LibertyMe Dance Center Offers Fun Classes

In an effort to combine two of my New Years resolutions—having fun locally and the old fallback of getting in shape—I stumbled upon LibertyMe Dance Center, which is a not-for-profit that offers classes for both children and adults.

The adult classes don’t require pre-registration, so I decided to try out the “hip hop/shake and pop” class.

First of all, I thought I was going to embarrass myself in front of a room full of people, since it’s the beginning of the year and it’s prime time to sign up for new forms of exercise. But the class was small and tight-knit, with regulars in the class from last year.

Secondly, exercise is not my strong suit. I could never get into jogging or weight training or anything that typically comes to mind when you think about going to the gym. I also have yet to figure out how to bend my knees on a Gazelle Edge Glider I got for Christmas.

The hip hop class, however, made me forget about the fact I was actually getting a workout—and a good one at that. After warming up to different songs from Wiz Khalifa and Ke$ha, among others, the class began to learn a choreographed dance to 50 Cent’s “Down on Me.”

Focusing on learning the moves to the next eight counts or so at a time, practicing them slowly and then turning the music on to bring the moves up to full speed kept things interesting.

Not only was it one of the better workouts I’ve had, but it was also more fun.

If You Go:

What: Hip hop/shake and pop

When: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday and Wednesday

Where: LibertyMe Dance Center, 19 N. Merion Ave.

Cost: $16 per class