She bills herself as “The World’s Most Successful Zumba Instructor,” but soon she might not have a place to teach in Santa Barbara.
Josette Tkacik, a Zumba celebrity dance teacher with 25,000 Instagram followers, is trying to keep her space at the Carrillo Ballroom. She has been teaching for more than a decade, with class sizes of up to 200 people, at times, before the COVID-19 pandemic. She typically signed yearlong leases to secure her place.
Now, the city of Santa Barbara is asking her and other dance and fitness instructors to fill out applications for the various Parks & Recreation spaces around town.
“After a year of closure, in a horrific year, when businesses suffered a lot, you would think that they would take the opportunity to show up and support us fitness businesses, and say, ‘How can we help you?’ not, ‘You may or may not have a spot with us anymore.’”
Rich Hanna, recreation manager for Parks & Recreation, told Noozhawk that the department has been severely affected in terms of reduced programming and revenues as a result of COVID-19. Officials have asked all regular and potential dance and fitness providers to reapply in a manner that will allow staff to review all of the proposals and schedule the maximum amount of programming for the remainder of the calendar year and beyond.”
He said all indoor dance and fitness classes ceased operating in March 2020, and other than a brief reopening when only Zumba and Jazzercise returned in the fall, most activities have remained outdoors.
“With the anticipated phased reopening, the department wanted to use this opportunity to ensure we provide the most diverse and regular program offerings for the community, while determining who wishes to return, when they wish to return and in what fashion,” Hanna said. “Additionally, we have some instructors who are choosing to not return, and we are also using this process to fill vacated slots to maximize all of the spaces in the Carrillo Recreation Center.”
Hannah said Tkacik has participated in the application processes in the past and each time has demonstrated that her programming is “a good fit for the community,” adding, “Ms. Tkacik is uniquely qualified given her history of operating programming at this facility.”
But Tkacik said that a week ago Hanna told her not to print any marketing materials for her classes. Hanna confirmed to Noozhawk that he made the comment.
“Until this process closes on 4/2, not knowing how many applications we may receive, and the potential for minor or major possible schedule changes, I advised Josette to hold off spending funding on marketing until the process closed and new agreements were in place,” Hanna said. “Josette has a very robust social media presence and following, which she successfully uses, and we have approved Josette and other fitness and dance providers to return temporarily on the same rate structure when the local health tier changes until this process concludes.”
Tkacik has been teaching her class at Chase Palm Park on Saturday mornings. About 50 people gathered there this weekend to follow her energetic and vibrant dance steps, across the street from the ocean. It’s a dynamic scene, featuring many members of the community.
Mayoral candidate and Planning Commissioner Deborah Schwartz was in attendance. She said she’s been a Zumba participant for the past few weeks.
“I am in support of competitive bidding in all areas of city business,” Schwartz said. “Having said that, recognizing the importance of having locals be our merchants and our service providers, including this wonderful Zumba class, has to be prioritized at the top of the consideration list.”
Tkacik said she feels as though she is being pushed out, and she doesn’t know why. She wonders if the popularity of her class has upset Parks & Recreation Director Jill Zachary. She also has been outspoken about having all dance and fitness class providers follow social distancing and COVID-19 protocols, and she believes that may have upset some in the department.
Hanna said the situation is about providing the best programming for the community.
“The pandemic has essentially shuttered all indoor activity in the Carrillo Recreation Center for a full year, and we have had increased interest from other dance and fitness providers,” Hanna said. “I think a process like this also proactively helps identify other users that may be able to fill space in the Carrillo Recreation Center as other regular providers may no longer be able to sustain their previous schedules.”
Originally from New York, Tkacik said she moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, working with actor and entertainer Tony Randall. She eventually found her way to UCSB and Santa Barbara, and never looked back.
“I got really big,” Tkacik said. “They didn’t like that I was earning money.”
For Rosalina Macisco, a regular attendee of Tkacik’s Zumba classes and a dance teacher herself, she believes Tkacik should be allowed to return to her spot.
“Who makes those decisions?” she said. “Is it the people who are running it, or the people of the community? How can we best make a community center be reflective of our community? How are those decisions made? And right now, it just seems like it is not reflective of the community. Josette’s just been around for 10 years and has such a pulse on the community.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
