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| Ledger Dispatch photo by Michael Mott A group of women strut through Latin music as part of their Zumba workout at New York Fitness. |
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| Ledger Dispatch photo by Michael Mott A group of women pose for the camera while warming up to dance to Zumba, America's latest dance workout. |
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| Zumba is the latest dance aerobic workout to hit Amador County, as these women are shown here during a recent class. |
| Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch |
The sharp beat of traditional Latin rhythms like the meringue, samba, and salsa reverberate off the walls of New York Fitness, providing a fun atmosphere, plus a great way to lose weight.
The Zumba dance, created in the mid-1990s, has swept the nation, with attendance rivaling that of other gym programs like yoga. The program originated when Colombian celebrity fitness instructor "Beto" Perez walked into class and realized he had forgotten his aerobics music at home. So, instead, he used the salsa and meringue tapes left in his car, and the class was a success. Perez named the class Zumba after the Colombian slang word that means to buzz around, or move fast like a bee.
In 1999, Perez brought the class to America, and joined up with several entrepreneurs who together have brought Zumba classes all over the world. Since July, Zumba has more than 20,000 trained instructors in 35 countries; Amador County is able to enjoy it for the first time this year, due to New York Fitness' application of the Zumba program.
Fitness general manager Katie Noll-Mackenzie teaches the class.
"It's really all about the music" said Noll-Mackenzie. "It's definitely something interesting to break up the monotony of a classical work out."
The actual class consists of an aerobic cardio-based dance workout, where dancers will jump from routine-to-routine for an entire hour. Noll-Mackenzie continued, "they can stop if they want to, but the goal is to keep their heart rate elevated for the whole hour so they can burn as many calories as possible."
The class' sole reliance on Latin music means that students, while not only losing weight and having fun, are also exposed to South American cultures.
"We're excited to have the first Zumba location in Amador County," Noll-Mackenzie said. "It's really nice to be able to expose the residents of Amador County to a program like this."
The hour-long classes take place three times a week, Mondays at 5:30 p.m.; and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. When asked why she attends the classes, Teresa Arnese remarked, "I like the Latin-American music."
Zumba is now a brand name, training instructors as well as selling T-shirts and more than 3 million DVDs so far. It seems the Zumba craze will only grow, continuing into health clubs, gyms, YMCA facilities and people's living rooms.