As fitness instructor Rachel Vitale says at the beginning of each class she teaches, there are no wrong moves in Zumba. As long as you keep moving, you’ve got it.
“The basis of Zumba is it’s supposed to be a party atmosphere, as opposed to a strict workout atmosphere,” Vitale said.
Zumba fuses Latin and international music and dance with aerobic and interval fitness training. It combines fast and slow moves to keep your heart rate up and sculpt and tone muscles. It’s a full-body workout that can burn between 500 and 1,000 calories in an hour-long class, Vitale said.
“The atmosphere is so inviting,” she said. “A lot of people like to dance, and what better workout than to go dance for an hour.”
“I thought it was awesome,” said Candace Martabano, 21, who had just taken her first Zumba class. “I think working out is so tedious, but when it’s something that distracts you from working out, it’s great. That was the best workout I think I’ve ever had.”
Martabano took the class, held at Spotlight on Dance in South Burlington, with two friends; Amie Morrison, 21, and Krista Leahy, 22. All three of them said they wanted to come back every week.
“The big thing is it goes by so fast,” Morrison said. “If I’m on a treadmill or an elliptical machine for an hour, I feel like I’m going to die.”
Morrison also said she liked how people of all ages and athletic abilities were in the class, and she didn’t feel like she had to hold back.
According the official Zumba Web site, www.zumba.com, Zumba was created in the mid-90s when fitness trainer “Beto” Perez forgot the music to his aerobics class. He had to improvise a workout to the music he had in his car, Latin and international music. The class quickly became his most popular one, and Zumba is now taught in over 40,000 locations in 75 countries.
While Zumba has been around for a while, it is just starting to gain popularity in Vermont, Vitale said.
Vitale said she got into Zumba last fall when she took a class at the Flynn Theater in Burlington.
“I just kind of got hooked,” she said.
After becoming certified in May, Vitale joined her business partner Rebecca Haslam at Zumba Burlington in June. They rent a studio space in Burlington and teach classes four days a week. Vitale said Zumba’s popularity is definitely growing.
“People leave in a good mood and just sort of feeling good about themselves,” she said. “People just keep coming back … It’s sort of addicting.”
To find an instructor near you, go to www.zumba.com.

Got a story idea for us? Want to publish something of your own on fireflymag.com? E-mail stephanie@fireflymag.com