Fun, Dance, Fitness, and Afrobeats: We Test Out Jindafit BANA

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Whenever we make a health-related resolution that involves exercise, one of the biggest reasons we don’t follow through is that, well, we get bored. But there’s one guy in Beijing who’s been making fitness fun for grownups since 2005 and recently adapted his workout to include kids.

Founded in Beijing in 2005, D’Jack Tchinda created Jindafit, a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout incorporated into African movements and music. A great way to introduce African music and dance to the Beijing community, it not only educates people, but provides a judgment-free space to have fun, exercise, and relax with fun modern music originating from places all around Africa. With their interesting backstory, ambitious goals, and friendly yet professional instructors, Jindafit is a great program to check out if you want to let go of your worries and enjoy yourself with others.

D'Jack Tchinda

 “I would like to say that there is a difference between African dance and African dance workouts. Jindafit is an African dance workout,” Tchinda tells beijingkids. “I’m a fitness instructor, so I create and instruct in Jindafit with the fitness aspect of it in my mind.”  Jindafit incorporates parts of the body that helps posture and also a HIIT, made to ensure that the training burns fat during and after the workout. The playlists are different every time, based on how advanced the students are, as well as the songs. “I don’t just choose music. Music has to speak to me. People sometimes listen to a popular Afrobeats song and think that I have to use it. If the music doesn’t speak to me, I don’t use it.” Tchinda also mentioned that he chooses the songs if he has ideas on how to choreograph them. “Each move that I choreograph has a meaning behind it.”

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Tchinda began dancing at the young age of five. Being a regular DJ, he had a great experience with music, rhythm, and had also been around fitness his whole life, providing him with the perfect background for creating something like Jindafit, combining all three. The inspiration came when he had walked into a step class, looking for an experience that was different from his normal scene. He walked in with high hopes, hoping for a mentor who could introduce him to step and give him guidance, but came out of the class disappointed. The teacher hadn’t given him an ounce of attention. The trainer was only focused on the technical aspect of the class. “I went home that day and thought to myself; there must be something better out there. I want to create something where coaches will care about teaching students, instead of just focusing on themselves,” says Tchinda. And soon enough, Jindafit was created.

Alessia Chizzoniti with her class

Every company faces many difficulties, but the biggest one that Tchinda faced when he started Jindafit is different from others. “Nowadays it’s easier because people are more familiar with African dance. But when I first started Jindafit, people wouldn’t look at me or take me seriously when I told them that I was teaching African dance fitness. Nobody was interested.” But now, as African dance and music become more mainstream, it’s become easier for Jindafit to attract more customers. And he’s been able to teach a lot in Beijing whether it’s in hotels, gyms, or other various spaces, but that was before COVID-19 struck. During COVID-19, he hasn’t been able to train as much. In fact, because of that, Tchinda’s goal for Jindafit’s development this year is to expand as much as possible in Beijing. He says that he wants to get out of the COVID-19 period with vengeance.

Tchinda’s main motivation is to create the kids’ program of Jindafit, Jindafit BANA. Tchinda wants to reach everyone and everything with Jindafit. Jindafit and Jindafit BANA are two different programs. Tchinda teamed up with Alessia Chizzoniti who now teaches the Jindafit BANA classes. Before meeting Chizzoniti, Tchinda admits “if a kid freaked out, I wouldn’t know what to do!” But Chizzoniti, a mother of three, educator, and doula is the perfect person for the job. Chizzoniti admits that “I went in dreading the class, but when I finished, I thought to myself: why didn’t I try this before?” She and Tchinda created Jindafit BANA together, with the goal in mind of introducing African culture to kids from six years old and up!

Nothing beats a morning workout with friends

Jindafit BANA is fun! There were many different stories relating to the different dance moves and beats/music, but I have to admit that I was slightly lost, as this was my first time participating. I still had a great time listening to the catchy afro beats that Chizzoniti played while dancing. The choreography was fun, with moves that were easy to remember (especially with the explanations for movements before we started dancing) and I felt like I got a nice workout without being exhausted. I was fairly surprised about how relaxed and fun the music and dance moves were.

Overall, Jindafit BANA is a great way for kids aged six and up to be more culturally aware while having fun and staying healthy. As a teenager who doesn’t know much about Africa and its culture, I thought this was a great chance to understand it better while having fun.

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Images: Courtesy of Alessia Chizzoniti

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