Zumba And The City

It’s that time of year again. The celebrities of Strictly Come Dancing are inspiring the usually sedate population of London to put on their dancing shoes and take to the stage with any partner who will have them. It’s not hard to explain the attraction of dancing, because when you see it done properly it can seem the most glamorous way to move across a wooden floor ever created. The air is charged with sexual tension, the dancers appear to be so fit that even the women have washboard abs and the outfits are bright, colourful and alluring.

Of course you can take care of the sexual tension and the outfits yourself, but you can’t call yourself a dancer unless you have talent and rhythm – which is exactly what Zumba Fitness aims to teach you. Zumba is a relatively new creation, having been invented by an inspired choreographer in Columbia in the mid 1990’s, who apparently forgot to bring his lesson plan and music to a class he was teaching and was forced to improvise. They say that the best creations occur by accident, and Zumba is now one of the fastest growing forms of dance fitness in London.

Dancing Your Way to a Better Body

Because Zumba is an eclectic mix of several different types of Latin dance style it can tone and stretch every muscle group in the body. Salsa, Samba, Tango, Flamenco and Mambo are just a few of the styles that it combines into an exhilarating and enjoyable workout that should teach you some dance steps and some graceful style along the way. If you’re still wondering what the fuss is all about, the key to Zumba’s success as a fitness routine is that this combination of styles and the constantly changing rhythm and tempo of the Latin music used to teach it manages to cover the majority of most other work out routines. Certain elements of Zumba classes strengthen and tone your muscles, while some work on cardio to shed pounds and strengthen your heart.

For most people who want to get fit, focusing on only one part of the body and with only one form of exercise isn’t enough. It would be like trying to win a game of chess only using the pawns; you need to attack from more than one direction. If you sign up for an expensive gym membership and hire a muscled trainer with a military style of encouragement then they will develop a course of training that will get you healthy and fast, but where’s the fun in that? Zumba lessons offer an exciting and enjoyable way to learn that will teach you some basic dance steps in the process and give your body a complete workout. It dispenses with the lonely business of running on a treadmill or lifting weights while your trainer screams at you and offers you the chance to exercise and dance with other people.

Latin London

Zumba Fitness London is your source of salsa if you live in west London, with incredibly reasonable prices and a loyalty scheme that gives you one free Zumba lesson for every ten that you take. The classes are every Saturday morning for a quick fix to the hangover from Friday night and if you visit their website there’s a video of a class on the front page to encourage you, complete with slightly embarrassing ‘90’s style outfits.

For North London Zumba, Hot Zumba run classes from Monday through until Thursday, and occasional beginner’s classes to get you started with other tentative dance enthusiasts. As a result of their popularity and growing interest, Zumba classes are actually very easy to find throughout the central and greater London area, although it’s always best to take classes that are associated with the official Zumba Fitness franchise.

Zumba Fitness London has a studio in Chiswick, west London. To view their videos and find information on how to book classes, visit: http://www.zumbafitnesslondon.co.uk/.

Hot Zumba is found in a sports club in Enfield and more information can be found at: http://www.hotzumba.co.uk/.

Sam is a freelance article writer who lives and works in the UK and specialises in creative writing and fiction.