Bust a move Photo: Wang Zi/GT

Starting off my day with a Zumba class was like engaging in non-stop Latin clubbing at 9:30 in the morning. As Latin music hit the stereo I had to jump, shake and tilt to catch up with the frenetic beats. Hips swaying to the right and to the left, shoulders wiggling; legs squatting and swinging back and forth, some butt rolling, arms up and then sliding down close to the body. We shook it all from waka waka to living la vida loca with a hint of hip hop and belly dancing.

The Chinese instructor was powered-up as if he'd swallowed a battery [no wonder his name is Hyper] and his whoop-whooping was contagious. Infected by his oomph and the music, everybody was sweating like they'd just came out of a sauna, but we all seemed to be having fun whether we were in or out of pace.

Let the music play

It's impossible to stare at Zumba for more than five minutes without falling into the temptation of dancing. Fun, sexy, exhausting … I was wiped out after the early morning waka waka shaking, but after a shower, I was recharged for some more.

"It's just like going out dancing to a party," said Alejandro Angulo, 31, from Venezuela, a Zumba instructor in Beijing for the past couple of years.  

Zumba blends Latin and international music dance themes in a vibrant fitness disguised as a dance routine. One ends up dancing Salsa with a hint of Samba, mixed with a bit of rumba and African reggaetone without even noticing. "It's inspired in Latin music that combines aerobic and fitness exercise; everybody can easily fall into Zumba because it doesn't require special training and it's pure fun," Angulo added.

"It's actually great for people who don't like to work out because you end up working all types of muscles and your sense of coordination in a fun way that doesn't make you feel like you're practicing sports," said Calorie, a Chinese instructor in Beijing who learned Zumba from Beto Perez, the Colombian fitness trainer who created it by accident, when he forgot the music to teach an aerobics class and had to improvise with the only mix of salsa and merengue he had on him. Instructors assure that while everyone's having a ball, there's no muscle in the body left to rest.

"The routines feature aerobic/fitness interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that maximize caloric output, fat burning and total toning," explained Calorie. An average 45-minute Zumba class burns about 800 calories. Aside from exercise clothing, Zumba doesn't require any equipment. Relatively low impact, healthy people between 8 and 80 can practice it without counter indications. "You have to listen to your body when exercising, but my wife did Zumba until she was nine months pregnant without any problem," said Angulo.

Instructors agree that Zumba is more and more popular because anybody can easily follow its steps. Beijingers are no exception, with locals and foreigners alike welcoming the global phenomenon in exercise. "Chinese people love to dance and they're into Latin rhythm even though it's culturally different," said Angulo. "Salsa and other styles of Latin dancing classes are very popular around town and you see Latin clubs full of Chinese men and women," he added.

Pump up the volume

"I love the music and the Latin moves, it's energetic and fun," confirmed Jing Ma, a 28-year-old Beijinger, breathless after a class. "Zumba was a breath of fresh air in my life," said Jing, who has done Zumba for a year.

"My friend introduced Zumba to me here in Beijing because we're both on a weight loss regime. I know it's effective and good fun so I came," said Tanu Shukla, 30, who's from India and previously practiced it when she lived in the Netherlands. "I think it's important that you enjoy music, other than that you just need to be yourself and you'll find it's quite relaxing."

Men are the only ones missing out the fun. "I've got to convince my husband to come," Shukla said. "Maybe if Zumba involved some rock music we'd see more men into it," she added.

"This is the first time that I've been at a Zumba class with a male trainer, but back in the Netherlands there were some men in class and I'd say they felt privileged to be around so many women."

"More men are getting into Zumba every day as they are starting to understand that women prefer men who can dance," said Beto Perez in a previous interview. "It's fun and hot and it becomes a lifestyle and a therapy." Four million people, more women than men, have already surrendered to Zumba all over the world with versions of Aqua Zumba and Zumba for kids getting more popular.

For more information, go to www.zumba.com

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