When eastern music meets western dance moves, magic is meant to happen. Miami-based Zumba curator, Beto Perez, for the first time has collaborated with Punjabi rapper Badshah and is set to take his beats to the world. Perez announced this collaboration while conducting a masterclass in Delhi.
“This is the first time we will be working with such kind of a musical collaboration. The idea is to create fusion with Badshah's music and take it to the world. Our Bollywood-style tracks have been some of our most popular content with instructors across the globe. But I would be doing fusion,” says Perez.
Perez's creation of Zumba happened accidentally. His life began as a fitness instructor and one goof up helped him discover a fitness regimen that even Shakira, Daddy Yankee, Vanilla Ice and Pitbull love doing. “While working as an aerobics instructor in Cali, Columbia, one day, I forgot to carry the traditional music that was recorded for the session. I, instead, took out personal tapes from my backpack and started improvising the steps. People loved it and this led to the birth of Zumba,” he says with a smile.
Since then, there has been no looking back. The 48-year-old Columbian has conducted several sessions across the world. These not only cater to weight loss but also help in boosting metabolism, offer positivity and boost confidence. At the recent one in Delhi, he conducted a happiness session.
“People believe that Zumba only helps in losing weight, but every programme is different. They also help in promoting confidence, alertness and also overcoming psychological issues. The best thing is that it is for everyone – child, mother as well as grandmother. While some people just do it for weight loss and others find this effective in building positivity. This particular session which I conducted in Delhi was a curated programme to boost happiness. Zumba is all about pushing your own limits,” he explains.
Perez moves include basic movements created in every rhythm. He also takes nuances from different dance forms. The basic movements include march merengue, side to side merengue and back merengue. Besides this, he has also been involved in creating programmes to address different health conditions and help people discover fitness by uplifting their mood. Since an hour session burns as many as 600 to 1000 calories, it is the best way to work out,” he says.
Asked about the reason to come to Delhi, he says, “It is good to know that people in Delhi are becoming increasingly health conscious. It is fantastic to see the growth in popularity of fitness in India. I am here because Indians love Zumba and many of them are willing to learn it because its movements involve dance,” he says.