Perlman , co-founder and CEO of Zumba Fitness in Hollywood , Florida , was n't surprised when the concept took off not just in the United States but around the world . `` We turned exercise into a party , '' Perlman declared . `` Zumba broke some of the rules of fitness . We used music in the original form instead of using step counts . '' Perlman , whose background is in marketing , teamed up with Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto `` Beto '' Perez in Miami in 2001 . `` One day , Beto forgot his aerobics tapes , so he played his salsa and meringue songs during class in their original form , '' Perlman said . `` People went crazy . They did n't feel like they were in a class with a drill sergeant . '' Perlman said Perez decided to call the exercise Zumba , after the Colombian slang word meaning to buzz like a bee or move fast . Zumba is now a brand name . Since 2003 , Perlman 's group has trained 20,000 instructors around the world and sold more than 3 million DVDs on the Internet and through
ALPHARETTA , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Latin music pulses from the stereo as 40 women jump , shimmy and sway to the beat . Zumba is the most popular exercise class at one suburban Atlanta YMCA . It 's not a dance club . This is a regular morning exercise class at the YMCA in Alpharetta , Georgia . It 's called Zumba . Part dance , part aerobics , Zumba is an hourlong routine that works almost every muscle in the body . `` It is dance fitness , '' explained Stephanie Maxim , one of two class instructors . `` We teach them moves that you can see on ` Dancing with the Stars ' : salsa , mambo , cha-cha , and we put it into a group fitness format . '' `` It 's not like a workout , '' explained Diane Walterstiel , 55 , of Alpharetta . `` Before I come , I 'm tense , but when I leave , I could kiss the world . '' Nearly a year after being introduced at the YMCA in suburban Atlanta , Zumba is the most popular exercise offering at the facility . Alberto