Community: Dancing to the ‘80s at the Abaka Center

A free Zumba party kept more than 45 people movin’ and groovin’ to the 1980s beat at the Abaka Center for the Performing Arts in Burbank.

Participants wore 1980s-style outfits for the August event, said studio Manager Marina Artuni, and danced to music of the era for 90 minutes led by Zumba instructors.

The dance studio is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month and Artuni said more free Zumba parties are planned for the future. The studio instructors offer classes in Armenian cultural dances as well as piano and guitar and the fine artists. One of the personal trainers is certified to teach nutrition. The studio is available to rent for special events.

For more information, visit www.abakadanceschool.com.

Zumba is a great way to exercise and have fun at the same time, Artuni said.

The dance fitness program was created by dancer and choreographer Beto Perez in the 1990s in his aerobics class in Colombia and he brought it to the United States in 2001.

The movements combine hip-hop, samba, merengue, mambo and belly dancing with martial arts, squats and lunges. Instructors are licensed by the Zumba Academy to teach the classes.

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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be contacted at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.