Flo Rida’s hit song “I Don’t Like it, I Love It” is playing in the gym at First United Methodist Church in Bend as fitness instructor Dendree Middleton leads a Thursday morning cardio workout.

“Today’s party is 35 minutes, a little longer than usual,” Middleton tells the dozen women who’ve gathered to sweat while executing moves like the “hip, hip triplet.”

“We are going to get all our strength in as well,” she says before going into squats and lunges.

The women conclude the class with a series of standing abdominal crunches while holding small weights and doing upper-body presses.

This is modern-day Jazzercise, and it appears to be getting a boost from rising interest in dance-based fitness. In Central Oregon, Jazzercise classes are found at studios in Redmond and Prineville, in Bend at the Methodist church downtown and at a new stand-alone studio on the north side.

Fitness industry observers say Jazzercise and other dance-based workouts benefit from the success of their main competitor, which is Zumba. Set mainly to Latin music, Zumba urges participants to “ditch the workout, join the party.”

“Zumba kind of made dance popular again,” said Chris Freytag, a Minneapolis-based personal trainer and fitness-industry personality.

While a recent fitness-industry survey shows that boot camp-style workouts are still in the lead, dance is holding strong and rising, said Monica McClain-Smith, fitness coordinator for the Bend Park & Recreation District.

Juniper Swim & Fitness began offering Zumba about eight years ago, and sustained the interest in dance-based cardio classes by adding new styles, McClain-Smith said. Now the calendar includes CIZE (“the end of exercise”), which breaks down professional-level choreography; Nia, a blend of dance, yoga and martial arts; and Bliss, a locally developed dance workout.

“There’s a number that are being developed to ride on the Zumba coattail,” McClain-Smith said of the dance fitness trend. “Everybody’s trying to get on the bandwagon.”

Jazzercise studio owner Kelly Newman has built a following and converted students to fellow instructors since moving here from Anchorage, Alaska, in 2010. She opened the studio in September after outgrowing Get A Move On, a dance studio that rents space for a variety of fitness classes.

With child care available most of the time and 27 classes a week, Newman said the Jazzercise studio is thriving. Most of her customers followed her from Get A Move On, which is nearby, but others have been attracted by the “Jazzercise” sign on the building, which is part of an office park on Empire Avenue.

They might associate the name with leg warmers and leotards, Newman said, but they also know what it means.

“They know that it’s dance fitness.”

The resurgence of dance workouts is a good thing for people who find motivation in the camaraderie of group exercise, said Lindsey Beltran, co-owner of the Get A Move On studio. “There’s plenty of people in this town that will take off and go running and work out on their own,” she said. “But there’s a whole lot of the population that just won’t do it by themselves.”

Beltran is one of those people. “I love to dance. I hate to work out,” she said. Beltran became hooked on Zumba after taking her first class at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center seven years ago. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this I can do.’

“Two months later I became licensed as an instructor. Seventy pounds came off. I haven’t stopped since.”

Beltran, who also sells real estate, decided to open Get A Move On because she was having trouble finding a large enough space for her private Zumba classes.

Like Jazzercise, Zumba has evolved to include strength-training and heart-rate pumping intervals. The Florida-based franchise developed classes for new audiences with no-impact, water and kids’ versions.

Beltran never taught a fitness class before Zumba, but she said the company has trained her in creating a complete workout. All her classes include intervals, strength and abdominal work, she said. “People are busy,” she said. “If you can bang it out, get out the door and get on with your life, you’ve done your job.”

Zumba is available at multiple fitness centers in Bend, but Jazzercise does not have a presence in health clubs, possibly because it predates the trend.

Middleton began teaching Jazzercise in Bend gymnastics clubs and high school gymnasiums 35 years ago. Dance fitness was at peak popularity, and Jazzercise competed with unbranded, freelance aerobics studios, she said.

The aerobics studios faded away, but Middleton kept a following for her classes out of the Methodist church gym. She credits her longevity to the fact that Jazzercise maintained brand consistency while incorporating the latest trends. “Like McDonald’s, (they) have salads now. The same goes for Jazzercise. We’re there, holding our own and doing well and gaining new interest.”

All the routines are choreographed at the Carlsbad, California, headquarters by founder Judi Sheppard Missett and company President Shanna Missett Nelson. That means people can drop in on different classes without being thrown for a loop, Middleton said.

At one point, when step aerobics was popular, Middleton said Jazzercise offered its own version. Now participants will find a class called “Strike” that resembles kickboxing and “Fusion,” which blends strength and cardio training. The classic cardio workout is called Dance Mixx.

Jazzercise launched a new marketing campaign last spring, “You think you know us but you don’t,” but decided to keep the name. Middleton said many of her students come back to Jazzercise after long breaks, usually prompted by child-rearing, and the name helps them find their way.

Kathy Tiller, 52, is taking classes with Middleton again after 10 years of being immersed in her children’s activities. “Now I need to start working on myself,” she said.

Tiller first started doing Jazzercise when she was in her 20s and lived in San Diego. “It’s always brought me back because it’s so much fun, and I love to dance,” she said.

She tried Zumba, but she said the class was more dance than workout. “Every time I leave here I’m sweaty.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com