We recently connected with Aakansha Dave and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Aakansha, thanks for joining us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?
Growing up, I was always fascinated with Dancing, and I used to actively participate in various Dance competitions and events throughout school life and even more during my Engineering days in my home city of Kolkata in India. One chance encounter steered my life in a significant and lifelong direction, when I stumbled upon a newly introduced Zumba class way back in 2011 at one of the gymnasiums I used to workout. That form of workout intrigued me a lot and I became a regular student at that Zumba class as it now combined two things I liked – Dance + Fitness in the most fun way possible.
Although, that journey was short lived as I moved to another city, Pune, to pursue an MBA in Communications Management and got completely focused on the student life again. This was until, I came across a training happening over the weekend to become a Licensed Zumba Fitness Instructor. Not delving much into the fact whether I would take that up as a career, I attended that two-day training missing my weekend lectures at college to get the license to teach Zumba as an Instructor. It was definitely an unforgettable experience and oh boy! I felt the after effects of that joy for quite a while.
A couple of months later, I decided to approach the Health & Fitness department of my university and got an opportunity to conduct two classes every week both for the UG and PG campus, that is four classes in a week! 😊 It was an exhilarating experience to do something I absolutely loved for my friends and batch mates in the campus, get a good one hour of a fun cardio workout for myself as well as get paid for it by the University itself. That joy during that one hour of ‘Zumba at 7’ after a day full of lectures was unparalleled especially looking at all those happy faces around me every time I would finish a class! It was a total stress buster for all!
To say that I wasn’t considering this to be my profession would be a lie, but my goal at that time like everyone at my age was to work in the communications and marketing space for at least 5 years or more, earn a living, stand up on my feet per se and then gradually switch to making my passion as my career. And so, I did, when I got placed in a Marketing & Communications agency in Pune city itself. I also met amazing some local Instructors of my city and eventually got an opportunity to teach an evening class post work. But, 7 months into the work life, I started questioning my aspirations/goals with a belief that there will never be a right time for this career switch than when I want it to be. Even after 5 years, this switch to a completely different career path would eventually lead me to start from scratch and if I make the switch right away, it will be a struggle initially but I will gain these 5 years of experience in a field I saw myself sticking to for a lifetime. My family and my husband (then boyfriend) were as always extremely supportive of all the decisions I wanted to take for myself. Hence, I made a major pivot of leaving my job in the communications field and completely switching to the career path of Dance & Fitness.
Was it easy? Absolutely not! Most days were a struggle when you switch from a stable paying income job to one with hourly wages but when you love what you do, you give it your all! 😊And so I did take up every opportunity that came my way. With Zumba, my passion found its purpose – to be able to spread the joy and benefits of movement to those looking for fun ways to exercise. In 2016, I applied and got selected for the role of a Zumba Jammer of India. There were now only three Zumba Jammers in the country (ZJ), including myself at that time.
I spent seven years into a role that required me to provide continuing education to Instructors all across the globe both online and offline and helped me to connect and engage with them. Along with Zumba, I forayed into various other specialties of Dance genres and different types of fitness formats and got associated with schools, colleges, MNCs, cultural and sports events and various other organizations.
As I look back today to that first class at my alma mater and then my first class at that studio after work, I feel immensely grateful and proud to be able to not just survive in the unconventional career path I chose but to have done it successfully and more importantly with utmost dedication, humility, courage, confidence and purpose! A purpose to make lives better with the joy of movement!
Aakansha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I grew up dancing in Kolkata, India’s cultural center. Despite pursuing engineering, MBA, and digital marketing, dance remained my passion and eventually became my career.
With an experience of 11 years in the Dance and Fitness Industry, nothing makes me more excited and prouder than to see the joy that people feel when I get to create choreographies for them or conduct a session. In these eleven years, I have had the opportunity to spread my love for Dance, fitness and wellness to people of all ages and at various platforms and institutions including schools, colleges, corporates, NGOs, marathons, and both online and offline. During my role as a Zumba Jammer in India, I conducted 80+ Jam Sessions training Zumba instructors globally.
