Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi Morse.
Hi Kristi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I took ownership of Jazzercise Shelby Township in 2021 in hopes of saving its legacy in the wake of the pandemic.
Jazzercise had made it’s first impression on me when I was a child. I loved my jazz and acrobatics classes at Perry Woodard School of Dance in Bay City, MI and I remember when our dance school built a huge room twice the size of our dance classrooms. It was the mid-80s when it seemed everyone was wearing spandex, leg-warmers and Jazzercising. That’s when my stay-at-home mom began taking Jazzercise classes. That is, when she wasn’t working out to an at-home Jazzercise record or VHS tape in our family room.
Fast-forward many years later, I was a stay-at-home mom of three energetic toddlers living in Royal Oak which is where I was re-introduced to Jazzercise. Royal Oak Jazzercise stands at the corner of three major roads that intersect at the heart of its eclectic downtown. It’s impossible not to notice the building or the people happily dancing inside. The studio boasts being the number two Jazzercise franchise in the world and its dance floor is always packed. Even so, I almost never dared to walk through it’s doors…that was my MOTHER’S WORKOUT. People driving by could see you. It looked like so much fun, but No thanks…I could never…
…This was years after I had quit dance classes so I’d have time to cheer on my high school cheer team. After graduating from high school, I joined my college cheer team and earned a degree in teaching Secondary English and Art Education. I later earned a master’s degree in Educational Administration. Before I had kids, I was a middle school English teacher at Detroit Country Day where I also coached a Varsity cheer team. Like my mom, I chose to give up my career to stay home with my kids. But once my family was complete, I had a hole that needed filling.
After nearly two years of begging, my friend finally convinced me to take a Jazzercise class with her. On that day, I signed up for a membership, and only six months later, I completed training to become a certified instructor. Jazzercise checked EVERY box! I could dance, cheer people on, teach, and get my body back to pre-baby shape! It was life-changing!
Shortly after I certified, however, my husband and I made the decision to move away to a home in Rochester Hills where our growing family would have more room to roam than in our tiny Royal Oak starter home. Adjusting to life in a new city, with small kids starting at two new schools was difficult. I missed Jazzercise but was struggling and so I quit. It was too far to drive and too difficult for me to focus on learning new routines when I was so worried about taking care of my family.
Luckily, word had spread to the former owner of Jazzercise Shelby Township that I had moved near them, and she reached out to me a few months later to invite me to a class. I immediately felt at home when I walked in and this was the second time Jazzercise had filled a void. From then on, I decided to never let anything get in my way of sharing the joy of Jazzercise.
Over the next 10 years, I learned so much about myself, our company’s mission, and grew to love the amazing Jazzercise community so much more.
When the pandemic hit and the world shut down, it only took 3 days for our corporate team of instructors to pull together a plan to live-stream a live class to the world. Over 4,000 people attended that class, including me. This was the second time I decided nothing was going to stop me from sharing the joy of Jazzercise.
Jazzercise was strong enough to connect members in a way that nothing else could during that devastating time. Even though our in-person classes were forced to shut down, we fought back by streaming classes from our basements, living rooms, garages, and backyards. We did all we could to keep our members connected through Facebook live and social media.
To continue teaching, I was forced to dance to only a camera. It was hard not being able to see the faces of the people in my class, but my heart grew stronger every time I saw a Facebook thumbs up or heart bubble up. Seeing myself on camera every day was horrifying and embarrassing, but I could watch myself teach, which helped me to became an even better instructor.
By the end of 2020, we thankfully had enough members left to re-open our studio doors. However, the current owner needed to focus her attention to her aging parents, and that’s when I decided it was now or never… With no business background and only a teaching degree, I decided to pour my heart into re-building the program that had saved me twice before.
It’s been 5 years since then and it feels as though I’m the “principal of Jazzercise.” I had no idea just how much more fulfilling Jazzercise would become.
I teach amazing people. (People who choose a dance-party workout are naturally so kind and fun to be around!) I get to plan fun events, build community, train instructors, and it feels amazing to be able to make a difference. I feel stronger, more confident and have more energy at age 51 than I did when I cheered in high school.
