Hipster Dance Class at The Sweat Spot

In musical theater terms I'm what you call a "Moves Well." It means I'm not quite a dancer but I've taken classes & I can do the basics. In college at UC, Irvine I had taken a ton of dance classes. They were the first dance classes I had ever taken actually so I needed a lot to catch up.

After college I moved to LA and took dance classes at The Edge. Mostly because it was supposedly The place to take classes. They had teachers who were working in the business as performers and choreographers. However I was used to classes in the UC system - tap classes based on musical theater styles & lots of modern classes. (Does anyone know where I can take a modern class in LA?) All the tap classes at The Edge are set to loud hip hop or rap & have replaced graceful lines with loud and fast taps. And The Edge also participates in some type of high school program where teenagers get school credit for taking classes there. So I'm always surrounded by teenagers sporting the latest in dance wear. I get a decent workout but I never feel really good when I leave any of those classes. (The one exception is Basic Hip Hop on Monday nights - soooooooo fun!!!)

Well I moved to Silverlake recently and a friend has been talking to me about a local place called The Sweat Spot. I figured it was more aerobic classes and less actual dance classes & ignored him for months. Then recently I was finally getting frustrated with myself for not taking any time out of my schedule for dance classes and my friend nudged me again by showing me the class list for The Sweat Spot. Hey - there are Jazz, Ballet, & Hip Hop classes! Whaaaat?

The price for classes are the same as The Edge (I get a union discount at The Edge) & they both had a Saturday morning Jazz 1 class but I can walk to The Sweat Spot & so I wouldn't have to get up as early. I do LOVE to sleep in!!

So I tried it. And I loved it. First of all the beginning levels of classes at The Edge are really more intermediate classes, especially for a "Moves Well." This Jazz 101 at The Sweat Spot really was a beginning class. It ended up being the perfect class for me to get back into dancing. Since I already knew all the basic techniques they were teaching I was able to let go and have fun. It reminded me that I love dancing. Also the rap and hip hop music at The Edge was replaced by The Cure & Siouxsie & The Banshees. Awesome!!! And they also have teachers who perform and choreograph in LA - but with artists like Beck & The Bird And The Bee. So cool!

When class was over I walked through the lobby and saw all the dancers waiting to start the next class. They weren't trendy teenagers. They were Silverlake hipsters with tattoos and piercings and guys with 'staches. Who knew there were hipster dancers?!

 The owner, Ryan Heffington. Notice the 'stache!