News : Zumba participants march to the beat of a different steel drum

Julie Lessig leads her class in Zumba warm-ups at the beginning of the session.

Zumba classes take place three times each week, in the gym of the old West school.

Keri Webster is a regular at Julie Lessig's Zumba class.

Approximately 30 women meet three times a week to Zumba with Julie Lessig.

Three nights a week, dozens of women line up in rows in the gym of the old West school building, and and dance and exercise to a new sound: Zumba.

Julie Lessig brought Zumba to Vinton when she moved here from California. Her classes now accommodate approximately 30 women. Men are welcome, as well, but so far only the ladies have signed up. She is encouraging both men and women to join.

The classes meet at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The courses run in 8-week sessions, but participants can begin at any time. The next 8-week session begins Feb. 27.

One of the youngest participants in Zumba is Keri Webster. The Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School student participates with her mother, and says she likes Zumba because it offers dancing, but it does not matter if you mess up.

Zumba began when dancer Alberto Perez of Colombia forgot his music before an aerobics session. He replaced it with some of his favorite music from his country, and added moves to accompany the music. Zumba quickly spread to the U.S.

Lessig also offers Pilates sessions. For more information contact her at justbreathe.pilates@yahoo.com or see her Facebook page HERE.

Also a cosmetologist, Lessig began serving clients in California. When she moved to Iowa, her clients urged her to return to California to do their hair, so every five to six weeks, she flies back there. Although she has no famous clients now, when she lived in San Diego, some of her clients were the wives of the San Diego Chargers football team.