DONNA SIMS
Age: 47
Hometown: Jasper, Tenn.
Occupation: Jazzercise instructor operating at Dallas Bay Church
DAWN KING
Age: 48
Hometown: Merritt Island, Fla.
Occupation: Jazzercise instructor operating at Rivermont Presbyterian Church
Dawn King is quite familiar with the first question that comes to mind when most people hear about Jazzercise.
“‘Jazzercise?'” King chuckles, repeating the line she’s heard several times since becoming an instructor in 2005. “‘Is that still around?'”
Not only is the dance fitness franchise still around, this year, it celebrates its 50th anniversary, making it the first dance fitness brand to ever hit the half-century mark.
Since 1969, Jazzercise has combined choreographed dance routines with strength and resistance training to give participants worldwide a full-body workout. But don’t expect to find today’s aerobic junkies decked out in neon colored spandex or baggy leg warmers. And definitely don’t ask if the routines include “jazz hands.”
In today’s Jazzercise classes, you’re more likely to find music from artists like Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift blasting over the stereo, imbuing each session with a freshness and vibrancy that illustrates just how well the brand has evolved to meet the fitness industry’s needs.
Though that ability to adapt has kept Jazzercise alive for five decades, here in Hamilton County, the fitness program has been kept afloat by dedicated instructors like King and Donna Sims, who are doing everything they can to shed the stereotype surrounding the workout and return the local Jazzercise scene to the empire it once was.
> Sims: Jazzercise was wildly popular in the late ’80s, early ’90s, when dance aerobics really hit the scene. We had many, many instructors all across the Hamilton County area offering all kinds of classes, filling up gymnasiums.
> King: You would have to buy tickets at the door, and they would stop selling tickets at 95 people. The other people had to stand outside and wait to see if we had room to come in. It was pretty great. [laughs]
> King: Over the years, instructors have come and gone for various reasons.
> Sims: Some started families and moved away. Some had injuries or got back into the workforce. And not many new instructors came about. You have to go through an intensive training program. So with that generation, it just came to a halt [in our area].
> Sims: Jazzercise is still wildly popular and rampant in other areas of the country but Dawn and I are basically what’s left of the empire that Jazzercise once was in the Chattanooga area. So we would love for a resurgence to happen!
> King: Personally, [losing Jazzercise in Chattanooga] would break my heart. It’s just sad, because if it was to go away, the stigma would stay with Jazzercise; that whole ’80s vibe would stay attached to the name. And we’re not like that anymore. That’s not who we are.
> Sims: It is not your mother’s Jazzercise. Those classes where they’re in leotards and headbands, it’s not that. There’s nobody in there who’s going to look like Jane Fonda.
More Info
Let’s Get It StartedFind Jazzercise Chattanooga on Facebook to sign up or learn more. Classes are typically held in the mornings three days a week at Dallas Bay Baptist Church, and in the evenings two days a week at Rivermont Presbyterian Church. Sessions cost $45 per month.
> Sims: The name itself is kind of misleading in that it makes you think jazz music.
> King: The music is more up-to-date, more hip-hop, more diversified.
> Sims: My current favorites and some class favorites are “Uptown Funk” [featuring] Bruno Mars, and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake.
> Sims: Back in the day, myself and some of my older customers, we used to have our share of going to the club and dancing. Well, we jokingly say this is like going to the club at 10 in the morning and getting your groove on all safe and sound, then you get back home to get all your chores done and your kids picked up. [laughs]
> Sims: You’re gonna see hip shakes, you’re gonna see heel lifts and knee lifts, you’re gonna see kickboxing movement, you’re gonna see lots and lots of core-strengthening work all in the dance movements. It’s just the perfect combination that meets all the possible exercise needs that one might have or desire to try. Plus, it’s just [great] feeling like you are really dancing the choreographed routine to a song that you love.
> Sims: I have never heard one person say “I dread going to Jazzercise” like you would say “I dread going to the gym,” “I dread getting on the treadmill,” “I dread getting on the elliptical.”
> Sims: You’re going to see a variety of ages and fitness levels [in our classes].
> Sims: We have husbands and wives who come together and mothers and daughters who come together, the youngest daughter being 11 years old and learning at a young age how important it is to incorporate fitness into her life and seeing how it can be done in a fun way.
> Sims: The median age range is probably 50s and 60s, but we have some in their 40s and some in their 30s. My oldest is 85, and I have several beautiful, beautiful women in their 70s who are very full of life. I also have a college student – a very handsome young athlete from Covenant College – who comes when he’s on break because he loves Jazzercise. I think that’s kind of proof that it’s for everybody.
> Sims: Jazzercise does not have that intimidation factor where you have to go in and perform or else you’re going to feel out of place, unsuccessful or discouraged.
> King: I have a [client] with special needs, [Aaron Lewis] and they enjoy having him in class. He stands right in front of me while I teach. They cheer him on when he feels like he’s not actually getting what we’re doing. Some of the ladies will help him, guide him, and they ask where he’s at if he’s not there.
> Sims: Nobody is nameless or faceless here. It’s a family dynamic that kind of happens magically.
> Sims: I would love to see Jazzercise pick up in popularity again in our Chattanooga area, and I’d love to help anyone interested in becoming an instructor in different parts of the county.
> King: I’m excited to get this out there and to see the action. I would like to see how people react to the new Jazzercise.