Zumba actually began by accident, when Perez forgot his usual music for an aerobics class and improvised with the CDs he had in his car. The Colombian native typically found a driving beat from Latin salsa and meringue – and the class turned out to be a huge success. The light bulb struck, and the Zumba phenomenon was born.

Fast forward and today the Zumba program is now taught in gyms and studios all over the world to millions of Zumba enthusiasts. It’s huge in its birthplace of Miami, but also in Holland, where classes of more than 100 workout enthusiasts are a regular occurrence, and in the UK with more than 400 instructors.

Just to confirm Zumba is a true phenomenon, take a look at video gaming charts across the globe - you’ll find the Nintendo Wii game Zumba Fitness tops nearly all of them.

Does dancing about really cut it as an intense workout? Absolutely, says Di Fabio; “It’s cardiovascular, so you sweat a lot and burn plenty of calories – probably more than in a spin class,” she insists.

From Exec Digital