Party time at the gym to dance yourself fit

Welcome to Zumba.

"Ninety five per cent of the population hates exercise," says Zumba founder Alberto "Beto" Perez. "The fitness world caters for the five per cent – Zumba is for the 95 per cent."

When asked how to sum up his invention a cheeky grin spreads over the face of the Colombian. "Party! Party!" he says. And he isn't wrong.

A Zumba class is more like dropping into a Latin dance studio with a bit of belly dancing, flamenco, bhangra and hip hop thrown in. In fact pretty much anything goes with Zumba.

"Sometimes I will get inspiration from Latin American dancing and then I will watch a Bollywood movie and add in some of those moves," says Beto.

Classes are run at a break neck speed. The one I attended was a masterclass taken by Beto on a whistle-stop tour of Virgin Active Health Clubs across the UK, where Zumba is now offered in 72 venues.On the day I met Beto he had already held masterclasses in London, Birmingham and Manchester and was jetting off to Edinburgh after our interview. It is along way from his home in Colombia where he was brought up by his single mum.

"I always wanted to dance," he explains. "My mum wanted me to be a solicitor or a doctor, but I had to dance."

After gaining a place at a dance academy Beto became a fitness instructor and choreographer.

"In the 1980s there was either dance or fitness, I didn't see why the two couldn't go together to make a fun and exciting way of getting fit."

The story goes that one day in the 1990s he forgot the music for one of his aerobics classes. His only option was to grab whatever tapes he had in his backpack, which were an array of traditional Latin salsa and merengue.

He improvised an entire class on the spot and from this, what he describes as the Zumba fitness party was born. By the end of the '90s Beto decided to go to America and began teaching Zumba classes in Miami where he is still based.

Zumba is now taught in 75 countries, by six million people a week with 70,000 instructors.

Beto has sold four

million DVDs and Zumba is now a worldwide brand. Celebrity fans include Michelle Obama and Victoria Beckham. Not bad for a penniless boy from Colombia.

Meeting Beto, now heading for 40, it is clear that he

is still passionate about his invention. He still takes classes himself back in Miami and choreographs

the dances, although

the specially trained instructors are allowed to take liberties.

"It is all about the music," explains Beto. "If you are counting you are not dancing and enjoying the party."

And it seems to be working. The master class at Virgin Active on Kirkstall Road, Leeds, was packed with followers of Zumba.

Since launching in Virgin Active in January, nearly 5,000 people take part in 170 classes a week.

While I enjoyed the party, I was slightly worried about the "hangover" from the hour-long non-stop workout.

But I needn't have worried,

I was still able to move the

next day.

n For more information

visit www.zumba.com.

For local classes visit www. virginactive.co.uk