Wilda Santiago knows how to shake it. As Shakira's Arabian-inspired Ojos Así pulsates through the room, Santiago taps her feet, makes a snakelike motion with her hips and spins in a tight circle, dark bangs sticking to her forehead.

"If we get a hat, we could probably have a show in the park," she says to the three dozen or so people who stand behind her, attempting to keep up with her footwork.

That's right - Santiago's not boogying down at some club in Ybor or even dancing in front of the mirror in her socks. She's teaching an aerobics class at the Northwest YMCA on W Waters Avenue.

A healthy combination

In March, Santiago teamed up with longtime colleague Shannon Thigpen to form Salsa and Soul Fitness, a mobile wellness company that offers exercise classes, health and beauty products and active wear throughout Tampa Bay. Santiago is the salsa, while Thigpen adds the soul.

"We chose the name Salsa and Soul because salsa represents movement. It represents the spice of life. And the soul represents the essence of who we are," said Thigpen, 43, fitness columnist for World of Westchase community newsletter and a former YMCA group fitness instructor. She hails from New Jersey, where she picked up a lot of line dances for her weekly soul line dance class at the YMCA Express on W Linebaugh Avenue in Tampa.

Santiago, 45, uses a combination of formal fitness certification and Puerto Rican upbringing to choreograph the salsa sessions she teaches throughout Tampa Bay. In 1999, Santiago created the salsa-merengue fitness video Club Salsaaerobics, and she has a salsa-reggaeton video due out this summer. To keep her moves fresh, she watches music videos and picks up dance steps from her younger students.

Feels like fun

Santiago and Thigpen, both moms, teach classes that feel more like a party than a dreaded workout - which is the point, they said.

"Salsa and Soul is different in that we find a very fun way of becoming fit. We believe in changing your lifestyle and it not having to be boring, not having to be hard. We believe that everyone can be successful doing it," Thigpen said. And she does mean everyone - stay-at-home moms, career women, grandmothers, little girls and even the occasional man have been known to show up for Salsa and Soul classes. People of all races and fitness levels sweat side-by-side under the instruction of Santiago or Thigpen, who teach separately but attend each other's classes when they can.

"It makes you able to stick to it because it's fun, and you don't feel you're exercising, but you are," Santiago said.