by Tiara
Let me just begin by saying that if you don't know what zumba is, you're missing out. Zumba is an hour long, dance fitness, calorie burning, fun work out. It was created in the 1990s by dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in Colombia. It was created with specific beats and tempo changes, and transitions the workout from one toning, strengthening or cardio move to another, and targets every major muscle group in your body. Zumba started off with only Latin music, then when it was introduced to America it started being choreographed into the genres R&B, hip-hop, and other types of international music. Zumba is taught in classes by licensed instructors. There are also DVDs you can purchase that are taught by professional dancers.
Zumba has gotten very popular over the past few months. The zumba class that I go to is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at St. Joseph High School gym from 7:00-8:00p.m. It only costs $5 for an hour but I say it's very much worth it. We dance to everything from Black Eyed Peas to Shakira to true Latin salsa. The instructor that conducts the class is a belly dancer, so you best believe she's going to make you work up a sweat. I start sweating within the first 5 minutes. During an hour of zumba you can burn up to 1,000 calories... the workout is that intense.
A majority of people who do Zumba want to lose weight or speed up their metabolisms. I go with Eva, Chynna, Shae, and Kiana on the days we can all do it together. We do it to have a good time with one another, and to stay in condition since we all do sports, either soccer or volleyball. We started doing Zumba towards the end of school last year and continue to do it. Anyone can do Zumba: young, old, thin, curvy, tall, short, muscular, or no figure. Even men can do it! I suggest you try Zumba if you've never tried it before. At the end of the class, you'll say to yourself it was $5 well spent.
