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CNN Saturday Morning News

Salsa Dancing Helps Lose Weight

Aired August 18, 2001 - 08:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Here's another way to shed some weight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tried it and I fell in love with it two years ago, and I haven't stopped dancing since.

CHRISTIE FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Salsa. The dance of Cuba.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's something about that Caribbean music just makes you, even if you're just sitting still, you just want to get up and go.

FEIG: It's also a great form of aerobic exercise.

TOMMY SMITH, SALSA INSTRUCTOR: Now, we're going to angle here and just go one step and back, like so.

Well, if you do it properly, all of the muscles in your torso should be moving, and it's a lot of rolling movement, shaking, you know, dancing, and dips, and it's just, I would think it's probably the closest thing you can get to swimming.

FEIG: Tommy Smith has been teaching salsa 15 years. You can make it what you want, he says, it doesn't have to be high impact aerobics.

SMITH: Somebody next to you might be going all out at it. You can kind of take your time and do it at a nice moderate pace.

FEIG: And for some of his students, it's their key to losing weight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've lost 10 pounds, lost a couple of inches in the waist, and I feel great.

FEIG: He calls salsa the fountain of youth.

I'm Christie Feig.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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