Christina Chua
Travel the world through music and dance with Zumba!
by Eunice Delumen
Christina Chua is the Stanford Recreation Zumba instructor. She was born and raised in Dumaguete City, province of Negros Oriental, Visayan region of the Philippines. Her parents were schoolteachers. She is the 4th child of 5 siblings. They speak English, Cebuano and Tagalog growing up with relatives in the same neighborhood.
After completing her college education, Christina worked in recruitment, psychological testing/evaluation and then fairs and exhibitions organization, planning and promotion. She made a major life change when she decided to move to the US in 1988 and get married. For years, she was a stay-at-home wife/mom. She was not very athletic and chose to stay fit through exercise videos and swimming in the community pool. Joining Club Sport when it first opened in Fremont was her first gym and group fitness experience. She explored a variety of fitness formats. As some activities lost their appeal over time, she found dance-based exercises the most enjoyable. This led her to Zumba.
Christina did not consider herself a dancer. A careless comment that she was “tikig” (translation: stiff/lacking in grace and flexibility) when she was a young child had created a stigma. Zumba exposed her to different dance styles, empowered her to express herself, move with purpose and made her realize that she can dance. At the start of the Zumba rage, Christina explored the gyms and studios, attending classes taught by different instructors – even mistaken for one. When people suggested that she become an instructor, she initially hesitated. As in introvert, she felt awkward being in the “spotlight.” Christina eventually decided to get her Basic 1 license to teach Zumba Fitness in 2012. She supplemented that by taking Group Exercise Instructor (GXI) certification and yoga workshops through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). Soon after, she started working as a substitute instructor and then teaching 10-13 regular classes per week.
Christina believes that learning is a ongoing process. She continually attends training sessions taught by Zumba Jammers to learn new choreography and dance styles. It was during one of these sessions that someone recommended that she apply to be a Stanford Recreation Zumba instructor. She started in the summer of 2017 at Arastradero and Porter Drive through Stanford Health Improvement Program (HIP). When Stanford Redwood City (SRWC) opened in 2019, she transitioned from Porter Drive to SRWC. Since the beginning of pandemic, she joined the other instructors teaching fitness to the Stanford community via Zoom.
Zumba changed Christina’s fitness outlook. To Christina fitness is not a short-term goal. It is a lifestyle. She decided to become a Zumba instructor to share her passion and help people discover the fitness party.
Zumba's core rhythms are merengue, reggaeton, salsa, cumbia and embraces other styles like Bollywood, samba, K-pop, disco, belly dance, tango, flamenco, bachata, etc. Attending a class is like traveling around the world through music and dance. It is colorful, educational, and inclusive.
Favorite Filipino food that Christina enjoys cooking: lumpia shanghai, pork adobo, chicken inasal, biko, food for the gods.
Favorite Filipino traditions: hosting Christmas eve gathering with relatives and close friends – great way to catch up.
During Spring Quarter, Christina will be teaching Zumba at the AOERC on Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM and Saturdays @ 10:30 AM (via Stanford Cardinal Pass) and Zumba via Zoom on Tuesdays at 5:00 PM and Fridays at 12:00 PM for Stanford Virtual Recreation.
