You Can Now Take a Dance Class With Alpacas
“Camelid Cardio” anyone?
313 Farms, in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, is attracting some local attention with a new summer: alpaca dance parties. Founded in 2012, 313 Farms is a small hobby farm consisting of nine male alpacas, launched with the idea of selling alpaca manure to local farms and businesses. (Alpaca manure is an excellent fertilizer, with comparatively high levels of potassium and nitrogen.)
This summer, though, the farm has diversified its revenue streams with a new program: The AlpacaZone, as they call it, offers six different kinds of dance classes, including hip-hop, Pilates, and cardio, that you do with Alpacas. It’s similar to goat yoga (and goat CrossFit) in that the animals are more of a fun backdrop than anything; alpacas, though they are capable of goofy postures, are not generally able to be do a Pilates hundred, nor are they known to be particularly adept at learning Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” routine.
Each class is 45-min of dance followed by 15 minutes of cool-down, during which attendees get to hang out with the animals. Several of the classes are specifically designed for families and younger children, and the owners of the farm told Global News that the alpacas are friendly and sociable and seem to enjoy being around a bunch of goofy humans moving strangely to music.
You can check out biographies of all the alpacas (or sign up for dance classes if you’re in the area) at 313 Farms’ site.
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