The fitness industry isn’t for the faint of heart. Post-pandemic, boutique fitness, especially, is booming. For many people, it seems like Jazzercise is just a thing of the past, but to those of us who know, it’s never gone away, and it’s getting better every year. Since 1969, it’s continued to pave the way for so many women (and men) to feel strong, empowered, and to lead long, healthy lives. It’s remained true to it’s fun, vibrant dance roots, while at the same time evolved into a seriously effective, fitness-forward program.
Jazzercise isn’t going away anytime soon, and as long as I am able, I’ll be doing all I can to keep the dance party going for my members at Jazzercise Shelby Township.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My Jazzercise Journey has been a bumpy road. Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs, but just like a good workout, challenges are what makes us grow stronger.
I am essentially a one-woman program. I have a ton of support from our corporate office and a dedicated team of instructors and studio managers, but I am independent in the sense that I am the sole small-business owner. I have a small budget, am responsible for doing all my team’s hiring and training, and it seems there are never enough hours in the day.
I make it a priority to know every single one of my members personally. That takes a lot of time (at all hours of the day, every day of the week). I am always working. Finding a balance between owning, prepping for class, and being present for my family has its challenges. I am grateful to my team who can be there when I can’t and help keep our members connected.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Jazzercise Shelby Township Fitness Center?
Our Jazzercise fitness classes incorporate dance cardio with strength training to sculpt and tone your muscles in the ultimate full – body workout. Whether you’re looking for physical results or a way to relieve stress and FEEL your best, our instructors will guide you every step of the way in your wellness journey!
Our instructors cue you through every movement while providing low, medium, and high-impact modifications so you can dance with confidence at any level.
Our full-body dance fitness workouts combine cardio, strength training and stretching to deliver strong, lean muscles and an instant mood boost.
Say goodbye to boring workouts! We always shake up our exercise classes with the latest hit music to bring you the ultimate feel-good sweat.
Our Shelby Township Location amenities include new performance gym flooring, free weights, yoga mats, resistance bands, apparel, local-livestream + babysitting.
We are a strong community that cares about meeting you wherever you are in your fitness journey with membership options for every budget and schedule. Booking class is easy from the Jazzercise app. Contact us to try your first class free or book a private group class for your next team-building, scout troop, or family event.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
One of the best parts of owning a Jazzercise studio, is the opportunity for us to collaborate with local businesses, schools, charities, etc. A Jazzercise class is a fun way to bring a group of people together for team-building or fundraising. For example, each year we sponsor a team to raise money for the American Cancer Society for the Relay for Life. From March to May, we host several classes and activities such as themed classes, a glow dance party, penny-wars, outdoor pop-up classes to raise funds for our team.
As a teacher, I love connecting my business with local schools. Last January, Jazzercise was the national sponsor for the Great Kindness Challenge and our local studio personally connected with over 50 local schools to share information about how to spread kindness. We hosted “Kindness Moves” dance parties during school lunches, ran dance stations for school field days, sponsored Health & Wellness fairs at local high schools. We’ve also hosted private classes for school’s charity week, sponsored 5k race warm-ups for several local races and charities.
One of my favorite programs is Junior Jazzercise which we use to offer summer and holiday camps for kids. We love working with Girl Scouts and teach them leadership, business, and healthy living skills.
Jazzercise is a great way for businesses and organizations to bring team-building, health and wellness to their workers. We host private classes for moms groups, wedding parties, birthday parties, you name it!
Educating our members is a top priority so we are always looking for ways to connect with other local health and wellness businesses. We host seminars such as breath-work, yoga, pelvic floor, knee safety, CPR, nutrition, supplements, etc. The more we can connect our members with wellness resources and local health providers, the better!
Pricing:
- $114/ month for Unlimited Classes
- $25 Drop In
- Intro Offer: 2 Week Trial for $59
- Annual or Short-Term Pre-Paid Passes Available
- 4, 8 or 12 Class Credit Packs Available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jazzercise.com/studio/mi/shelby-township-fitness-center-20828
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelbytwpjazzercise/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelbytwpjazzercise
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-morse-a6194a21a/
- Twitter: https://x.com/jazzercise
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jazzerciseInc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jazzercise-shelby-township-premier-fitness-center-shelby-township
- Other: https://www.jazzercise.com/
