Student fitness classes catch on to Zumba craze.

The instructor turns on the stereo, and Latin music sounds bump from the speakers.

The students standing around the room get ready to work out for an hour and burn hundreds of calories by sexily dancing to the sounds of salsa beats.

Students burn approximately 500 calories or more in a single workout and learn some new dance moves while they are at it.

Zumba workouts are a fusion of Latin songs and salsa dance moves.

It is a form of working out invented by a celebrity fitness trainer and choreographer named Alberto “Beto” Perez.

Created in the 1990s, Zumba was not bought to the Unites States until 1999. Since then, it has gained popularity around the world.

Zumba can even be purchased on DVD, and most gyms of any size now host weekly classes.

“I love teaching Zumba because everyone in the class is full of energy and excitement,” Kristin Cook, Zumba instructor said. “I walk in the class ready to teach because I am instructing people who want to be there and love the class.”

Cook has been a certified dance instructor since 2009 at MSU and according to Cook, the attendance at her classes has increased over the past few years.

“I believe this increase is because the class was moved from the old recreation center to the new building,” Cook said. “During the hotter seasons the other room would be extremely hot. The new room is better, which may be a cause of the increase.”

According to Joey Greenwood, Wellness Center director, Zumba has been a part of MSU since 2009 and it has a very bright future.

“The class continually increases each year, especially in the fall semester,” Greenwood said. “It is a very popular fitness class.”

Greenwood has been the director for 15 years and saw first-hand the transition of Zumba and other fitness classes from the outside recreation center by Sikes Lake to the larger, climate-controlled class at the Wellness Center.

“The new facility has brought a lot of new students to our group fitness classes,” he said.

The class participants get in an hour of working out by dancing to songs by artist such as Pitbull, Tina Turner, Little Big Town and Get Cool.

“It does not even feel like I am working out,” Crea Knuckles, a junior in exercise physiology said. “I went to the class initially so I could get moving again because I am trying to play soccer.”

The goal of Zumba is to get people off of weight machines and the dirty floor doing crunches to get them excited about working out.

“I go to every class because it is so fun,” Knuckles said. “It is better than running or lifting weights.”

During the fall semester, Zumba was attended by more than 1000 students and faculty members.

“Zumba draws a big crowd due to the upbeat and fun workout. It’s also good for all levels of fitness. However, it does require the following of choreography,” Anna Jentsch, head fitness instructor at the Wellness Center, said. “Last semester we had 1,007 students attend the Zumba classes.”

Although Zumba is a popular class, it is not the most popular.

“Spinning is always the most attended class we have on schedule, I think mainly due to the fact that you can set the class at your own pace,”

Jentsch said. “And it’s not intimidating, nor do you have to follow any set choreography. Spinning is a good class for both beginner and advanced exercisers. Last semester we had 3,009 students attend the spinning classes.”

Other than Zumba and spinning, a class called Cardio Fusion is also offered at the Wellness Center.

“Cardio Fusion is next in line. This is a hardcore cardio intervals class that is more set for those looking to challenge their cardiovascular abilities,” Jentsch said.

Students pay for the classes and the Wellness Center in their tuition, and thousands are taking advantage of Zumba classes, spinning and intense interval classes taught by professional instructors.

“All of our classes are doing very well in attendance at the moment,” Jentsch said. “And the students and athletes are really taking advantage of advancing in their fitness goals.”