It’s a Zumba Party! Written by Amardy Dhanoya
Are you sick of running on the treadmill, or doing the same old routine in your aerobics class? Keeping fit doesn’t have to be boring. For those of you who are looking for something more fun and exciting, chances are you have heard of the latest fitness craze sweeping the Gold Coast – that’s right it’s Zumba. Zumba Fitness has grown to become the world’s largest and most successful dance fitness program. Millions of people of all shapes, sizes and ages attending weekly Zumba classes in over 90,000 locations across around 110 countries. Australia alone has over 3000 registered instructors. Zumba was created in the mid 90’s by accident by aerobics instructor Beto Perez. He had forgotten the music for his regular aerobics class, so he used the tapes he had in his backpack which he usually listened to. He improvised to the Latin music, loved the excitement, and watching all the positive reactions, he realised he was onto something. This ‘accident’ was about to revolutionise the world of fitness.
Exotic rhythms set to high-energy Latin beats – before you know it, you’re getting fit and you’re energy levels are soaring!
26 | Coast Kids
Moving away from traditional forms of exercise, Zumba combines exotic rhythms set to high-energy Latin and international beats. Before you know it, you’re getting fit and your energy levels are soaring! Zumba uses many different styles of dance including Salsa, Meringue, Samba, Reggaeton, even bringing Bollywood into the mix. My own love affair with Zumba started when I attended my first class over a year ago. I had a blast! The energy in the room was electrifying. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to be a part of this phenomenon, and so I became a qualified Zumba instructor. I started teaching my own classes, and after talking to fellow