Kim Kardashian Knows it & Rocco Believes it - Dancing is Great Exercise

Have you been watching ABC's Dancing with the Stars this season? If so, you have seen the stars learning some beautiful Latin dance moves. Kim Kardashian recently told OK! Magazine that she is hoping the show will help her transform her figure and Rocco DiSpirito said with great enthusiasm that dancing should be America's Health Plan. What a great message to send out to our country.

I love watching the men and women in my Mambo Mania classes transform from self-doubters (two left feet) to confident, fit, smiling dancers. We have so much fun doing Mambo Mania and it really is transforming lives. See for yourself here.

I was asked by the New York Daily News to comment about Dancing for fitness - you can read the story here.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and shake your colita America!

Thank You Avon Walkers! What a Great Day!

This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure and honor to lead the warm-up for over 3,000 participants walking 39 miles in 2 days for Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Los Angeles.

It was awesome. I'll upload some photos in the next day or two. There was a professional photographer there whom I happened to have known, he was one of my Mambo Mania students from way back. Those shots should be on the Avon site.

It was a very emotional experience for me, which caught me by surprise. I cried as I thought about my friend Toni and how precious our friendship was - how sad it was to lose her to this disease so young. But, I was inspired by the grit and enthusiasm of the participants, some were survivors, others supporters of those survivors and still others, like me, standing up for the cause because we lost a dear and loved one to the disease.

It was quite a thrill watching the sea of hips moving to Mambo Mania. As soon as we made that first swaggering hip movement, the crowd started to roar. They loved it! (Next year we need to bring our own music.) Anyway, it was wonderful and I am completely looking forward to more events like this one.

You can read the press release here.

More Photos from IDEA World Fitness

Wow, what a week at IDEA! We met some amazing people like Shelley at ExerciseTV & Harry at Aleve and Shaya, what a doll!

Here are some more pictures from Friday - we were on the Performance Stage 2 times and it was a blast. Thanks to everyone who came out and joined us for Mambo Mania!!!

MAMBO MANIA Is Happening in Vegas & It's Not Staying There!

Greetings from Day 3 of IDEA World Fitness in HOT Vegas. Here are some photos of our booth and all the fun we are having!

LOTS more Mambo Mania to come tomorrow - we'll on the Performance Stage at 12:40 & 1:40 pm and dancing ALL DAY at our Booth #1133 of course!

Come Cha Cha with me at IDEA!

If you're at the IDEA World Fitness convention in Las Vegas this week please come by the Mambo Mania booth #1133 and let's Cha Cha!

I am teaching classes all day long and I'm giving away FREE downloads of Cha Cha combinations and handing choreography notes at the booth.

Come by and shake your colita with Clarita!!!

Choosing the Right Shoes for your Workouts can Prevent Serious Injuries

The hottest trend in cardio fitness today is LATIN! Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Merengue and more. And my Mambo Mania workout is the sassy, Cuban swing that is sweeping the world of Latin Fitness. But, to perform these fun, sassy and sultry moves safely, one must be equipped with the right kind of foot gear.

Smooth-soled sneakers are the best choice for these types of dance oriented classes and fortunately there are more available than ever before, thanks to the Latin trend. It used to be that you could purchase "dance sneakers" only from Danskin, Capezzio's, Block, and other dance shoe manufacturers. But now, most of the big named brand fitness shoe manufactures have come around to idea of these appropriately designed shoes for aerobic dancing.

Most cross trainers or running shoes are designed for heavy duty traction. If you wear these in Mambo Mania classes, your feet will stick to the floor's surface. This can lead to serious injuries. Many of the movements in these Latin classes require pivots and turns. If your foot is stable and the rest of your body continues turn around it, severe torque is placed at the ankle and the knee. Calf and knee injuries are common if the wrong type of foot gear is worn. Only a smooth soled shoe without traction will allow the necessary rotation required for those movements.

By choosing these smooth soled shoes, you can insure that you will have a fun and SAFE experience do your sassy Cuban swing. Very sexy!