Goodbye, Group Fit
I tried to manifest magic, hung my shingle, and no one came. It’s really disappointing to see that this negative news will receive more engagement than 3 months of intense marketing.
No one came to the FREE demo for Cardio Dance Club. No one. I should have expected it when the marketing campaign launched to abysmal silence.
After countless attempts to venture out on my own in the fitness space, I created the easiest possible scenario for someone to try something new: a free class, no sign up required - at the most in-demand time slot of the week.
At my expense, I secured the space and dedicated my time to getting the news out: a secular dance class accessible to all people. The goal was to build a community for those who genuinely love to dance. A group of people gathered around more than just a certain brand name, corporation, or subscription. A safe place where people could find new avenues to express their most authentic (and fabulous) selves. Secular because dance is a great way to bridge communities that otherwise would never connect. We have to learn to share spaces with people different from us. I fear the cynicism during the current social climate has forced us into spaces where we can over-curate our company.
Furthermore, this class was to be the culmination of decades of developing a method where people could create a dance repertoire while getting exercise. The talent I have seen in this community warrants countless dance groups participating in community events, but I rarely see anything for adults beyond an on-site exercise class.
I really do not know how to get people to create community through dance when no one seems to be interested in really putting the effort into it. Sure, it’s fun to wear matching outfits and show yourselves shakin’ it with abandon on social media, but when was the last time we committed ourselves to participating in something greater than just our own individual fulfillment?
Those that know me know that I give 200% to the party. What many do not know - is that I did it at my own expense financially, physically, and emotionally. I kept doing it for so many years because I love it so much.
It is not easy for a sensitive person to be in a loud room fervently smiling her face off for a bunch of strangers.
It is agonizing for a person that knows human anatomy to be in spaces where people are hurting themselves and not be able to help them avoid it.
It is financially impossible to make a living teaching group fitness classes at big-box gyms where the highest I was ever paid was $30 for an hour of professional, certified instruction.
Because of that, I started exploring new revenue sources both as a certified personal trainer and health coach. I am grateful for the opportunities that have presented themselves at retirement communities and country clubs but I feel that I have left behind a huge part of myself and completely disconnected from the community we built around cardio dance classes at the big gyms.
I created the Cardio Dance Club to see if I could draw out dancers from the connections that I’ve made over the years. I recalled countless times people expressed that they wanted to be a part of something greater than a routine at a gym. That they wanted to be physically challenged - but most importantly, that there was the heart of a dancer within them that needed to burst out.
Through dance, I have had the opportunity to be a part of some of the most interesting teams of people, performing in awe inspiring spaces to audiences bigger than my imagination could ever contain. Dance did that.
I have witnessed people who never saw themselves as performers own a stage like a consummate professional. I had a client remember and perform a musical number from a recital they were in 70 years ago, and a woman with destroyed knees glide across a dance floor like Ginger Rogers! Dance can do that.
I am forever grateful to be a steward of this art form, with every shift of body weight, with every flick of the wrist. Dance does that.
This Cardio Dance Club was intended to be an entry way to weaving something artistic into our workouts. Its failure is evidence that what is moving us to show up to the gym may not be as constructive as we think. People are riding on Pelotons in rooms, earphones in, cut off from the world around them but they don’t mind because their output is their main priority. A leaderboard has taken the place of friendly camaraderie. Punishment instead of joy. Flaunting our achievements has replaced supporting others in achieving theirs.
Where is the space for the quiet listener that wants to get it exactly right?
Where is the space for the new grandmother who wants to save her knees for the new grandbaby?
Where is the space for the dancer who wants to perform but cannot afford the time for auditions and rehearsals?
It is easier to go with the flow than to panic. It is ok to be so overwhelmed by the crowded classes in loud gyms, that we desensitize ourselves to our own deserved need for reassurance and plow through an exercise session that is not in alignment with our growth. But this is not normal.
It is not normal to prioritize punishment over growth.
It is not normal to have such limited options for adult dance instruction in the entire county, and the few amazing classes that exist are painstakingly staying open at the expense of the studio owners. Some spaces lay empty waiting for dancers of any shape, age, or size to come grace them. Our enthusiastic offerings are met with apathy and cynicism.
It is depressing and alienating when people who choose to meet the world with love and beauty are met with blank stares. We, the dreamers, that are constantly shaken awake by the cold hard truth that what they bring to this world is not appreciated.
It is the reason why people give up.
It is not normal that people find themselves obligated to listen to Pitbull, loudly, before 8am in the morning… if they want to have friends.
In the meantime, big-box brands are reaping tremendous profits by exploiting instructors, putting their clientele in situations prone to injury, and presenting caricature versions of the cultures they’re using to fuel their content.
By willfully qualifying a crowded cardio dance class in a big gym as dance instruction you are undermining the arts in your community. If you yearn for excellence but settle for mediocrity, you are doing irreparable damage to your soul. If you go to a classroom but can’t even see or hear the teacher, how are you going to learn? If you long for something more but cannot take the first step to change things, you will never get to where you want to be.
I went to see a Broadway musical at the Kravis Center, the house was full. I went there to see the ballet, empty seats everywhere. The signs are there: Palm Beach County does not care about the arts.
If you have just read all that, thank you for making it this far. If it angers you, you are in good company. If you disagree, please let me know, I could use the good news.
I would like to thank all the authentically wonderful people that I have met along the way. I would also like to honor those who have become life lessons in my career path. It is with utmost gratitude that I choose to close this chapter of my life. For that reason, I will no longer be offering my services to the public. I will keep my practice exclusive to those that appreciate it. Also, please do not associate me with any name brand cardio fitness formats because I refuse to let people in a boardroom dictate how I can most effectively teach my clients. No Zumba®, No Bokwa®. I am a coach, a fan, a poet, an investor and I dance.
Just Big B still giving her very best.
I am more than fine, and thriving - but my energy gets depleted so easily nowadays. I’m so happy I have my jazz dance class with Scott Stampone on Friday nights to remind me of the diva that I am. I get to go see the ballet and Broadway shows with my amazing clients. I love my home life and have a wonderful family.
But I have been in mourning. We all have lost something through fear and lack of connection, yet we yearn for attention and validation. I want to reach out because I don’t think I am the only one who feels this way. All I can ask is that you check on your loved ones this holiday season, especially the sensitive and quiet ones who still have hope in their hearts.
Signed,
Barbara “Big B” Gonzalez
