Dancing the night away
> Thousands of Zumba enthusiasts lit up Sunway Lagoon’s Surf Beach with their passion for fitness
THEY came, they saw, they Zumba’d. The Watsons Move Your Body Zumba Beach Party which took place last Saturday at the Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach drew a literal record-breaking crowd, as 5,360 Zumba enthusiasts danced late into the night.
The gates opened at 6pm, with early birds coming to book the best spots closest to the stage. Participants also took the opportunity to try out some health and lifestyle products and beverages at the venue, courtesy of event sponsors.
The theme of the night was ‘Glow in the Dark’, and participants came prepared, with many dressed in fluorescent sportswear, and others brandishing glow sticks and LED glasses.
A number even had their faces painted with glow-in-thedark paint.
Before the Zumba event started, there were several opening acts, including street dance and cheerleading performances, as well as a deejay showcase to get everyone in a party mood.
The event finally got underway at around 8pm, with the stage being taken over by enthusiastic Zumba instructors, who led the crowd in a series of coordinated dance moves that were designed to give a total body workout.
Most of the crowd were seasoned Zumba enthusiasts, but even first timers seemed to be able to follow the moves, with everyone working up a good sweat along the way.
The highlight of the one-and-ahalf hour event were sessions led by two popular international Zumba instructors, David Velez from Colombia, and Michael Thomas from Australia.
Both are familiar faces to local Zumba fans, who treated them like rock stars, cheering and screaming when they made their appearances onstage.
While the Zumba dance fitness craze may have originated from South America, the dance moves and music at the event came from all over the world.
Participants moved their bodies to a varied playlist of songs, ranging from Latin dance tunes to hip-hop beats, to even a few slow songs to cool down.
Even the catchy PPAP Pen Pineapple Apple Pen was played, delighting many in the crowd.
At the end of the Zumba session, officials from the Malaysia Book of Records presented Watsons Malaysia with the award for the largest number of participants for a glow-in-thedark Zumba event.
Both Watsons Malaysia chief operating officer Caryn Loh and Watsons Malaysia marketing head Danny Hoh accepted the award from Malaysia Book of Records research analysts Yap Sow Fun and Lavnesh Thiruselvam.
The crowd then had a dance party as a reward for their efforts, with music provided by Malaysia’s finest local DJs including Jakeman & Skeletor, H3, Leng Yein, and Chukiess & Whackboi.
It was a fun fitness event that left many of the participants satisfied, and hoping for more Zumba events in the future.