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'Shake it!"

"Wooo."

"Now, let's heat it up!" Jeanine Achin commands the 13 women in this Thursday afternoon session at the Attleboro YMCA's Texins Activity Center.

The women roll their hips, shimmy, shake, snap little kicks and get down low to the beat of Latin-influenced music: the samba, merengue, flemenco, rumba and cumbia reggae.

Put it all together and you've got Zumba, the latest dance-exercise craze to hit area fitness centers. "We haven't seen this many people in group exercise for a good 15 years," said Achin, who went through a rigorous training program to become a certified instructor.

"Kickboxing was close, but even that only drew half the numbers that Zumba does now."

Between 25 and 50 people normally fill each session, Achin said. While there are some men, most participants are women between 30 and 50 years old. Some of the girls, however, are as young as 10 and a few are in their 70s.

According to www.zumba.com, the creation of Zumba (pronounced ZOOM-buh), a high-energy, feel-good aerobics dance, is credited to celebrity fitness trainer "Beto" Perez.

He got the idea in the mid-1990s in his native Colombia when he forgot his music for a class and had to rely on the Latin music tapes in his car.

The improvisation was dubbed Rumbacize. But then, upon coming to the United States, entrepreneurs wanted to create a global company based on Perez's fitness philosophy, and Zumba was launched through videos nationwide. In 2003, Kellogg's picked up the concept as part of its fitness campaign for the Hispanic market and it has since expanded to five other countries.

Just last year, Zumba partnered with reality TV impresario Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice," "Rockstar") and Latin music producer Emilio Estefan to bring it to the forefront of the fitness industry.

Almost 1 million Americans have taken Zumba classes from 3,500 instructors, according to Zumba Fitness LLC, which owns the trademark.

Now, at local fitness centers, it has many dancing to the Latin beat.

"I just like dancing instead of exercising," said Ginger Fortier of Attleboro as she prepared to enter Achin's class. "It doesn't feel like exercising. I love it!" "It's sort of sexy moves," said classmate Sophia Moriarty. "I'm Portuguese and I embrace the music because it's close to my culture. And it burns calories. It works head to toe - you use everything."

"Music is a good tool of happiness," she added. "That's why Zumba has become so successful. People forget after awhile what makes them happy."

While there are basic dance steps to each style of dance, Moriarty says, "you make your own moves, be creative and have an attitude. And it's a great attitude."

Cyndee Martin, assistant fitness director at the Hockomock Y's North Attleboro branch agrees. "It's a very upbeat, motivating class - and it's fun!"

The Foxboro branch of the Hockomock is also now offering Zumba and additional sessions are being planned at the North Attleboro Y as well as the Attleboro Y to meet demand.

Martin said classes at the North Attleboro facility have been drawing between 40 and 50 participants, and more classes are planned for children and seniors (Zumba Gold).

"It's dance fitness," Martin explained. "It's songs with Latin rhythms and routines that have fast and slow combinations.

"It's fat-burning, body-toning in a party atmosphere."

Christine Smith of North Attleboro said she was giving Zumba a shot "just to try something new - mix up my exercise routine."

"It looks like fun, once you get it," she added during a break in Achin's 60-minute session.

Moriarty got it. She broke into a samba move while the music switched to the next dance selection.

"Just let it go!" she said.

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.