Forty-one students showed up Feb. 27on NE Campus for a workshop featuring Latin dancing, Zumba, hip-hop dancing and step aerobics.

Linda Quinn, NE dance coordinator, said the workshop was, “a mixture of dance and aerobics” designed to “show students they need both.”

NE student Callie Goodman credits shows such as Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance? for the increased popularity in dance and the good turnout for the workshop.

“People see it on TV,” she said. “It’s the new craze.”

Students began the workshop with Latin dancing before switching to Zumba, a form of salsa dancing turned aerobic.

Brenda Melendez said Zumba is not necessarily any more difficult than traditional dance, but that it is different because it works different parts of the body.

“It’s more exercise than recreational dance,” Melendez said.

Zumba shows “you can have fun being healthy,” said Bart Desender, NE intramural director.

Some students, like Dana Gross, attended the workshop to receive extra credit in their alternate physical education classes but said the experience was still positive.

Gross said she thought the activity was wonderful.

“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said.

— Troy Bassett