It’s possible while you were busy booty shaking to Drake that you missed DanceBody’s transformation from underground cardio craze to one of New York City’s most in-demand workouts.
For years, its founder Katia Pryce and her roving squad of shiny-legging-clad instructors have shimmied and sashayed between six neighborhoods up and down Manhattan, teaching packed classes (as many as 50 per week) and steadily building a fitness empire that now includes an on-demand streaming service and satellite classes in Miami and the Hamptons.
Pryce has managed to manifest an unheard of amount of success on her own—without the help of investors—but up until now, the one thing that’s proven as rare a find as the perfect piece of unicorn toast for the entrepreneur is a fitness home to call her own. That’s about to change: Pryce has exclusively shared with W+G that she’s finally ready raise the roof on her first brick-and-mortar space.
“[It’s] going to be the epitome of ‘feeling good,’ because I’m just hell-bent on that,” she says of the studio, slated to open by summer.
Here’s what you need to know about DanceBody’s good-vibe studio—which will have a reach far beyond the borough’s outer limits.
More classes, less commute time
When it opens at 51 Warren Street in Tribeca, the massive three-story space will house two class studios, a dedicated area for privates and semi-privates, and a women’s locker room.
Uptown clients won’t have to trek below 14th Street to get their sweat on either—though it’s definitely worth a ride on the red line—because DanceBody will continue to offer Upper East Side and Midtown classes in rented spaces.
And New Yorkers aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits of DanceBody’s first permanent address: Pryce, who started her fitness career at Tracy Anderson, already has a genius plan in the works to extend the studio’s reach beyond Manhattan.
Live from New York
“Once we have a studio, we’ll also be introducing live streaming, which is going to be huge because people want to feel like they’re there in the [room] with you,” Pryce explains. (If you’re the type that likes to lose yourself learning a new routine, her choreographed classes offer the perfect two-minute dance breaks.)
The real-time workouts are an extension of the online platform Pryce launched last year, which allows subscribers access unlimited fitness routines for $35 per month. There are currently over 150 videos (with 10 new added each month), and the team provides a suggested calendar you can follow to get the best results.
“The majority of our online clientele is outside of New York—it’s really people who don’t have access to boutique [fitness options] like we do,” the instructor notes. Prefer things IRL? DanceBody will also continue offering physical classes in Miami and the Hamptons, too.
No more folded yoga mats
If you are able to snag a spot in the new studio, you’ll be among the first to test out Pryce’s other passion project (who doesn’t love a woman with a side hustle?): a new line of exercise tools specifically designed to make executing DanceBody’s signature moves easier.
“I’ve been using the same broke-ass equipment for so long,” she says with a laugh. “I finally thought, Why are we using equipment that’s not perfect for this workout?” That means no more folded yoga mats for added knee cushion—instead, she’s designed what she’s dubbed the Hex Mat, which is extra thick to support your patellas and has numbered points that correspond to exact body angles. So during a leg lift, for instance, an instructor may cue you to extend your right foot past point three, creating a streamlined way of getting people into the right position.
She’s also brilliantly developed three-quarter-pound wrist weights called Dance Bands, which look like rubber watches—and never get sweat-saturated like those “fairly disgusting” fabric-and-Velcro ones commonly used for sculpting work. And really, one look at Pryce’s arms is all the convincing you need to strap on a pair yourself.
A new workout destination needs a new wardrobe: Here are nine pairs of leggings that definitely deserve consideration, as well as seven chic gym bag options to hold your dancing shoes.
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