Zumba!

It’s cardio dance to a Latin beat. It’s fun! With a good imagination, you can convince yourself that you are partying at the Copa Cabana instead of exercising. The music is a lively mixture of salsa, meringue, cumbia, calypso, rumba, and even belly dancing.

It all started in the nineties in Columbia. Fitness instructor Beto Perez forgot his cardio dance tape for class and found a Latin music CD in his car. To his surprise, it was a huge success. He brought Zumba to South Florida in 2000, and now there are 20,000 instructors in 35 countries. According to Wikipedia, Zumba is spreading like wildfire.

The dance studio that my Zumba classes meet in has a multi-colored disco ball and mirrored walls. There are several instructors, and each has her personal Zumba style: fitness, quick step, hip hop, etc. Of course, in South Florida, it is all Latin music with Maria who is from Spain: “Soft knees, soft knees; soft shoulders, soft shoulders.”

With 30-40 people in the studio, it gets very hot. So Zumba requires minimum clothing. I wear a sleeveless top, capris, and dance sneakers. The instructors wear tank tops or sports bras with Zumba pants: cargo pants with tassels on the pocket flaps at the butt and knees. The pants are black with top, tassels, and accessories in a contrasting color like hot pink. Fingerless net gloves are a popular accessory.

Most of the Zumba enthusiasts in my classes are women. They have the right body parts to shake. Just ask Shakira! In Florida, though, we have some men who are old smoothies. I look around the room and smile at people of all ages, shapes, and sizes having fun.

So, if you like to dance, give it a try. Let yourself go, and get in touch with your inner slut. “Move your body; shake it, shake it!” Zumba!