Dance your way to happiness...

Alberto ‘Beto’ Perez, the popular creator of Zumba Fitness, tells Jisha Krishnan why you need to sweat in order to be happy.

On his maiden visit to India earlier this year, Alberto ‘Beto’ Perez attracted over 1200 enthusiastic participants to his master class in Mumbai. Globally, there are about 15 million people taking classes every week across 200,000 locations in 180 countries.

“Anyone can take a Zumba class,” insists the 45-year-old celebrity fitness instructor, who started his career in Cali, Colombia. “Let loose, get lost in the music and don't worry about getting the steps right. That's what I would tell anyone, celebrity or not,” he says.
Excerpts from an interaction:

What’s the reason for Zumba's ever-growing popularity?
We all have a basic human need to express ourselves and Zumba provides a
judgment-free platform to do so. This need is universal, and as long as that basic
human need exists, Zumba Fitness will continue to be a safe haven for people who want to have a blast and express themselves through movement.

Zumba Fitness brings forth an entirely new aspect of social workouts that has an emotional connection. It has become so popular because it’s different, effective,
infectious and easy-to-follow.

Zumba has helped people turn their lives around through weight loss, battling back from depression, fighting through chemotherapy and breaking out of emotional troubles. That’s not something I ever set out to accomplish, but it’s what I’m most proud of today.

Besides the fun, what else does dance bring to a fitness regime?
Zumba is ‘fitness in disguise’. Many people think that because it’s so much fun, it’s not a real workout; but the fact is you can burn up to 1,000 calories in one class, depending on how hard you challenge yourself!

People are also intimidated by anything that involves dancing, but once they join a class, they realise that we have designed the choreography so that it’s repetitive and broken down easily…so once you do a few songs, you can easily catch on to the formula.

The most important thing about Zumba choreography is that it’s easy-to-follow and repetitive. There’s no pressure in getting the moves perfect. Anyone can take a class and be successful.

When taking a Zumba class, make sure to maximise your entire range of motion - fully extend your arms and shake every part of your body. Look to really activate every part - from  your arms and core, to your hips and feet - because doing so will further engage your core and increase your heart rate, which in turn will help you boost your calorie burn.

But why are the participants mostly women?
They aren’t actually! The master class in India had over 35 percent male participation. We see about 80 percent of our participants being women and 20 percent men globally, though more and more men are joining due to the popularity of the class and the benefits it provides.

And who doesn’t like to dance…as long as you have the enthusiasm to try it
mentally, you can do it and move at your own pace. And we offer all sorts of classes for those with disabilities or restraints, and even something that’s perfect for the active older adult, where the moves are toned down and more basic, and reflects music from different genres.

Any advise for Indian men, who are either too shy/macho to dance?
Don’t be shy – women love it when a man can dance. Plus I am always telling men that Zumba is a great place to meet a woman! Zumba is inclusive and anyone can do it, so there is really no need to be shy.

What's the most common fitness mistake people make?
They forget about eating healthy and focus only on the workout. To truly see a change you need to live a healthy lifestyle, which includes the food you put in your body.

What's your fitness regime like?
I teach Zumba during the week for my cardio and I try to train for one hour a day with weights.

When you look back on your life, do you feel like you have achieved your American dream?
I feel very fortunate for everything I have. When I came to the US in 1999, I was very driven to teach and dance. The most
important things to me are dancing,
educating and making people feel like they are a part of something that changes lives. Zumba does just that so I do feel I have achieved my dream...but there are so many things I look forward to accomplishing in the future too!

What do you aspire for now?
I want to continue to innovate in music and education for our Zumba instructors across the world. I want to bring them amazing new music, dance styles and
really allow them to travel the world through rhythms in a one-hour Zumba class. I can't wait to bring Indian rhythms to our instructors this year.

Who's your favourite celebrity student?
I loved working with Shakira. She is an incredible dancer and singer. One of my favourite songs to use in Zumba classes is called Dare (la la la) by Shakira.

If you were to try an Indian dance form, which one would that be?
Bhangra dance!