Katie Rash isn’t sure what to expect as music from Grease blares from the stereo. She waits as the toned, blonde instructor jogs to the front of the class and begins simple steps — forward, forward, back, back — and begins imitating the moves as the workout begins.

Next, Rash, Leawood senior, finds herself shimmying and shaking the way she does to her favorite songs in the privacy of her bedroom. But this time, she’s with a group of about 40 men and women of all ages. Surrounded by full-length mirrors, Rash continues to move to the upbeat music. The next song on the playlist is “La Mayonesa,” a popular Latin tune.

“The music threw me off at first, but it was a fun, new way to work out,” she says.

Rash is at Zumba class, a new dance workout session at Lawrence Athletic Club, 3201 Mesa Way. Though Zumba started gaining popularity around the nation in 2002, this is the first class offered in Lawrence. Zumba instructor Katy Parker took her first class in Parsons and loved it so much that she decided to become certified to teach it. With this, she brought the trend to Lawrence in January.

Zumba combines dance moves from cumbia, meringue, rumba, mambo and salsa with time-tested dance moves such as air guitar, hip pops, booty shakes and shoulder shimmies. Parker says she likes throwing in her own ideas for routines because Zumba is all about having fun. Signature moves include “walking like an Egyptian” and “disco pointing” à la Saturday Night Fever.

Created by celebrity fitness trainer Beto Perez, Zumba’s pace is similar to aerobic interval training. Some routines speed heart rate up and others slow heart rate down. This allows the body to burn more calories. An hour of medium-intensity Zumba burns anywhere from 500 to 700 calories.

“It all depends on how hard you push yourself. The idea is to keep moving and having fun,” Parker says.

Something from nothing

Perez created the workout when he was forced to improvise during his fitness class. He forgot his normal routine music and had to make do with the tunes he had in his car: traditional Latin music. His antics went well as his Latin fitness class became the most sought-after class at his gym. At that point, he named his class “Rumbacize.” He changed the name to Zumba when he brought his trend to the United States in 1999. Perez’s concept for a Latin-infused dance class took off in 2002 after he marketed thousands of at-home videos in the States. Demand for Zumba instructors followed.

Katy Parker is one of 2,000 Zumba instructors worldwide. She took a trip to Miami for an intense weekend Zumba certification clinic and came back to Kansas as an official Zumba trainer in 2005. She was directly trained by Perez during her two-day workshop where she learned all the basic steps to everything from salsa to tango. She then learned how to choreograph the steps to hip-hop and Latin music and was encouraged to add her own spice to the routines.

Zumba is comparable to other dance class workouts, such as Jazzercise, but the atmosphere of Zumba class sets it apart from other dance-inspired fitness trends. Perez designed the workout to be fun and easy to do so participants would stick to the workout. He describes it as a “feel happy” workout.

Parker mixes moves such as “the lawnmower” with Latin dance steps, and then throws in a little disco to make it fun. The repetition of these moves keeps the workout toning and cardio-heavy, but the familiarity of the junior high dance moves keeps it lighthearted and fun.

“Throwing in moves like that breaks up the routine,” Parker says. “It’s beneficial, too. Moves like leaning side to side and putting your finger over your lips makes working your sides more fun,” she adds.

Come one, come all

For the next hour, Parker leads her class — middle-aged women and men, a few KU students and alums — through Will Smith’s “Getting’ Jiggy Wit It,” more Latin music and a cool down to Kelis’ “Milkshake.” Dressed in a tank top and camouflage pants, she has the men emulating her hip pops and hip rolls as her long blonde ponytail bounces up and down.

Elizabeth Doak, Dallas junior, shakes it in the back of the workout room. Though it is her first time at Zumba, she catches on quickly and loosens up to the music. She moves to the beats freely and smoothly, and takes a moment to laugh at herself if she gets off track.

“It’s fun because you’re comfortable doing the steps. You can do as much or as little as you want,” she says.

Doak says she feels like she is getting just as much or more of a workout than her usual routine of elliptical training and running. She likes that there is no equipment or partner required to participate in Zumba, and all she has to show up in is a T-shirt and sweats or shorts: no special dance shoes or clothes are required. Others in the class don all black and jazz shoes, tank tops and shorts or sweatpants. The informal environment of this Latin-inspired dance class keeps the atmosphere laid back for such an energetic workout.

Growing demand

The popularity of Parker’s Zumba class at Lawrence Athletic Club is evidenced by the growing numbers who come to the class each week. Parker teaches five days a week, and had to split the Sunday class into two back-to-back sessions because more than 60 people showed up.

Zumba is the only class that a non-gym member may attend at Lawrence Athletic Club. After signing a waiver, Zumba attendees pay $3 per session to work out for an hour. In that hour, Parker instructs 10 Zumba routines, including a warm up and cool down.

Participants under 18 must have parental permission to attend the regular Zumba class. Parker also offers a kids-only Zumba class for those under 14.

“Zumba welcomes all ages,” she says. We’ve had senior citizens in here, younger kids and even pregnant women.”