[photo credit: Pasadena Public Library]
The free one-hour class will be led by Akilah Watts, a board-certified music therapist and Zumbini-certified instructor from LA Musica Therapy. Watts holds a master’s degree in music therapy from Illinois State University and has lived in Pasadena for nearly nine years.
Zumbini, created through a partnership between Zumba Fitness and BabyFirst TV and launched in January 2017, combines “music, dance and educational tools” designed to stimulate cognitive, social, emotional and motor development. LA Musica Therapy integrates “music therapy techniques within the Zumbini framework,” aiming to build gross motor skills, enhance coordination and balance, encourage caregiver-child bonding and expand vocabulary through sing-alongs and rhythmic chanting.
The program aligns with Pasadena Public Library’s early literacy framework, which stresses that singing helps children “hear the smaller sounds that make up words…learn about rhythm and rhyme…[and] learn new words.”
Zumbini sessions began at Pasadena library branches in September, expanding to Hastings Branch in November. LA Musica Therapy is an approved Regional Center service provider, vetted by California’s system to provide services for children with developmental disabilities.
Registration is required for both children and adult caregivers. Participants seeking accessibility accommodations should provide at least 72 hours’ advance notice.
Zumbini: Movement and Music for Little Ones will run on Tuesday, January 13 at 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. La Pintoresca Branch Library, 1355 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103. For more information, call (626) 744-7268 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D187964653.
