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Hey Dance Fam! I’m going to be traveling the first week in November. I’m off to Buenos Aires, co-hosting a Fit & Fly Girl retreat!
I have a few amazing guys filling in for me in my absence:

Youngstown
Saturday Nov 4|  9:45am | Joe Beiling DancePowered Choreography
Tuesday Nov 7 | 6:15pm | Joe Beiling DancePowered Choreography
Saturday|  Nov 11 9:45 am |John Delapena

Community Fitness
Monday, Nov. 6th 7:30 pm | Joe Beiling DancePowered Choreography
Friday Nov 3rd | 9:40 am | Courtney Florez
Friday Nov.10th | 9:40 am | Jessica Gleason
Saturday Nov 4th | noon | Sara Grippen
Saturday Nov 11th | noon | Sara Grippen

Studio 206
Thursday, Nov 2nd | 7:15 pm | John Delapena
Thursday, Nov 9th | 7:15pm | John Delapena

I’ll be back in action Monday the 13th, with my first class back at YT Tuesday the 14th.
We’ll hit the dancing hard when I return!
Looking forward to my Nov 17th  Masterclass,
Thanksgiving Day class,
and a chance to workshop choreography in January!

Thanksgiving 2017

The Thanksgiving escape is here!

Take a break from cooking, houseguests, in-laws and holiday pressures!
Come see your dance pals and earn another serving of mashed potatoes by dancing it out with me on Thanksgiving morning!

$16 cash or check

Members can use punch cards.

See you soon!!!!!

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We’re just a few weeks away from one of my favorite events to hold. Dance Fitness Masterclasses are a chance for me to push myself, and bring you new, hot choreography to dance to! I’ll be on stage so you and your friends can see clearly. The studio is spacious, and provides flat screens for magnified vision, club lighting and a hot sound system.

GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!
11.17.17 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm| Community Fitness 6108 Roosevelt Way

 

CiKeithia
If you’ve been to a DancePowered class at Youngstown, or most of our events, you may spot long time member CiKeithia Pugh front row and smiling…bringing the swagger and fierceness to class! She’s been working on her fitness for several years now, making small, achievable changes to her life and sees results she likes! You can see the changes in CiKeithia from her earlier pictures above, Top image in 2011, and bottom image from 2014. All the rest are from 2017. Wow CiKeithia! Looking great!

CiKeithia, you with your beautiful smile, your positive attitude, your award winning work, style queen and dance swagger, we have questions for you!

What are your occupation and what are your  hobbies?

Program Manager and Racial Equity Consultant. I enjoy shopping, spending time with friends and family, and dancing of course!

How do you manage to fit it all into your day?

I don’t. Admittedly I am a work in progress. I completely push back on the notion of being able to do it all. My thoughts? Do what is most important one day at a time.

What’s the award you’re holding in the middle photo above?

It’s the 2014 SOAR Community Achievement Award : ) You’ll have to google it!

What are your fitness goals?

I threw away my scale years ago. I do not live my life by a number. My goal instead is to get some form of exercise at least 3x a week . Never stop moving! Food also feeds the brain so I am conscious of my meals making sure to eat a balanced meal breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as making good snack choices.

What keeps you motivated?

Reminding myself of how good I feel when I work out and physically seeing the results is the best motivator. I feel good!

What do you eat to fuel for your workouts?

Peanut butter and bananas. I also don’t forget water!

You’ve been with DancePowered on and off for nearly 7 years now (did you realize that?) What is it that you like about the class?

DancePowered makes me feel alive. The high impact workouts to all of my jams is the best ever! Jennifer is a phenomenal instructor that pushes us to the limit each class. I just love it.

How has dancing helped you in other areas in your life?

Confidence. If you can twerk in front of a stranger you can do just about anything.

I agree! 

What’s your guiltiest food pleasure?

Spicy nacho Doritos with con queso dip.

Was not expecting this level of guilty pleasure…..Well done!!! 

Fitness goals are best achieved with more than one format.
What else do you do to keep fit?

When my schedule permits I also attend a fitness boot camp.

What would people find surprising about you?

 I am not as outgoing as people think. I like to sit back and observe before I jump in. I place high value on relationships and like to surround myself with genuinely good people. I often say I have a lot of associates, but very few friends.

Beyonce’s alter ego is Sasha Fierce. Who is your dancing alter ego?

 I call her Keke. Keke is an around the way girl. Old school style. If it was a popular dance back in the day Keke will rock the hell out of it.

We love you and your alter ego!

What does your spouse think about your dancing?

 He loves it because it makes me happy.

Good Man. Wise Man.

What or where is your happy place?

 #1 A DancePowered Class #2 A good day of shopping

Sassy Words of Wisdom:

 Life is short, ride it til the wheels fall off.

Thanks all who came out to help with our class led DancePowered Sessions while I was away on vacation! I’ve heard the most positive feedback about you all!

My pay for those two evenings was donated to both the Humane Society and to the ASPCA!

Thank you again for helping keep the energy going in my absence!

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I often hear my students talking about skipping breakfast and not having enough fuel for morning classes. I can’t even imagine skipping a breakfast! It’s something I made a habit of in my mid 20’s when my fitness life began. Among other things, starting with a breakfast helped me “get in the game” for the day in terms of weight management and health goals. Pictured in this post is something I eat when I have a little more time to spend before classes, or on any given morning. Banana, Blueberries, Chia Seeds, Coconut Shavings, Walnuts, a spoonful of Almond Butter and a drizzle of Honey. MMMMM. I love this with hot black coffee or herbal tea.

While eating breakfast has many, many benefits, as a dance fitness instructor, I need to make sure I have the energy to lead intense dance fitness classes in the morning.  I try to keep it as simple as I can, as I tend to sleep for as long as possible before dragging myself out of bed. I found this awesome article, breaking down the different types of breakfasts you might enjoy depending on the time and type of workout you’re doing.

For my morning workout days,  it’s a banana and a spoonful of nut butter, or a protein shake and a banana, about 20-30 minutes before class. I would almost consider this more of a snack, but it gets me through class #1, without that “too full to workout” feeling. Without my breakfast, there is no way I’d be able to physically or mentally make it through leading a high intensity cardio class such as DancePowered. 

I’m also experimenting with the Whole30 diet, which excludes grains, added sugars and suggests limiting fruit intake. I’ll be posting a few of those breakfasts and meals in general in the upcoming weeks.

So you non-breakfast eaters! I hope you can find some inspiration in this post to help you get your day started right!

I’d love to hear your favorite breakfast? It can be healthful or not….I love hearing about all food experiences!

 

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Our annual dance workout in West Seattle!
I always feel better about my calorie intake after having a workout on ThanksGiving!
We’re going to kick ass ThanksGiving morning! See you soon!

Cash or Check at the door: $16.00 Drop In
November 24, 2016 9:30-10:30am
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

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My lovely West Seattle Dance Fam. These guys make my Tuesdays and Saturdays super special.

There’s an upcoming chance to come take a Sunday class with me on February 28th!
The Seattle Gym will be filming and live streaming this class to another studio up North, as well as other countries! Those studios will view and follow-along live as we dance for an hour long class. This is a unique experience and setting and I hope you can join in on the fun! You’ll want to register for this to save your spot !

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