Alligator Online
By MELISSA FILIPKOWSKI
Apple iPod nanos and high-speed wireless Internet connections hint at society's need for constant entertainment and distraction in all aspects of life.
This need has spilled over into the world of fitness, and a new revolution of working out has been born. It's called dance fitness and it's the latest trend.
Dance fitness is any dance-oriented fitness class choreographed specifically to the music. There are a variety of dance-fitness classes across the country, but one called Dance Trance is hip-hopping its way into gyms right here in Gainesville.
Sporting black Dance Trance muscle T-shirts with the tattoo-like Dance Trance logo, students of all ages and dance-experience levels mimic instructor Melissa Dameron-Vines' moves.
Switching between recent hip-hop beats such as "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls and hard-rock favorites such as "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith, Dameron-Vines leads the class through what she describes not as a workout, but "dance therapy."
"You don't think about that bad day at work, everything gets left at the door," she said.
Dance Trance Fitness was created by Jay Hadline in 1993, and its first central location was in Birmingham, Ala. Dameron-Vines has been involved with Dance Trance since 1993 when she took a Dance Trance Master Class in Birmingham.
She was one of four substitute instructors for Dance Trance until Hadline moved the home-base studio to Jacksonville in 1998.
In August 2004, Dameron-Vines and her husband moved to Gainesville so he could attend UF.
With a little help from Orion Fitness, 3441 W University Ave., Dance Trance Gainesville was born.
Dameron-Vines said the main difference between Dance Trance and a regular workout is the opportunity to break the grind of daily life.
"We're so inhibited in daily life," she said. "You can't bust out a hip roll in the middle of work or in the grocery aisle. That's totally normal here in class."
Dameron-Vines also considers the music in the class another major asset of Dance Trance. Using the latest hip-hop and rock beats, Dance Trance dancers rock out for an hour to an hour and a half. Dameron-Vines thinks the music is so important that she even hired a DJ to spin live at one of the classes.
"Music is a huge influence, it's a fundamental part of Dance Trance," Dameron-Vines said. "It gives you a club feel without going to a club."
Dameron-Vines said the music, lack of inhibition the self-confidence boost makes Dance Trance a triple-threat experience.
"It's a connection of mind, body and soul," she said. "All three of those fit together every class."
Dance Trance classes are offered at Orion Fitness on Monday and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. It is $10 per class or free with an Orion Gym membership.
Dance Trance classes are for people of all ages and all dance levels, and no one should be intimidated to come, Dameron-Vines said.
"All levels fit here," she said.
For more information about Dance Trance visit www.dancetrancefitness.com.