A community GROOVE class that inspires everBODY to actually DANCE!

I'm visiting Toronto for a few weeks and whenever I'm here I LOVE to take part in GROOVE classes facilitated by amazing women and men that I trained with over the last few years.

Last night, I attended DANCEGrooves™ - a community GROOVE class put on by Michelle Hillier from fit2dance and it really knocked me off my feet to see what a dance class for everyBODY looks like...and today there's an echo of something more that is still buzzing inside of me and I LOVE IT!

I arrived a few minutes early to set up and already people were in the space, waiting for the class. What was different was that the women who were there didn't come early to 'mark their spot'  in the class (which is typically the reason that people come to fitness/dance classes early)...they were genuinely happy to see each other and took this extra time to catch up and chat. These women were not friends prior to attending Michelle's class- the friendship developed from the community class! Little did I know that I was about to experince how and why this happened...

As more people walked in, we realized that about half of the people who were part of the group were NEW to GROOVE! That means that over 30 people came out to 'check out this GROOVE class' because the buzz was going around about it...how different the class was...how much FUN it was...how you "actually got to dance".

Isn't it funny that in a city like Toronto where there are thousands of dance classes each week, this one class was getting the reputation of being a class where you can 'actually dance'!

And that's exactly what people got to experience.  No matter their age, body shape, gender, background...from 20-something years old to 60-something years young, women and men, accountants, teachers, bankers, mothers, managers, dancers, non-dancers ...everyBODY was dancing!

This community GROOVE-style dance class inspired people from all ages, shapes and sizes to "actually dance"!

But...what made it so different is exactly THAT...the fact that everyBODY was ACTUALLY DANCING and that everyBODY was moving differently (dancing in their own way). Don't get me wrong, we all learned the same easy move and the room was unified in that ONE movemetn that everyone could successfully execute (all us non-dancers too)...but then each person was DANCING it however it felt best for them.

This is something that I already knew about GROOVE classes...that what makes these dance classes different is the fact that no one feels like the 'aren't getting it'  - GROOVE teachers use The GROOVE Method to teach movements that are simple and use a style where everyone isn't facing forward (we move around each other because really, who "actually dances" facing only one way). 

Michelle's choreography synced with the music then each person stopped following her as she empowered them to move their own way! (she doesn't know what feels good in her participant's body...only they do!)

The room bursted with exciting energy and everyone was moving, sweating and smiling.

But...there was something else happening in that a room that still makes me excited just thinking about it....it's something that's hard to capture in words: the sense of community. It's something that I felt immediately as each person walked in before the class, and then as we were dancing together- the open-armed welcome to me as an 'outsider' to this neighbourhood - the fact that I actually got to make eye contact and interact with other in this class left me with something MORE - something that I don't get from regular dance or fitness classes. It's like I had met new friends, like I had had an opportunity to have a more meaningful evening dancing around to great music instead of my traditional 'workout' of a couple of sets of lunges and squats topped off by some sit-ups.

Over 60 everyday people who came out to get active and DANCE!

Toronto, Canada     October 27, 2010

We finished the class and no one could tell those 30 or so new people who had entered the room for the first time only one short hour before hand. People were mixed and mingling as they walked out back into their own worlds.

There's something powerful to this community class idea... it's an evening where everyone can experience the health benefits,  joy and fun of dancing  ("actually dancing") and to also feel  part of a community, without paying expensive membership fees, feeling like they have to 'wear the right clothes', or that they have to be at a certain fitness level or be a good 'dancer' in order to have fun and get active.

Who would have thought that in simply dancing together we can find reasons to smile at each other, move our bodies and get active so we can be healthier, while at the same time igniting this desire in all of us to live and be part of a healthier and more vibrant community?

Last night's community GROOVE class gave everyBODY who was there an opportunity to LIVE and experience being part of a healthy community and I can honestly say that I look forward to taking part in many more classes like this all over the world!