Those who recoil at the very thought of running on a treadmill but still want to stay in shape might just find their soulmate workout in the form of dance-based fitness classes.
In early January, iDance Studios opened its first North Shore location, offering open-level dance classes for adults.
The company was founded in Vancouver in 2008 by Jane Stevens and her sister, both of them longtime dancers who found themselves missing the activity after growing up and getting "real jobs." Their goal in opening the first studio was to break down what they call "elitist barriers" surrounding dance and make it accessible to everyone.
"We came up with the idea of creating a non-intimidating space for beginner adults to take open-level classes," says Stevens, a former legal secretary who earned her group fitness certification and taught aerobics, Pilates and yoga before starting iDance.
The North Vancouver studio teaches popular styles of dance, in addition to offering some alternative dance-based exercise classes in a relaxed environment, free of pretense.
"We'll do the ballet, the jazz, the hip-hop, all of that, but then we also offer Pussycat Dolls and burlesque. We have a class called Videography, which is choreography that you see in the actual music videos. We have
Bollywood, which is a really popular class," says Stevens.
The studio also offers the latest fitness craze, Zumba.
Stevens says more classes, such as ballet bootcamp, will be added to the schedule as the Welch Street studio grows its clientele.
The classes are not only fun, but will have participants working up a healthy sweat as they master the choreographed steps, says Stevens.
"We've seen women drop 50 or 60 pounds by coming to the dance classes, so for people who don't like the gym, it's definitely a fun alternative," she said. "The time flies while you're dancing. It's a fun workout. You're not on the treadmill, it's not monotonous."
The classes are geared towards beginner to intermediate dancers. But even those who have only busted moves in front of the bedroom mirror should be able to pick up the choreography with ease.
"It's amazing what people will learn in an (hour-long) class. The instructors break it down really well," says. Stevens. "At the end of the class everybody's able to do it."
The hopelessly unco-ordinated might want to start with the dancer's body bootcamp.
"Even though it's called bootcamp and people are often intimidated by that, it's actually the most user-friendly class just because there is
no choreography," says Stevens, explaining the bootcamp consists of traditional fitness moves such as push-ups and lunges, with a few pliés and "fancy dance arms" thrown into the routine.
All iDance classes have space for up to 30 people. The cost is $15 to drop in, and multi-class passes are also available.
