Gillian Hanna: Merrick's Zumba Instructor Extraordinaire

At 5-foot-4, 127 pounds–to any observer the very definition of lean and fit–it's hard to imagine North Merrick personal trainer Gillian Hanna as she was five years ago: 230 on the scale, pregnant with her second child.

But her inspirational tale of weight loss—combined with high energy, grace, compassion and talent—is part of her appeal to devotees at Xtreme Gym in Merrick and Massapequa, where she teaches popular hour-long classes in Zumba, the international dance-fitness program.

While somewhat concerned about needing to lose so much post-pregnancy weight in 2006, "it was more that I was bored, tired of doing step, running, all the basic workout stuff," she says.

"I was looking to get back to dance," adds Hanna, who studied seriously for a dozen years until age 17, including a specialized program at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens.

"Then I found Zumba at the Rhythms and Soul studio in Levittown, and I lost the weight pretty fast because not only did I look forward to the classes so much, but I did it in my kitchen all the time, too," says Hanna, now 36.

From there, it was a short jeté to deciding she wanted to teach Zumba herself, and then becoming a certified instructor.  Neil Wolfson, Xtreme's owner, hired Hanna to teach at the Bellmore location (one of five, including Farmingdale and Manhattan).

"Gillian has such a positive attitude and a great personality, plus she provides a very extensive cardio workout in the context of the class," Wolfson says. "That's why people like her so much."

Hanna puts her own twist on Zumba, as her students know. While many instructors rely heavily on Latin-inspired moves, interspersed with common fitness steps like arm pumps and jumping jacks, Hanna brings her wide-ranging dance and music interests to the floor.

She'll put hip-hop moves to "Mami Que Bola," keep a salsa flavor to "Zu Bailalito," and combine reggaeton and Bollywood styles for "Mirala Bien." A little further off the beaten Zumba path, she choreographs dances to pop songs such as the racy "Take It Off," the playful "Calabria," or the Nancy Sinatra oldie "These Boots Were Made for Walking," often including moves adapted from the traditional ballet or jazz-dance worlds.

Hanna grew up in Queens, a writer as well as a dancer, later earning a master's in creative writing from Queens College. (She's currently working on an English translation of an academic biography of the prophet Mohammed.)

She and her husband, JeanPaul Hanna, moved to North Merrick when their son, Marco, now 8 and a third-grader at Fayette School, was in kindergarten. Daughter Carlee, almost 5, will be joining him there next year.

Certainly her Zumba devotees are glad she settled on the South Shore.  Ginger Perrone of North Merrick, a nurse and mother of four children ranging in age from 13 to 30+, is a fitness-class veteran and has been devoted to Hanna's Zumba sessions for almost a year.

"Her steps are easy enough for a beginner to follow, but she also switches things up to keep it interesting," Perrone says.

Pharmacist Deanna Spinella, 28, of Massapequa Park, has taken three of her five weekly Zumba classes with Hanna since April 2010.

"I love to dance, and this is like a dance class," Spinella says. "I've definitely lost inches, and it's never boring."

Hanna says: "Zumba has given so much to me, that I feel I get more than I give. It makes me so happy to see people come together in class not only to work out, but to be in a friendly, healthy place, with people who are positive about each other."

Plus, she adds, it's gratifying to know how fitness can have a practical impact. One student, Hanna relates, used to always miss the most conveniently timed bus home from work because she couldn't climb the hill from her office to the bus stop quickly enough—but now, thanks to Zumba, she can.

Thinking wholesome is in Hanna's DNA.

"My mother ran a health-food store when I was growing up," she explains. "I did my homework surrounded by supplements."

Now Hanna and her husband have opened a vitamin and supplement store of their own in Middle Island.

"Everyone in my family is a healer or trainer or something, so what I do isn't so unusual," says Hanna modestly.

Her happy band of Zumba dancers would beg to differ.

Click here to view one of Hanna's 2010 Xtreme Gym Zumba classes (filmed at the Massapequa location).