Zumba

Wikipedia:

Zumba is a Latin dance-inspired fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in Colombia during the 1990s.

Zumba involves dance and aerobic elements. Zumba's choreography incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue, mambo, martial arts, and some Bollywood and belly dance moves. Squats and lunges are also included. Zumba does not charge licensing fees to gyms or fitness centers. There are 12 million people taking weekly Zumba classes in over 110,000 locations across more than 125 countries.

Origin and histories

In 1986, Perez forgot his tape of aerobics music for a class he was teaching. He took the tapes he had in his backpack—consisting of traditional Latin salsa and merengue music—and improvised a class using this non-traditional aerobics music. After finding initial success in Colombia, he moved to the United States in 2001, where he teamed up with cofounder Alberto Perlman and a childhood friend, COO Alberto Aghion. The trio produced a demo reel, and the concept was discovered and licensed by a company called Fitness Quest to create a direct marketing campaign and a line of home videos.

Classes

Zumba sessions are typically about an hour long and are taught by licensed instructors. The exercises include music with fast and slow rhythms, as well as resistance training. The music comes from the following dance styles: cumbia, salsa, merengue, mambo, flamenco, chachacha, reggaeton, soca, samba, belly dancing, bhangra, hip hop music, axé music and tango. There are eight different types of classes for different levels of age and exertion. These include Zumba, Zumba Gold, Zumba Toning, Aqua Zumba, Zumbatomic, Zumba in the circuit, Zumba Gold-Toning and Zumba Sentao. Zumba Gold mainly targets the older population. It is specifically designed to the needs of the elderly and includes the same kind of music as the Zumba fitness party class. Zumba Toning is for the people who do their workouts with toning sticks. Zumba Toning will target the abs, thighs, arms, and other areas. Aqua Zumba is Zumba in the water. It includes challenging work-outs in the water and redefines the definition of Zumba fitness party. Zumba in the circuit is the dance combined with circuit training. Because the Zumba program is low-impact, it is safe for all ages. At least some of the classes are specifically aimed at elderly people, which can help them to build strength, improve motion and posture, and socialize. A typical Zumba session burns between 500 and 1000 calories.

Products

Zumba began selling DVDs via infomercials in 2002. In 2005 The Zumba Academy has been launched to license instructors for teaching Zumba classes. In 2007 the company launched a clothing line called Zumbawear. In 2010 Zumba released its first fitness video game, Zumba Fitness on November 30, 2010. As of August 2011, it has sold 3 million copies.

Charitable Causes

Zumba Fitness has raised millions of dollars for charitable organizations, including Susan G. Komen, Augie's Quest and the American Heart Association.

Celebrity Trend

Part of the Zumba programs' popularity can be explained by its adoption by celebrities all over the world. Jennifer Lopez and Kirstie Alley are known to take Zumba classes as part of their workout routines, while Jackie Chan has been caught on video while performing the exercises. Other celebrity fans of Zumba include Eva LaRue, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Natalie Portman, Emma Watson, Victoria Beckham, Halle Berry, Toni Braxton, Nikki Hilton and Wyclef Jean.