"Zumba is the hottest exercise program going," says Lloyd Takeshita, who works with cardiopulmonary patients at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and is a track coach at Santa Fe High School. Takeshita teaches Zumba two nights a week at Santa Fe Community College.

The philosophy behind Zumba, Takeshita says, is to make exercise fun rather than a dreaded chore. The philosophy seems to be working, because people keep coming back and look like they love it.

The fat-burning, body sculpting moves are driven by up-tempo music — mostly Latin beats — but thrown in for good measure are African rhythms, world beat, Middle Eastern, flamenco and even some hip-hop — anything to get the heart pumping and keep the sweat flowing.

"I never sweat," said V.I. Rosario, who is taking the class for an arthritic knee and to shed a few pounds, "but in this class I sweat. Lloyd makes sure we use every muscle."

Zumba enthusiasts run the gamut in age as well as lifestyle, although most are women. When Takeshita began training to be a Zumba instructor, he said, he was intimidated because all the others training were women — many with backgrounds in dance — but he didn't look intimidated when he moved across the small studio in the Fine Arts Department of SFCC with students enthusiastically imitating his moves.

Jeri Carrion said she always takes a fitness class as part of her curriculum at the college, but this time she wanted to take a class that was fun.

"A lot of the other classes are boring and don't keep my attention and I'm not motivated to go," Carrion noted. "I had never done Zumba before, but I saw it in the continuing ed schedule. I wanted to take something outside of the regular classes the college offers, so I thought I'd give it a shot, and I'm enjoying it."

Takeshita's fall semester class at SFCC, which filled up quickly, was a first for him.

"I do a lot of running, endurance running," Takeshita said. "When I'm not running, I'm on the treadmill. The cross training I do is bike riding. I find Zumba to be the perfect blend, because it has all the intervals and you can get your cardio really worked up, depending on the playlist."

The playlist Takeshita uses when he works out by himself is more intense than the what he uses for his classes, which begin with a warm-up and work up to medium and then high intensity before gradually coming back down. He said he usually works out by himself twice a week, with each session lasting between an hour and two hours.

Before Zumba, he said, he hadn't danced, adding that rhythm was never his strong point.

Takeshita tells students not to worry about the steps in the beginning, but to get into the feeling and to enjoy themselves. If the steps don't come naturally at first, they will in time — the idea is to loosen up and have a good time.

Takeshita doesn't give many verbal commands during his class, which he said is part of the Zumba philosophy. He occasionally says, "Good job," or "Loosen those hips," but not much more. The learning is visual. Takeshita faces the class, becoming a mirror, unlike many classes in which students watch the instructor's back.

Zumba seems to be a natural for Takeshita, who occasionally teaches classes for employees at the gym in the hospital's basement when the regular instructor is out. He said he doesn't give a formal Zumba class at the hospital, but that the Zumba music seems to change the employees' attitudes as they listen to the rhythm while doing toning and cardio exercises.

Takeshita said that when he first started doing Zumba two years ago, there were only a handful of instructors in Santa Fe. There are now more than 20 instructors in Santa Fe, Española, Los Alamos and Albuquerque, and about 50 classes to choose from. Classes range in price from $3.50 to $11 for an hour-long class.

Karl Taylor, a nurse at University Hospital in Albuquerque, said he began taking Zumba classes in December at Salsa-Baby.com, a dance studio in Albuquerque. He said he goes at least once a week and feels 20 years younger for it.

"It's great for the health, and I love to dance," Taylor said. "And it helps me interact with my patients in an upbeat manner, because it's easier to take care of them when I take care of myself."

Zumba was born in Colombia in 1999, when dance instructor Beto Pérez forgot his music, ran back to his car, found a tape of his favorite tunes and improvised. The response from his students was overwhelming. Zumba, also called Zumba Party, is now being taught in more than 40,000 locations in 75 countries.

For more information about Zumba and for a schedule of classes, instructors and locations, visit zumba.com.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Zumba with Lloyd Takeshita

WHERE: Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave.

WHEN: Second session begins April 7 for six weeks; 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.

For more information, SFCC, Continuing Ed, 428-1676 or www.sfcc.edu.