Communities are strengthened by the members within them who make a difference and Jenny Love has no shortage of doing so. 

She enjoys it so much she celebrates by dancing the entire time. Love spreads her positive energy and drive by teaching Zumba classes. 

“I love how she makes everyone feel welcome and you can do things at your own level,” said Aleta Holbrook, an avid Zumba member. “Step it up or step it down. She just makes it fun.” 

Like many, when COVID hit, Love struggled to find ways to connect with others and simultaneously was dealt life-changing medical news. “During the week of my birthday I went for my annual checkup and found that my A1c levels were high,” she said. “With this diabetic health scare, I was told I needed to do something about it now.”  

So, she did. She began by eliminating soda from her diet and joined a local Zumba class at the Davis Recreation Center. Turns out, she loved it so much and found that it was the perfect landing place to give back to herself while caring for her family. 

“My husband has Parkinson’s disease, and I am his caregiver, along with taking care of my two sons,” said Love. “I knew I needed to elevate my health above everything else to always be able to take care of my family.” 

Love is enthusiastic about her Zumba journey. “I started attending Zumba classes with three times a week attendance which led to four times a week and then moved to five times a week,” she said. “Then it was, when can I get my own class?”

During this time, Love became certified to teach her own Zumba classes. “I ended up being at the front of the class one time in October 2020 and afterwards my instructor suggested I become one too.” 

Upon certification (and with COVID restrictions in place) Love began searching for locations where she could offer her “dance party” to others. She reached out to the Woods Cross City Council and submitted a proposal under the Community of Promise to offer Zumba classes. This was granted and Love began teaching classes in the Woods Cross City Hall multipurpose room in 2021. 

“I teach Zumba Gold, which is for 55 years old and up or anyone with mobility issues and in need of lower impact workouts to follow,” she said. “There aren’t any offerings for Zumba Gold classes around here and this class is always full because of that. I also teach regular Zumba which is an intermediate impact class.”  

These classes are currently held the second Saturday of every month at Woods Cross City Hall. They are free to attend. Zumba Gold is at 10:30 a.m. and Zumba follows at 11:15 a.m. With the growth of the class size and the overall demand, Love will be offering these classes on the second and fourth Saturday every month, beginning in April. The location will be changing to the City Shops 2287 S. 1200 West (next to Legacy Prep Academy). 

Love believes these classes are so popular because Zumba, “is less intimidating and the workout is disguised as a dance party. If I can do this, so can you!” And that, she has. Love has seen significant weight loss and is now back in the normal, healthy range in her A1c level due to all her dancing with Zumba and giving back to the community.

In addition to teaching free Zumba classes and spreading positivity, Love teaches art classes at the Davis Art Center in Bountiful and freely offers gardening tips to her neighbors.

Zumba classes with Love are updated on her Facebook group page and can also be found in the Woods Cross City monthly newsletter. l