Jazzercise
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| Type | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder(s) | Judi Sheppard Missett |
| Headquarters | Carlsbad, California  |
| Industry | Physical fitness |
| Revenue | $93 million for fiscal year 2007/2008 [1] |
| Employees | 161 corporate staff [1] |
| Website | http://www.jazzercise.com |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Jazzercise program was founded in 1969 by Judi Sheppard Missett, in Evanston, Illinois. Current headquarters for Jazzercise Inc are located in Carlsbad, California. Judi turned her love of jazz dance into a worldwide dance exercise phenomenon and with very little start up money.[2] The workout program, which offers a fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, and kickboxing movements, has positively affected millions of people worldwide. This international franchise business hosts a network of 7,500 instructors teaching more than 32,000 classes weekly in 32 countries. In 2007/2008 Jazzercise reported 93 Million in revenue for their best year ever and MSNBC in March 2009 placed Jazzercise in their top 5 list of proven franchises that provide growth opportunity. [3]
[edit] History
Jazzercise roots can be traced back to 1969 when Judi was attending Northwestern University in Chicago and taught dance classes at a local jazz studio. Judi quickly noticed that her classes had a dropout rate of about 90% [4]and started to look for various ways to improve retention. After speaking with some students in her class she realized that the classes were strenuous and targeting more of the dance professional. The aha moment came when she realized over and over that her students attended the class to lose weight, have fun and get in shape. With some reworking of her class structure including not using the mirrors for form the students embraced this new fun concept and the mission statement still used today came into play. "Mission Statement: We develop and market fun and effective fitness programs and products that enhance the well-being of people of all ages.” [5]
[edit] Class formats
Jazzercise classes are different based on location but here are a few examples:
- Jazzercise - classic Jazzercise class is one hour long and consists of dance movements 'on the floor'. The class begins with a warm-up before about 30 minutes of Aerobic exercise, followed by Strength training. These classes are often supplemented with weights, exercise balls, or stretch bands.
- Jazzercise Lite - Particularly suited to newcomers, seniors, or pregnant women.
- Jazzercise Body Sculpting - A 40-50 minute workout with weights.
- Jazzercise Step
- Jazzercise Circuit Training
- Jazzercise Express - A streamlined 30 minute version of the traditional Jazzercise class.
- Junior Jazzercise - for children
- Jazzercise Personal Touch - Some Jazzercise instructors also offer Personal Touch classes which involve only three to five customers. Personal Touch directs customers in more rigorous weight training and body sculpting exercises than those which are offered in the larger classes.
- Jazzercise Team Dance - A program specifically designed for teens.
Jazzercise instructors are franchise owners or substitute instructors, and therefore have individual locations, class hours, and pass prices, relevant to the economy in the area in which the classes are conducted. Jazzercise classes may be found by accessing "Find a Class" on the corporate website.
[edit] Jazzercise in popular media
In Ron Howard's movie adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch's schedule has an hour blocked off for jazzercise.[6]
In the episode of Futurama "Parasite Lost", the parasitic worms are seen jazzercising Fry's muscles. [7]
The Flight of the Conchords episode "New Zealand Town" of their second television series features a song called "Fashion is Danger" which is a parody of 1980s music and style, and contains a reference to jazzercise.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Company information on Jazzercise, Inc. website
- ^ CNBC The Big Idea http://www.cnbc.com/id/20588780/
- ^ http://www.jazzercise.com/mediacenter_in_news.htm
- ^ Fitness Business Pro http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/clubindustryshows/fitness_lifetime_dance_fitness/
- ^ Jazzercise Mission http://www.jazzercise.com/companyinfo.htm#mission
- ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2000/11/17/2000-11-17_jim_carrey_makes_one_mean_gr.html
- ^ Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0766131/quotes
