particularly healthy state. He attended a Zumba class and had a lot of fun, and shortly after bought an unlimited number of classes for the semester.
“Zumba became my motivation to get through the week and exercise during the week,” Brezski said. “It stopped being ‘Oh, I had to exercise,’ and instead became ‘I get to go to my Zumba party for the day.’”
Right as he was falling in love with Zumba, he learned that the instructor who taught weekly classes, Madison Rojas ’20, was going abroad in the spring semester. There would be no one to lead Zumba classes.
That’s when Brezski decided to get Zumba certified. In November 2018, he attended an instructor training session in Delaware.
“You basically take a nine-hour Zumba class of nonstop moving, nonstop dancing, for nine straight hours,” Brezski said. “If you could finish it the whole way through, you got your certificate.”
After earning his certification, he emailed Ann Marie Catania ’11, the director of Hawk-Fit fitness classes at St. Joe’s at the time. Catania questioned if Brezski was capable of teaching Zumba so quickly after earning his certification. Brezski said that she allowed him to teach a trial class under her supervision.
“About three songs in, she was like ‘he’s got it’ and she left and she went home,” Brezski said.
Brezski said his classes are different from many other Zumba classes. Zumba instructors are not supposed to speak when teaching a class. They are taught to use hand cues to guide students. Brezski uses cues, but said he could not teach Zumba in silence.
“I have a very loud voice, and it’s just so much easier to get the energy out, to make people laugh, to make people smile, to get people into it, when you’re using your own individual assets,” Brezski said. “For me, that’s my voice.”
Elise Conlin ’22, who has been taking Zumba classes at St. Joe’s since her freshman year, said Brezski’s interest in the lives of his students differentiates him from other instructors. She said that before class, Brezski will walk around the floor and ask his students about their personal lives.
“I definitely think that he is genuinely concerned about each and every one of the participants,” Conlin said.
According to Graner, Brezski fosters an atmosphere of togetherness.
“He makes you feel so included,” Graner added.
Brezski said one of his main goals for his students is to make them feel like they completed a workout without ever viewing Zumba as strenuous exercise.
“I want everybody to think, ‘I’m glad I did this, and not 45 minutes of running,’” Brezski said. “Here you’re surrounded by people, we’re having fun, we’re supporting each other and we’re enjoying ourselves.”
According to Conlin, Brezski’s classes also provide a refuge from the uncertainties and chaos in the outside world, especially in a fall semester filled with stress and uncertainty.
“It’s a reassuring place to be and it’s like a happy environment that takes your mind off of everything going on in the world right now,” Conlin said.
For Brezski, his classes are very nuanced and detail-oriented. He said he spends a lot of time and thought selecting the music playlist for the weekly session. He has to plan after which songs he will integrate water breaks to ensure that students stay hydrated. But in order to get fulfillment out of his class, he offers just a few simple steps of guidance.
“At the beginning of every class I say, whether it’s your first time, or 60th time, just keep calm, have fun, and move your feet to the beat,” Brezski said.
