It was a pleasure to meet Stéphanie Carpentier at a recent Zumba Dance event in Cap d'Ail on the Riviera.

I asked Stéphanie about her passions:

"I love all things creative, especially fusing dance with fitness and making people happy through dance."

She told me that she had been dancing from an early age: "I started dancing Jazz and Classical when I was very young". "I am a qualified fitness instructor and dance choreographer for more than fifteen years now."

I began to talk to Stéphanie about how she became involved with Zumba Fitness: "Three years ago whilst I was in Miami, I came across the Zumba program at a fitness centre and I was completely captivated by it. I then started to teach my first Zumba fitness classes in Paris which led me to organising Zumba parties at the weekends. These were two hour non-stop master classes. It was the beginning of my Zumba journey and involving more and more people at each event.

I was interested in knowing what a Zumba Zes was and how she had been given this title: "A 'Zes' is a Zumba Education Specialist - I was invited by the Zumba Head Office to a meeting where I was offered the opportunity to become the French principal Zumba Instructor Trainer, which takes me all over France.

Zumba has become a worldwide craze and I wanted to hear why Stéphanie thought that was: "The music that is associated with Zumba Fitness is a cocktail of latino and international beats like Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Raggae, Samba, Belly Dance, Tango, Flamenco, Hip-hop and more... And the dance moves are so easy to follow and together with great rhythmic tunes, everyone taking part feels motivated and alive, wanting to do it again week after week. The main thing about Zumba fitness is that it is great for the mind, body and soul. Zumba is effective: a cardio based and toning workout, helping you not only to lose weight but can improve your self confidence. I call it a 'Feel-Happy-Workout'!

Stéphanie has even taken to the television screens and I asked her what role she had played. She was actually quite coy about it: "Yes, I played a character in the television series 'Duval and Moretti', this is the French equivalent of the American series Starsky and Hutch." As she continued to smile, she added: "I was the bad girl - totally opposite to how I really am!"

You can see a clip from the TV Show Duval and Moretti featuring Stéphanie, on her website: Stéphanie Carpentier under Videos.

Stéphanie has a welcoming smile which compliments her bubbly personality and she is an absolute inspiration. She is most definitely a 'Can-do Riviera Woman'!

Stéphanie Carpentier