Nope. No Dance Experience. Not a Dancer…

This is my automatic response when people ask me if I have a dance background. I lie and say no, because the fact is, I never felt like a dancer. 

I started with ballet at age 5, and I don’t remember it all, but pictures have me looking happy enough. I tried tap as well, but eventually settled into something called modern jazz. I loved going to dance classes.  A bunch of my friends went, the teachers were always young and fun, the music was good – it was generally a good time.

I loved the drills, the repetition, and moving my body to the music. After dance class, I would continue the fun – I’d put on my mum’s A-ha album and leap around the living room, but would suddenly stop if anyone came in the room and could see me. I was a secret dancer.

I loved the camaraderie of the dance recitals. The whole studio would come together for a night, and we’d be running around backstage, doing makeup, eating snacks and waiting for our turn to come.  I’d watch the older girls with awe, and wish I could be like them. I didn’t love performing. I was pretty terrible.  I could never remember the moves, and my brain couldn’t keep track of when it was time to move to the next move. The recital was torture because it was so embarrassing. I was the girl in the back who hadn’t memorized the dance, and was trying to keep up with the others. The outfits were also spectacularly bad. This was before the days of fabulous Lululemon that shapes and holds – every imperfection stood out and sparkled. It’s amazing that I’ll still wear spandex.

Eventually, I realized I was no good and stopped dancing. Which is sad. Because dancing is fun and it’s innately human.

This is why at Groove Barre, we strongly emphasize NO DANCE EXPERIENCE required.  It’s true that some of the moves we do are ballet inspired, but trust me, you do not need dance experience. Groove Barre is for the non-dancers, the dancers, and the secret dancers too.

It’s easy to follow and we stick with each move long enough that you’ll have time to find the right muscle engagement before we move onto the next. You’ll see a lot of regular fitness moves:  we lunge, we squat, and we row.

You’ll find the good stuff from dance classes – the fun fitness, the great music, and fast friends, without the embarrassing recital. If you’re off the beat of the music, no one cares. If you’re feeling lower energy today, and taking the easier variations, no one cares. If you’re a little late to class and look like a hot mess, no one cares. We’re just glad you came.