Apart from Zumba, I am hugely grateful to have had uncountable opportunities to share my love for Dance genres like Bollywood, Bhangra, Garba, freestyle among dance enthusiasts from different corners of the world through workshops and sessions.
Further, as a media and communications professional, I am also currently volunteering and a member of the board for the Digital and Marketing Communications operations of a non-profit called Camp Kindness Counts in the Washington state, USA. Camp Kindness Counts empowers young people, adults, and families to embrace their authentic selves through character development and mindfulness, encourages them to positively impact their communities through kindness, and inspires them to shape an empathetic world as courageous, compassionate global citizens. It’s been a great journey so far in helping build a kinder future, a cause I feel deeply about.
Currently, I am working on my passion project – ‘The Instructor Playbook’ by Aakansha Dave. Intended for Instructors in the Dance Fitness Industry with a purpose to inspire, encourage and empower them in their pursuit for success. My purpose with The Instructor Playbook (TIP) is to create a space for my industry peers to share experiences, their knowledge and insights, have a positive dialogue and to inspire one another for generations to come.
For folks reading this, to put in plain words – I love to spread joy and happiness by sharing my passion for dance and movement with all those around me through various offline and online channels and I intend to continue to do it as long as I can! 😊
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Looking back, one thing I wish I knew or rather practiced sooner – The importance of Organization! More specifically Digital Organization!
Keeping my physical space clean and organized, hasn’t been a cause of concern for me as I presume, I am tidy and organized in that area to some extent!! I wouldn’t say I am a ‘Monica’ in that department for sure (F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan forever 😊). But the one thing I could definitely rectify sooner was being more organized with my digital stuff, my calendars and my routine.
I have learnt this over the course of time as I missed out on some golden opportunities due to my lack of digital organization including one such invitation to be a speaker at an alumni talk series event a couple of years ago from my alma mater talking about my journey and how I molded my own path away from the traditional ones that we opted for back in college. I would have loved to share my experiences and learning with the present students at that time, had I been more organized with my digital space and timely responses.
Missed opportunities like these were an eye opener and made me realize how much a well-organized digital space matters. It can lead to better opportunities, increased productivity and better time management! Not keeping my digital space tidy was indeed a lesson I unlearned a while ago and safe to say, it has since then worked wonders for me! Decluttering my digital environment has led to more efficiency, productivity, better turnaround time and most definitely peace of mind! 😊
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
As an Instructor in the Dance and Fitness field, constant learning is a requisite. I think of myself as a lifelong learner. No matter how well versed we are in our craft, all of us prepare for every single session we teach! There is no other secret formula. We prepare, we learn and we constantly upgrade our skill sets by undertaking various trainings, knowledge sessions and also by learning from our community itself, from our peers.
Other than that, there is one thing that is most helpful for instructors to succeed –
‘Embracing your unique skill and playing to your strengths’. It can be an instructor’s greatest asset, making them more confident in their sessions, explore more creatively and helps them create a unique brand identity for themselves. More so, that kind of authenticity makes them more relatable, helps build trust with class participants who can connect with their instructors better and be more consistent. When you truly teach with confidence and embracing your strongest skills, you teach with passion and that reflects in your class delivery and is most helpful in succeeding as an Instructor in the Dance and Fitness field.
I am glad I got to answer this question as these are also one of the many excerpts elaborately spoken about in my weekly episodes of ‘The Instructor Playbook’ that I have curated specifically to encourage, empower and inspire Instructors in my field with these little anecdotes and topics that I release every week with a purpose to help them be the best version of themselves.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aakanshadave/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aakansha.dave.5/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aakansha-dave-58383554/
- Twitter: https://x.com/aakansha_dave
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AakanshaDave
