Zumba

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For other uses, see Zumba (disambiguation).
Zumba Fitness
Founded 2001
Founder(s) Alberto "Beto" Perez,
Alberto Perlman,
Alberto Aghion
Headquarters 800 Silks Run, Suite 2310
Hallandale, FL
Employees 217
Website www.zumba.com

Zumba is a dance fitness program created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez during the 1990s.[1]

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.[2] Zumba Fitness, an organization that sells Zumba videos and products, does not charge licensing fees to gyms or fitness centers.[3] Approximately 14 million people take weekly Zumba classes in over 140,000 locations across more than 150 countries.[4]

Contents

Origin [edit]

In the 1990's, Beto 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 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.[5]

Classes [edit]

An instructor coaches a Zumba class in a fitness center.

Zumba sessions are typically about an hour long and are taught by instructors licensed by an organization called Zumba Academy.[6] The exercises include music with fast and slow rhythms, as well as resistance training.[7] 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.[4] 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 muscles throughout the body. Zumba Toning is adding sculpting of body and cardio. Aqua Zumba is Zumba in a swimming pool. Zumba in the circuit is the dance combined with circuit training.[8] These classes usually last 30 minutes and features strength exercises on various stations in timed intervals. Zumbatomic is a class designed for children between the ages of 4 and 12. It has the same dance and music styles as a regular Zumba Fitness class, but has routines designed specifically for kids. Zumba Gold-Toning is a toning class for older participants with goals of improving one's muscle strength, posture, mobility, and coordination. Zumba Sentao is a chair workout that focuses on using body weight to strengthen and tone the body. [9]

Because Zumba offers different options, proponents of Zumba claim that it is safe for all ages.[10] At least some of the classes are specifically aimed at elderly people, to help them build strength, improve motion and posture, and socialize.[11] A typical Zumba session burns between 500 and 1000 calories.[12]

Products [edit]

Zumba sells DVDs via infomercials in 2002.[13] In 2005 The Zumba Academy has been launched to license instructors for teaching Zumba classes.[14] In 2007 the company launched a clothing line called Zumba wear.[15] In 2010 Zumba released its first fitness video game on November 30, 2010.[4] As of August 2011, it has sold 3 million copies. [16] In July 2012, it released the compilation album Zumba Fitness Dance Party.

Zumba Fitness 2 video game was released in November 2011. A similar game was released on the Xbox 360 as Zumba Fitness Rush in February 2012.[17] Zumba Fitness Core was released in October 2012 for the WII and Xbox 360. The game includes new features such as nutrition tips and ability to set personal goals.[18]

Charitable causes [edit]

Zumba Fitness has raised millions of dollars for charitable organizations, including Susan G. Komen, Augie's Quest and the American Heart Association. [19]

Celebrity trend [edit]

Part of the Zumba programs' popularity can be explained by its adoption by celebrities. Jennifer Lopez and Kirstie Alley are known to take Zumba classes as part of their workout routines,[20] while Jackie Chan has been caught on video while performing the exercises.[21] Other celebrity fans of Zumba include Eva LaRue,[22] Jennifer Love Hewitt,[23] Natalie Portman,[24] Emma Watson,[25] Victoria Beckham,[24] Halle Berry, Toni Braxton,[26] Nicky Hilton[27] and Wyclef Jean.[28]

References [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zumba
  1. ^ Zumba brings the dance party into the health club, USA Today, 10 October 2011
  2. ^ Fitness Guinea Pig: Zumba, Brides Magazine
  3. ^ Zumba Shakes the Monotony Out of Ordinary Aerobics Classes, The Washington Post, 31 July 2008
  4. ^ a b c "About Zumba Fitness". Retrieved 10 March 2012. 
  5. ^ Issie Lapowsky (26 May 2010). "Zumba Turns Dancers Into Entrepreneurs". Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2012. 
  6. ^ Carrie Stevens. "Why You Should Give In to the Zumba Craze". Fitbie. Retrieved 10 March 2012. 
  7. ^ Jane Alexander (30 March 2009). "Get fit dancing: Dance to a different beat with Zumba". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2012. 
  8. ^ "Zumba Fitness". Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  9. ^ "Zumba Fitness - About". Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  10. ^ Barbara Russi Sarnataro. "Zumba: Fun Is Secret Ingredient of Latin Dance Workout". WebMD. Retrieved 7 May 2012. 
  11. ^ Lindsey Getz. "Zumba Gold Program Attracts Elders". AgingWell. Retrieved 7 May 2012. 
  12. ^ "Physical Fitness". Retrieved 7 May 2012. 
  13. ^ "The secret to fitness craze Zumba's success?". The Independent. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2012. 
  14. ^ Elaine Blaisdell (24 January 2011). "‘Exercise in disguise,’ Zumba really catching on". Cumberland Times-News. Retrieved 29 March 2012. 
  15. ^ Cindy Vanegas (11 April 2011). "Zumba Movement Catches On, Now Comes the Hard Part". Fox Business. Retrieved 29 March 2012. 
  16. ^ Soham Chatterjee (13 September 2011). "UPDATE 2-Zumba Fitness, new game launches boost Majesco outlook". Reuters. Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  17. ^ "Zumba Fitness Rush by Majesco". GameStop. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  18. ^ "Zumba Fitness Core by Majesco". GameStop. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  19. ^ "Zumba CEO Moves Your Members". ClubSolutions. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012. 
  20. ^ FitSugar. "Celebrity Fans of Zumba". Shape. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  21. ^ Aka Pamela S. (1 December 2009). "Jackie Chan Returns to Zumba @ Bugis". Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  22. ^ "Class of the week - Aqua Zumba". TNT Magazine. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  23. ^ "Jennifer Love Hewitt at Azure Luxury Pool for Stereo Love Saturdays at The Palazzo". VegasNews.com. 17 July 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  24. ^ a b Shahesta Shaitly (27 March 2011). "Big bumba? Try Zumba". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  25. ^ LiLi Julian (19 August 2011). "Zumba". Vitality Live. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  26. ^ LiLi Julian (6 June 2011). "Toni Braxton Loves Her Zumba DVD’s & Shares A Day’s Worth Of Calories". FitCeleb.com. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  27. ^ "Zumba Fitness DVD Launch with Nikki HIlton". DolceChica. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
  28. ^ Brittany Talarico (12 July 2011). "Watch Wyclef Jean & Pitbull Catch Zumba Fever!". OK!. Retrieved 22 April 2012. 
Zumba video games
Video games
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