MUSCATINE, Iowa —With hips twisting and abs pumping, more than 100 women and a few men are dancing their way to fitness this summer with Zumba, a new class at the Muscatine Community Y.

“It’s fun and it doesn’t feel like exercise, but it’s a great workout,” said participant Jill Dreyer.

Ashley Hahn agreed.

“I love it,” she said. “It definitely changes everything up. You get a fun workout without feeling like you’ve worked out.”

Zumba, with its slogan “Ditch the workout; join the party,” combines fast-paced Latin music with traditional Latin dances such as cumbia, meringue, salsa, reggaeton and calypso. In addition to burning calories, participants work their gluts and abs, tighten their core  — and laugh.

“I feel like a demented leprechaun,” said Jeanne Pankow after one particularly energetic song.

The Y began offering Zumba in June and Health Promotion Services Director Melanie Steckel said the response has been phenomenal.

“We’re finding that we’re having fun with it,” she said. “It’s blending a lot of people in classes that I probably wouldn’t normally see.”

Regina Valenzuela said she has been a Y member for several years, but this is the first class she has taken since belly dancing was offered six years ago.

“It brings fun to working out,” she said. “I don’t like the typical aerobics and pilates. I like to dance and this throws all that together in one.”

Instructor Pat Church is thrilled with the interest her class has generated.

“I think it’s been a really wholehearted response,” she said. “I have all age levels and fitness levels.”

Zumba, with its Latin music and dances, also appeals to Muscatine’s Hispanic population.

“I have quite a few Hispanic gals in my classes,” Church said. “They have the moves.”

About the class

Zumba, one of the fastest-growing exercise crazes in the country, was an accidental discovery. Columbia native Alberto Beto Perez forgot the music for his aerobics class one day and taught his class with some Latin music tapes he grabbed out of his car. The class was a huge hit and Zumba was born.

In 1999, Perez came to Miami and teamed up with Columbian entrepreneurs Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion to market Zumba. By 2006 there were 2,000 licensed Zumba instructors worldwide. As of April, that number has grown to more than 30,000 licensed instructors, according to the Zumba Web site.

‘It’s fun’

One of the fun things about Zumba is instructors are encouraged to improvise and create a party-like atmosphere for their classes.

“For some women it’s very hard to exercise because for them it’s hard work,” said instructor Irina Shevchenko. “But, when it’s like a party atmosphere, it’s fun.”

As the participants become more familiar with the basic dances, much of the cueing is nonverbal, which appeals to Shevchenko, a native of Russia.

Marnee Acker includes weights in her Wednesday morning class. The intervals cause participants’ heart rates to go up and come back down.

“Not only is it cardio, but strength training,” she said. “You’re building muscle, which burns calories throughout the day.”

Free demo classes

The Y is offering free Zumba demo classes beginning Monday, July 13. The next four-week class session begins Monday, July 20. The Y charges members $8.60 and nonmembers $17.20 to attend class one time per week for four weeks.

Demo classes are from:

- 10:10-10:50 a.m. and 5:35 p.m.-6:20 p.m. Monday, July 13

- 5:35-6:20 p.m. Wednesday, July 15

- 6:40-7:25 p.m. Thursday July 16

- 10:10-10:55 a.m. Friday, July 17.

Classes run the following four weeks the same days and times as the demos.

For additional information about class times, visit the Y’s Web site at www.muscatiney.org or call the

263-9996.