Jumana cast joins forces with Core Direction fitness

If you have been privileged enough to see Jumana – Secret of the Desert , a spectacular open air stage show which celebrates Arabia's rich history and culture, you will notice how the energy and endurance of the cast surpasses by far the physical limits known to most of us.

The performers, carefully hand-picked by Jumana General Manager, Johan Viljoen, and Creative Director, Gerhard Meyer, during their global search, have been receiving specialist training from the innovative and cutting-edge fitness company, Core Direction who are supported by Reebok.

The company's founder and director, Cliff Tindell, has been coordinating the program for the 60-strong outfit at the Al Sahra amphitheatre three times a week. The South-African, whose company performs a range of fitness activities including personal training, indoor and outdoor group classes and corporate well being programs, is thrilled to be helping the team prepare for the show.

"Core Direction, as a health and fitness company, train people of all shapes and sizes, the majority of which are of an amateur level, but working with performers of an international calibre gives us the chance to really demonstrate the company's true training ability. For athletes who can in most cases perform any physical tasks, it really is up to our team to make sure the exercise programs are always new, innovative and exciting" said Tindell.

Delighted with the Core Direction collaboration, Viljoen commented, "Generally, companies claim that their employees are their most important assets - in our instance this statement is definitive: our performers, the dancers and acrobats ARE our business. Hence, their physical and mental state of well-being is mission critical to the company. We further need to do whatever possible to avoid injuries on and off stage - a costly matter from a company perspective; moreover for the performers, as injuries could jeopardise their careers. To this end, our collaboration with Core Direction plays a major part - we are confident that Clifford and his team of expert trainers and coaches will have a significant impact on the physical performance of the dancers and acrobats. The company benefits from a cost (healthcare) and risk management (business continuity) point of view."