Latin Dance in Louth

Allegedly it makes you smarter. New classes are popping up for various types of Latin Dance, and the new forms come with baffling names that sound like they're meant for exotic holiday destinations, or maybe a new brand of detergent.

You can try some of these out in the comfort of your home with a number of console games. See my review of Zumba Fitness 2, for instance. But for the best results and party atmosphere you should try a class.

Zumba

Zumba is a mix of Latin dance and aerobics, although the music and moves aren't exclusively Latin and pop, African rhythms and Bollywood styles are in there as well. Every dance includes a new set of movements to memorise.

Bokwa

This is the new kid on the block. Bokwa is a mixture of dance letter shapes communicated by sign language, which sounds a whole lot more complicated than it is in practice. It's really very simple: the instructor makes a letter shape with their hands, and your steps on the floor go in the pattern of that letter shape. So for a "C" you'll step left, then forwards, then right, then back the way you came, with one or two jumps in between.

Bokwa grew out of Zumba, so a lot of the music is similar or the same. It's a slightly more challenging workout, and there are a lot of small jumps that get repeated often. That's something to consider if you're concerned about doing high impact exercises, because Zumba is easier on your knees. The other main difference between the styles is the amount of new information you want to learn. Here you only have to remember the individual letters rather than entire dances for each piece of music, so it's very accessible and you can pick it up quickly.

Class Times

At the time of writing the following classes are available in the area:

Mondays

• 6-7pm Zumba at Meridian Leisure Centre, Wood Lane
• 6-7pm Bokwa at Monks Dyke Dance Studio
• 6.30pm Zumba at Freestyle Fitness Studio, Belvoir Way, Fairfield Industrial Estate

Wednesdays

• 10-11am Zumba at Freestyle Fitness Studio
• 11am-12 noon Zumba at Meridian Leisure Centre
• 6pm Zumba at Freestyle Fitness Studio
• 6pm Bokwa at Freestyle Fitness Studio

Thursdays

• 10am Zumba at Freestyle Fitness Studio
• 6-7pm Bokwa at Fulstow Village Hall

Fridays

• 7-8pm Zumba at Meridian Leisure Centre

Saturdays

• 9am Bokwa at Meridian Leisure Centre
• 10am Zumba at The Mayfair Club (Smilies), Birch Road - Zumba Gold, a more relaxed class for beginners
• 11am Zumba at The Mayfair Club (Smilies)