Zumba Brings the Fitness Party Home

Hey all you Zumba fans and not-so-fans, now you can bring the festive fitness dance craze home with the new Zumba Fitness Party video game. Debuting in time for the holidays, the interactive game, which is available for Wii Remote, PlayStation 3 and the super-cool Natal, recently had a launch event.

Designed for up to four players, the dance game is interactive, which means that it can read your body movements and score you accordingly. There are roving bull's-eyes that move around your avatar to indicate where you need to improve your form. A color-coded avatar that gets your party going in a variety of settings -- stadium, warehouse, club and others. Green means that you are rocking the movements; red means not so much. And the better you do, the more virtual friends come join the dance party. Each console comes with movement belts, so you can be tracked. The Natal actually has a camera in it, so the game can actually see all your dance moves.

Having never tried or even seen Zumba in action, the demo caught me completely off guard. An instructor, who is also one of the dancers in the game, got right down to it. Tanya shimmed and walked in circles and "brought the party" in such a way that I wondered: How in heck does a regular person like me know when to turn?

She explained that Zumba is based on nonverbal cues and that once someone sees the routine she gets the concept. But the only thing that I understood by watching her do the dance is that the game offers nine different styles ranging from merengue and salsa to hip-hop and flamenco.

Not convinced, I asked to see the introductory portion of the game. And, boy, am I glad that I did, because now I'm hooked! The intro section is exactly what a newbie like me needs. There are basic step-by-step breakdowns and different rhythm sections so you can get all your proverbial dance ducks in a row. What is really cool is that, unlike the more than 30 routines, which range from beginner to expert, the introductory features don't move on until the game registers that you've mastered the dance move. And now I'm a Zumba believer. Don't tell my mom, but I'm bringing it to Christmas dinner. We can dance off our extra-loving portions of lasagna.

More on Zumba:
We Tried It: Zumba
Join the Party in Pink Zumbathon
Zumba Express Diet