GLOBAL dance-fitness sensation, Zumba, has arrived in a host of Times Territory villages.

Woolmer Green resident Ellena Brooks is helping people shift those post-Christmas pounds and get fit for the new year by introducing the Latin-based dance craze to Welwyn, Oaklands and Lemsford.

Until recently, Ellena worked as a communications manager in the Luton head office of an international holiday company.

But, with her young children to bring up, she wanted a more flexible career option to suit her family life.

Zumba allows the married mum, who has two children aged three years and six months old, to combine her lifetime love for dance-fitness and working around the needs of her young family.

“I love teaching Zumba classes because every class feels like a party,” said Ellena, who qualified to became a licensed Zumba instructor last autumn.

The routines she leads feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt the body while at the same time burning fat – all with a “body-energising Latin beat”.

The 31-year-old said: “The steps are easy to follow and people of any age and experience can enjoy the music and party atmosphere to burn off calories at my weekly classes.

“You don’t even have to know how to dance.”

Currently Ellena has recruited 120 participants, aged from 18 to 68, and says now is a perfect time to join.

“This is an ideal time for people who are looking for a fun and effective way to shed those surplus pounds to join one of my classes,” she said.

“At only �5 for a one-hour session, they can enjoy great music, a friendly atmosphere and an easy way to keep fit for the new year.”

Worldwide, the Zumba programme is being taught at over 90,000 locations in 110 countries, with an astonishing 10 million participants taking Zumba classes every week.

Ellena runs three regular Zumba sessions – on Mondays, 8pm at Welwyn Civic Centre, in Prospect Place; Wednesdays, 7.30pm at Oaklands Primary School on Great North Road, and Thursdays, 8pm at St John’s Junior School in Lemsford.

For more details email ellenabrooks@fsmail.net or call 07949 927231.