Cardio dancers take fitness party online
DENVER – An up-and-coming cardio dance studio faced a grim fate when gyms were shuttered in March. But an immediate shift to livestreamed classes, and a dedicated community of dancers and instructors, helped the business adapt and thrive through a challenging year.
Block21 Fitness provides a cardio dance workout combining hip-hop cardio and interval training.
“Think about your favorite night out, your favorite dance floor, one in the morning shaking your booty with your friends, that is exactly what we do here,” says founder Sally Ogilby.
The idea of a dance-party cardio class came to her during a routine workout. “I was working out in a gym, slogging it out on the treadmill and just counting down the minutes until it was over,” Ogilby said.
At the time, Ogilby was renting studio space at EVQ Elite Dance in Denver’s Baker neighborhood. She dragged 20 friends into the dance studio, taught her first class, and the rest was history. After instructing the class since January 2017 at EVQ Dance, Ogilby opened her own studio in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood in August 2019.
The boutique cardio dance studio, having only been open in its new location for eight months, was instructed to close its doors on March 14 due to the spread of COVID-19.
“Up until that point, every dollar coming through our business, was live in-person classes,” says Ogilby. The business pivoted quickly, and within the same day of being notified of a shut down, Block21 aired their first livestreamed class.
Ogilby and her fellow Block21 dance instructors were committed to keeping the business going during the closure. They provided different variations of livestream and outdoor classes, and notably, they aired all their classes for free for 100 days after the initial closure.
“We sort of saw this as a national crisis that we were in together and this was our contribution to our community and to society as a whole,” says Ogilby.
The cardio dance class has remained a constant source of release and therapy for its patrons and instructors during this year of a global pandemic, a contentious election, and an uprising civil rights movement.
John Roberts, a dancer with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, has been instructing Block21 classes since the studio opened its new doors last August. He says one of the major changes has been instructing with a mask – learning to manage his breathing differently, and to convey energy and feedback to dancers (in-person and online) with limited facial expressions.
But it's worth it. Roberts believes that dance is movement and healing for the soul.
“Exuding energy and really just releasing, almost like a personal catharsis or a purge, is always so essential because these are hard times; the election, the Black Lives Matter movement, all the things that we’re going through, we’re still constantly living in them, so you need some outlet,” Roberts says.
Pre-pandemic, Block21 class sizes ranged up to 30 people, generating the energy of a crowded dance party. Since reopening its doors at the end of June, the studio has taken on a different look, and found new ways to create dance-party energy.
At first, 10 patrons were allowed in the studio. Now, with a return to tighter restrictions, up to 5 patrons work out in-person with an instructor while each class is livestreamed for additional members to take at home on the studio's virtual platform. For those dancing in-person, masks are always required, temperature checks are taken on arrival, and the studio is thoroughly sanitized before and after each class.
“Block21 has remained opened 100% because of our community, without a doubt, we would not be here without them,” says Ogilby.
The 30-year-old founder is proud to own a business that has been so resilient and is confident they’ll make it through the pandemic with thicker skin, while having a good time along the way.
“No matter what’s happening in the outside world, in our lives, this is the place where we can relieve stress," says Ogilby. "And yeah, all exercise has similar benefits, but the beauty of what we do here is that it feels fun.”