Long gone feel the nights of dancing the hours away in a club or bar with your friends. But a new boutique fitness studio in Tower Grove might safely provide an opportunity to get your body moving during the pandemic.
Yes Honey Studio opened its doors this month at 1519 Tower Grove Avenue, inside Woodward Lofts. Jenny Hill, who you might recognize as the owner of local necktie company Lonesome Traveler, jokes that the creation of Yes Honey stems from providing an exercise she, herself, would enjoy. “It really came from this place of ‘I love dance so much,’” the former personal trainer says. “So it was almost selfish; I sat down and designed what my ideal workout would be.”
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The studio offers two types of classes: Yes Strength and Yes Move. Yes Strength is an hour-long session that works on a specific muscle group (ranging with classes) using bodyweight exercises, mini bands, and 2-lb hand weights. Yes Move is a cardio dance class, where participants follow an instructor at the front of the class for 30 to 35 minutes with a warm-up, cool down, and meditation. Every Yes Move has class 10 minutes of strength training in it.
All dance classes are high energy and most often offer dance to songs ranging from American Top 40 to pop to hip-hop. And because Hill has encouraged the instructors to lead classes in whatever genre of dance they’re comfortable with, you never know what you might get. If a trainer “wanted to come in and do a Latin-style dance that day, they can do that,” she says.
“It’s almost like giving you the space to follow along with these dances that you might see on TikTok, or what dancers are doing on Instagram,” Hill says. “It’s nice to be invited to a space that says, ‘This is what we’re doing, you’re allowed to look however you look.’ And you might feel silly doing it, but once you’re doing it, you can do a lot more than you thought you could.”
Inside, find pastel tones, a hint of an ’80s aerobic class’ color scheme, and high loft ceilings that add to the room’s airy, open atmosphere. The brand’s imagery was created by local graphic designer Matt Dale and images, featuring the studio’s dancers, were produced by photographer Joe Martinez and adorn its walls. It feels fun, but, more importantly, as if you should document your morning class with a mirror selfie.
Right now, the studio is hosting two classes in the morning (7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.) and then a midday lunch class at 11:30 a.m. Then two to three evening classes. The team is also introducing some 8:15 p.m. classes. People can try their first class for $10, and then attend a drop-in class is $22 ($18 for students, health care workers, and active and retired military). Other packages include five classes for $100, 10 for $180, or $125 a month for unlimited classes. Classes are offered indoors—masked up, in a studio that has a filter meant to help prevent the spread of coronavirus—or outside in front of the lofts. If you rather, the studio is also offering video-on-demand classes for $18 a month.
The class and studio name come from the idea of saying “yes,” even during a year filled with “no.” Hill hopes Yes Honey will be a space everyone, regardless of their skill level or athleticism, can “come together, move, have fun, and dance,” she says. It’s something she feels is especially important to provide right now.
“Everyone is saying that the next pandemic coming is mental illness, due to the pandemic,” Hill says. “I can say that with myself, with my family, my friends—just seeing depression and anxiety creep out of people who weren’t necessarily experiencing that before. Personally, I need human interaction, but I am so cautious about going out. We have Friday night classes, and to me, going to a space where I can see people, friends, or people I’ve never met before, in a controlled environment is really comforting to me.”
