It’s February. That New Year’s resolution you made to drop a couple of pounds is still going and you are hoping to be in that range of 46 percent of Americans who continue their New Year’s resolution after six months. But man, it’s hard! Work is crazy, school is nuts and you are just tired of running in place on a treadmill. You are bored. Then, suddenly, you are walking through the Sanderson and see it: a large group of people piled into a little studio room, shaking all kinds of body parts, smiling and yelling something you have never heard before: “1, 2, 3, ZUMBA!” That’s when the questions begin to roll through your head as the laughing, sweaty people leave the studio and pass you as you stare in wonder. Zumba? What is that? What does it mean? Why is everyone smiling? Exercise equals fun?
Well, wonder no more! Since arriving a year ago, Zumba has been one of the fastest growing and most popular exercises over the past decade.
Zumba began in 2001 after a minor accident occurred to one Alberto “Beto” Perez. One day, Perez left his home in California to go teach one of his fitness classes. He soon realized he left his aerobics tapes at his house so he had to improvise. He decided to combine fitness with dance moves to his mixed tapes of Latin, salsa and merengue music. His accident, mixed with his improvisation, began a sensation with his class. Instead of being drilled to do the same old exercise moves over and over, everyone was actually having fun and were wanting more.
Perez soon traveled to Miami and teamed up with Alberto Perlman, who had a background in marketing, and like Perez, was also from Colombia. By 2003, Zumba became a branded name. Soon, just like their namesake which means to move quickly in Colombian, so did their new business. Today, Zumba is not only complete with fitness videos and Zumbawear apparel, but it also has a Zumba Academy and has become the first branded fitness program to launch video games on the top three gaming systems: Wii, Xbox and Playstation 3.
The phenomenon has found its way to Mississippi State through the help of a dedicated and fun-loving “ZIN” member, Gwen Tyson, who needed to bring something from home with her when she moved to Starkville last year. 
In Greenville, N.C., Tyson became a certified Zumba instructor after subbing for another teacher who had left on maternity leave. She soon fell in love with her new workout. While working on her doctorate in counseling at MSU, Tyson knew that in order to be successful, she would have to find a way to bring Zumba to the campus. Soon after her arrival, Tyson filled out an application at the Sanderson and quickly found herself teaching the fitness class she had fallen in love with back home.
“As a doctoral student here at the university, Zumba is one of the ways that I keep my stress levels down because I am able to have fun and get in shape and lose weight while I’m doing it,” said Tyson.
Caitlin Wong, a 20-year-old architecture major and Zumba instructor, says for her class, it’s about the experience and the atmosphere in the room.  When she described Zumba, she said many times people forget they are working out. Though Zumba here at MSU is full of cardio and toning, people involved in the classes are so involved with the music and the dancing and you do not realize how much weight you are actually losing. It has become part of Wong’s lifestyle. This summer, Wong said she plans on taking more certification classes and would love continuing special events with groups such as sororities.
“If I could do it everyday, I would,” said Wong.
For both Tyson and Wong, one of the most important parts of Zumba is the people that come to their classes.
“I’m smiling because everybody else is smiling,” said Wong. “I’m having fun because everybody else is having fun.” 
For Tyson, her vision of Zumba is similar to that of the company itself: to promote the philosophy of ridding people of sacrifice and to love everything he or she does, including exercise.
“I think the key to Zumba’s success is the variety and excitement that every person brings with them when they walk through the door,” said Tyson. “We all have differences (backgrounds, coordination, dancing, excitement, etc.), and we bring those differences to the class in a positive way and we have fun.”
For those who aren’t crazy about fast cardio and toning workouts, Zumba also provides various activities from Aqua Zumba, also known as “the pool party” which is great for rehabilitation, Zumbatomic for kids and Zumba Gold, a toned down Zumba for our Baby Boomers.
Currently, regular Zumba classes are being taught at the Sanderson Center.
Zumba classes are offered at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and 5:10 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. All classes are located in Studio A at the Sanderson Center. Also, visit MSUZumba on Facebook. For more information on Zumba and other classes and events at the Sanderson, visit www.recsports.msstate.edu or call  325-7529.