SULLIVAN – The fitness craze that’s sweeping the nation has finally arrived in Sullivan. Zumba, which combines Latin music with dance steps, aims to get you moving. The high-energy classes make you feel less like you’re exercising and more like you’re at a night club in Miami. Its slogan, “Ditch the workout, join the party,” explains it all.

“Its fun – it doesn’t feel like you’re working out,” said Zumba instructor Natalie Counts who is bringing the classes to Sullivan. She’ll teach Zumba Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Wednesday mornings at a studio in the South Community Plaza.

The fun factor is exactly why Counts wants to teach others how to Zumba. You’ll salsa, samba, tango, cha cha, calypso and merengue your way to a sculpted body before you know it. There’s even hip-hop, belly dancing and booty shaking in the mix. “It’s a formula for making exercise fun,” Counts said between mini demonstrations at her open house Tuesday evening.

Counts, who has a bachelor’s degree in fitness and nutrition from the University of Missouri-Columbia and also is also a certified personal trainer, says Zumba is one of her favorite workouts. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had,” she said.

Although it may sound like there’s fancy footwork involved, no dancing experience is required. “It’s (Zumba) dancing inspired, but you don’t necessarily need dance experience,” said Zumba instructor Emily Cook, who got Counts hooked on the high-energy activity. “There are a lot of different levels, and you can take any step from basic to advanced. You’ll get out of it what you put into it.”

Depending on how much you work it, you can burn 500 to 800 calories an hour in a Zumba class, said Cook, who lost more than 60 pounds when she “ditched the workout and joined the party.” She tried several exercise routines, but could never stick to any of them – until Zumba. The fact that it’s fun and it’s always different is what kept Cook coming back for more. “You’re not in a gym and you’re not getting bored on machines,” she said.

The great thing about Zumba is that anyone can do it, Counts said. “There’s no wrong way to do it,” she said, noting the repetitive nature of the classes make the steps easy to follow. “It’s about moving.”

Participants follow the instructor’s lead for the next move, but unlike a traditional aerobics class where movements often are yelled out, the Latin music in a Zumba class takes precedent over the instructor’s voice. Those taking the class are to watch the instructor. “You won’t hear much from the instructor – it’s about feeling the music,” Cook explained.

Those at last week’s open house were having a great time experiencing Zumba. “I’ve been hearing about it and I couldn’t wait for it to come here,” said Toni Hill.

Laura Friz said she liked the dance-inspired Zumba much better than a regular work out. “It was fun,” she said.

Tina Kloos plans to make Zumba part of her getting-in-shape New Year’s resolution. Cook said Zumba is a great way to start a fitness regimen because it’s one most people find easy to stick to. “You’ll never get bored with it – that’s the joy of it,” she said.

Counts hopes to see lots of people in Sullivan join the Zumba movement that’s spreading across the world. As of July 2009, Zumba was being taught at over 40,000 locations in 75 countries, according to Zumba’s official Web site. “I’m trying to get people fitness-minded and give them something fun to do,” she said.

It all started in Colombia in the mid-1990s when fitness trainer “Beto” Perez walked into one of his aerobics classes and realized he forgot his music, Zumba’s Web site said. So he grabbed whatever tapes he had in his backpack – mostly the traditional Latin salsa and meringue music he loved – and used it to improvise throughout the aerobics class. It was from Perez’s last-minute improvisation that Zumba was born. The Latin dance party fitness craze soon gained popularity not only in his country, but in many others as well.

After his success in Colombia, Perez brought Zumba to the United States in 1999. A few years later, two entrepreneurs helped him launch a campaign with a goal of expanding the brand worldwide. In the early 2000s, the sale of hundreds of thousands of Zumba videos in the U.S. market created an overwhelming response for Zumba instructors, so an instructor training program was created to meet the demand. By 2006, there were thousands of Zumba instructors around the world.

In 2007, the Zumba program launched internationally, spanning six continents including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and the program is continuing to expand in all corners of the world.

(Jaime Baranyai can be reached at 860-NEWS or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )