Uconn Dance Sport

You may have done it years ago or heard your mother or aunt talk about it. Jazzercise was the fitness craze founded in 1969 by Judi Sheppard Missett when she was attending classes at Northwestern University in Chicago and also teaching dance classes at a local jazz studio. Realizing that the dance movements could benefit non-dancers in their fitness goals, Missett reworked her class to attain a newly defined mission: to develop and market fun and effective fitness programs and products that enhance the well-being of people of all ages. Jazzercise classes have several formats with the classic session consisting of dance movements set around aerobic exercise and strength training. Other formats include Jazzercise Lite (for newcomers, seniors, or pregnant women), Jazzercise Body Sculpting, Jazzercise Step0, and Jazzercise Express to name a few. Currently the programs are defined as a “fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, and kickboxing movements” where participants can burn up to 600 calories during a 60-minute total body workout. Because the classes are frequently choreographed to the most current music around, they always stay fresh in their approach and outlook and we think that’s critically important to any dance-inspired activity!