Dance Studio Offers Something for Everyone

By her own admission, Denise Mazan is a pragmatist not given to making decisions based on cosmic signs or divine coincidence. But the events that swiftly led to her acquiring a dance studio she had assumed was out of reach made her a believer.

Mazan was a yoga and fitness instructor who had been teaching at her own space at Sepulveda and Washington boulevards since 2006.

But the Ukiah native and former San Francisco resident had been dreaming of doing something different—opening a new and larger studio dedicated primarily to dance, while still keeping her local yogis calm and happy. 

Then the studio on Hayden Avenue that had been occupied for almost a decade by the famed Debbie Allen Dance Academy suddenly became available when Allen, partly with the support of the Annenberg Foundation, moved to her own building at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. 

The Hayden studio's owners were receptive to Mazan moving in, but many things gave her pause, starting with the bad economy.

"I thought, 'there's no way I can afford this,' " recalled Mazan, who had toured Allen's academy once and got "stars in my eyes" thinking about the possibilities.   

After some deliberation, she decided to take the plunge. "There's a lot of faith involved in doing something like this," said Mazan, 40, who is not a professional dancer nor does she teach it.  "Sometimes you just have to do and figure out the rest later."

After a whirlwind preparation that happened over only seven days, Your Neighborhood Studio (YNS) opened Nov. 30. The first class was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. that day; at 4, Mazan was still painting the walls.

The cozy-sounding name belies an impressive breadth of classes that include hip-hop, tap and ballet; among the more unusual offerings are Yoga Booty Ballet (which combines yoga with dance moves), Strip Hop, Booiaka, Burlesque Ravale, Bollywood and Zumba.

Mazan  offers 70 classes led by 40 instructors, several of whom originated the dance form  they're teaching. Classes are modestly priced at $14 a session. A five-class pass is $65; a 10-class pass is $125. Two-hour workshops are $25.     

"YNS is a family atmosphere. There is no judgment, it's just pure fun," said Tatiana Tamai, a Booiaka instructor. "Booiaka at YNS is perfect because girls want to dance in a party atmosphere."

Unlike Allen's studio, which focused on training youth and career development, YNS is geared to adults who, like Mazan, aren't professionals but dance aficionados.

Some are reconnecting to dance, others are coming to it for the first time. Mazan said she wants people of all skill and interest levels to feel comfortable at YNS, a philosophy she developed after her own experience taking dance classes in L.A. left her feeling somewhat isolated.

"Too many classes are too geared to dance veterans," she said. "They didn't satisfy me."

Students at YNS—Mazan calls them "members"—run the gamut of experience and age. The oldest so far is a 70-year-old woman who takes—surprise--hip-hop.

Mazan said she is working on developing a kids program, but it will remain a small part of what she does. She added that the program will have the same emphasis on dancing for fun, not for competition.    

"I like that the staff is friendly," said Monica Banks, who often takes hip hop classes at YNS. "There isn't a pretentious feel from the students. The instructors use great music and the classes are always fun and a great workout." 

Despite downplaying professionalism, Mazan does have a relationship with a dance company, Helios, which rehearses at YNS. That echoes the studio's  pre-Debbie Allen days when it was known as Conjunctive Points Dance Center, a rehearsal and social hub for several dance companies in town.

Mazan isn't sure whether she'll continue in that direction, but she does know that she'll continue to grow. Though coming to the Hayden location meant tripling the work space she had had at Sepulveda and Washington, she's already in need of more as many classes are at capacity .

Plans are underway to expand into an adjacent studio space to add an additional 1,300 square feet. For all its  success thus far, YNS is very much a work in progress, Mazan said. And that's a good thing. "In three months, we'll still be OK here," she said. "In six months, we definitely have to be bigger."   

Editor's note: Check back tomorrow for pictures of two of Mazan's most popular classes. Who knows? You may see yourself there!