MOULTRIE — Zumba fever is spreading through Colquitt County. You could feel the heat coming from the aerobics room Friday morning at the Moultrie YMCA.

I approached the room timidly in my tennies and tights not quite knowing what I was in for. Zumba, I had heard, is a “Dancing with the Stars” primer for earthbound folk, but I didn’t think I would catch on easily.

But then something happened. Zumba instructor Leslie Peretti entered all grins and gushes and turned on the music. Without thinking, I started to bob to the tha-thump, tha-thump, and I didn’t stop until she turned off the music 45 minutes later. I was ready to rumba after all.

Latin trance dances have power enough to pull throngs of Carnival revelers through the streets of Rio, Trinidad and El Salvador. It was clear that they had the same effect on a roomful of Colquitt County women.

“I know it’s Latin dance moves, but you’ve got to move fast. I hope they slow it down,” said first-timer Allison McChristial.

I felt her pain.

“It’s something different. I wanted to try something new,” said retired Stringfellow Elementary School Barbara Stewart. “It’s different. It’s fun, but you’re still moving, you know. That’s the significant part about it. You get to work some muscles you might not often work coupled with the fact that it’s fun.”

Stewart and fellow dancer Joyce Carter have tried the class before and are back for more.

“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in an exercise class,” Carter said.

The word “fun” used by more than one person: That was a good sign.

The women filed in, smiling. They were here to have fun too. We progressed through Peretti’s patient introduction of dance steps. And though I bailed early from the floor to take some photos, I felt all day like I had been at a party. It was a proper dose of fun.

“I’m excited. This is my first time. All I can say is as soon as I get it, I’ll be here,” said dancer Laura Tello, determined to practice the steps before her next class.

Celebrity fitness trainer “Beto” Perez’s Zumba is fresh at the Y, but already the classes are attracting the curious. Its infectious grooves and nonimpact workout are filling up classes. One class, Peretti said, has had more than 40 dancers. More classes will be offered in the coming months, likely on Saturdays. Already, Peretti will add an afterschool class for middle and high school students in March and will lead teachers at C.A. Gray Middle School through the moves Feb. 26.

“It’s the newest thing out there. It’s great cardio plus body sculpting/dance fitness class,” Peretti said. “... Whether you can dance or not, you come in and you can do it.”

Zumba means to move fast and have fun, she said. (There’s that encouraging word again.) Dancers will learn three to four basic steps of the merengue, salsa, Cumbia, reggaeton and flamenco. As the classes progress, Peretti will layer in different rhythms, arm variations and fitness moves.