Care to Dance?

15 million people across 200,000 locations in 180 countries. That's the reach of Zumba Fitness. And the number of participants could reach the 100 million mark if CEO Alberto Perlman has his way.

Headed by the three Albertos — Alberto 'Beto' Perez, Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion — Zumba's come a long way from when Beto, then a stand-in aerobics instructor, used Jane Fonda's Workout and merengue, salsa and soca music as bases for his classes after forgetting to bring along an aerobics music tape. The enthusiasm with which people embraced the new dance-oriented fitness program spurred Beto to leave his native Santiago de Cali in Colombia for Miami, where he eventually teamed up with Perlman and Aghion to establish the world's largest fitness brand.

Beto's story is not unlike those of the many immigrants who left their home countries for greener pastures in the USA. He spent several nights on a Miami park bench because he had nowhere else to sleep. "But that didn't bother me," says Zumba's 44-year-old poster boy. "My greatest challenges were being a foreigner who didn't speak English, and getting people to hire me."

Miami's Hispanic community — which comprises around 65 per cent of the population in Miami Dade County — is instrumental in Beto's success story. As is co-founder Alberto Perlman's mother, who was a student of his classes back in Colombia before enrolling again in Miami. "She and other Latinas were passionate about my class, and word spread within the community. At my very first 'audition' at a fitness center in South Florida, I had to convince the manager to let me show her what I could do because I couldn't explain it well. Once I showed her what Zumba was, people gathered around and smiled. I knew right then that I was on to something special," he shares. It didn't take long for Alberto Perlman and COO Alberto Aghion to hop on board and catapult Beto's program into a trademarked brand in 2001 with the catchphrase 'Ditch the Workout, Join the Party'.

The brand that was 'accidentally' named — the original pick 'Rumba' was trademarked, so the trio ran through the alphabet before settling on 'Zumba' — has its largest markets in US, Germany, Italy and France. "We want to grow Zumba in India, Brazil and China," says CEO Alberto Perlman. "15 million take Zumba classes every week, but that's still an extremely small portion of the global population. The worldwide dance movement will bring more people into the Zumba ecosystem and help us reach the 100-million-students mark."

The Zumba umbrella comprises a booming instructor network, video games, fitness wear line and music production. The latter had artistes like Daddy Yankee, Lil Jon, Pitbull, Wyclef Jean and Paulina Rubio creating, releasing and performing original tracks at Zumba conventions. Then there's Zumba apparel, a goldmine unto its own, in demand to the point where $1.5 million worth of active wear was stolen from a truck en route from Miami to Florida last year.

Even then, the Albertos can't take anything for granted. Rival fitness programs like Jazzercise, Nia and Barre have loyalists as ardent as those of Zumba. Is Zumba really that unique?

"We're not just about fitness. Your happiness, self-esteem and confidence are affected in a positive way. Beyond that, Zumba has helped people battle depression, fight through chemotherapy and break out of emotional troubles. Then you consider those who quit their jobs to instead teach Zumba for a living. It's engrained in peoples' lives and becomes something they look forward to. People even have Zumba tattoos," Perlman explains.
Noted, but what then of murmurs about Zumba being a fad? And the 2013 study by the American College of Sports Medicine in which Zumba and other dance workouts didn't feature in the top 20 fitness trends?

"We've been around for more than 14 years and consider ourselves a lifestyle similar to Yoga. Not only do we see growth in our instructor base and those taking classes on a weekly basis, but we also saw a record number in class searches online during the New Year compared to last year. Class searches were 50 per cent higher. If that's not an indication of market demand, I don't know what is," stresses Perlman.

Zumba, adds the group CEO, has become a pop culture reference. Which makes it top priority to ensure "the trademark is represented properly and used in storylines that make sense". This includes the slow introduction of Zumba in animated films like Mr Peabody and Sherman and the writing in of a Zumba instructor in NBC network's TV show Chicago Fire.

That's not all. The brand is currently in talks with Indian entertainment channel Zoom to create a TV show that will invite viewers to join a Zumba class in their living room.

A company with such heft and reach is bound to have its share of controversies. Like the 2012 'Zumba prostitution scandal' in Maine which saw frenzied media coverage of instructor Alexis Wright soliciting customers — including her own students — and recording sexual acts without their knowledge. Ask Perlman about this, and he brushes it off before buffering the issue with Zumba's charity work. "The woman referenced in the story was not a licensed Zumba instructor at the time, so it's incorrect that the published stories on her case called her a 'Zumba instructor'. We'd rather highlight instructors who do amazing things all over the world, like our passionate Indian instructors who organise Zumbathon charity events to raise money for breast cancer research and orphaned children."

'Ditch the Controversy, Join the Accord', anybody?
Beto Perez is in Mumbai to organise India's Largest International Zumba® Masterclass and Instructor Training today at The Lalit, Andheri.