Sandy Springs Zumba class creates community for women

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - A Zumba class in Sandy Springs is gaining a lot of attention. It's not for the moves or the music, it's the women who are a part of it.

Tucked away in a parking lot next to North Springs United Methodist Church is a Zumba class with a different kind of setup. 

"We get out here and we just have a great time. Because in Zumba, nobody's perfect, everyone is a work in progress," Amanda Ippolito said.

The women here are not just working on their fitness. They're part of the program Peers Empowering Peers, which helps support people recovering from mental health crises or substance abuse by offering community-based services.

"Some people recover by going to treatment, attending meetings, other people need other kinds of support, like meeting people with common interests," Ippolito says.

Magda Olvera teaches Zumba classes around the area. She's been around here for five years.

"And I think to myself, OK, I got it, I think I got it. And suddenly, Wondra comes along and I'm like oh! How do I do this?" Olvera said.

Wondra Walton lost her sight in 2015, but she didn't lose her passion to dance, so she decided to come to class.

"I told them I would just come and sit outside and listen to the music," Walton said.

She didn't sit for long.

"So we started our class and she was sitting there, and next thing I know she's (snapping fingers) on the beat, moving in her chair," Olvera said,

Olvera jumped in immediately and started teaching Walton the moves.

Now Walton is a Zumba regular.

"And I touch the parts of her body that she's moving so she knows. And I touch her with the beat so she knows how fast or slow she can move. And it seems like it's working, Wondra is it working? Yes!" Olvera said, laughing.

When Olvera takes a step back to teach the rest of the class a new dance, there's always a helping hand nearby.

"Everyone is so willing to help, and that's really what makes it work, is the community coming together for each individual," Ippolito said.

The ladies have created a support system, not just for Walton, but for each other, and it's all through the love of dance.

"When we're doing Zumba, we're dancing, we're just having fun, we're equal," Olvera says.

To learn more about Peers Empowering Peers, visit their website.