Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Hoffman.
Ellen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been dancing since the age of 7. I found yoga almost a decade ago, which felt like a compliment to the dancing I had done for the prior two decades. After dancing through high school, most of my classmates went on to some art school or joined companies. I didn’t choose to be a working artist, and in fact, went a completely different direction, choosing what I found to be a “practical” career in marketing for more than a decade. While I continued to dance in various ways all through my twenties, taking classes or dancing with various projects and ensembles, I never considered it to be a viable career path for me.
One evening I was waiting for an adult ballet class to begin and I noticed that the moms, who were waiting on their young children, we’re all about my age. It was admittedly uncomfortable, in that it made the experience feel like it was more geared for kids and not for adults. The experience helped me recognize a gap in the space to build an inviting, adult-friendly and positive community centered around movement – and, most specifically, high-quality dance classes for adults. I started to incubate a plan for a movement studio that features a positive, uplifting experience in a boutique space. I worked on the business plan for about a year, saved cash from my full-time marketing role, and in February 2020, I grew my passion into a studio space called The Movement Loft located in Dallas, TX.
Has it been a smooth road?
The coronavirus pandemic hit just three weeks after opening my studio. It will forever color how I remember my first business.
Tell us more about the business.
The Movement Loft is a boutique studio offering daily adult dance, yoga and movement classes to the Deep Ellum, downtown Dallas and Uptown Dallas areas, as well as monthly curated wellness events. Our focus is on building a community around movement, by creating an atmosphere that values authenticity, inclusivity, balance, and respect for ourselves and each other. Overall we want to provide avenues for people to move, be fit, and explore the ways their bodies can move. On the other side, we aim to also provide the opportunity to guests and emerging instructors and artists in the wellness space. This summer/fall we will be launching our new residency program to incubate movement and fitness programs within our studio, allowing guest instructors to teach weekly and exposing students to new forms of movement and teaching styles each month. We are also planning for our post-COVID schedule which will include some amazing social events to bring people together to have fun and be fit. Stay up to date by visiting our website at www.movementloftstudios.com.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Personalization! We’re currently working on what that will look like.
Pricing:
- New Student Special Offer $15 for First Week
- All Virtual Classes are just $5
- Drop-Ins are $20
Contact Info:
- Address: 824 Exposition Ave
Dallas, TX 75226 - Website: www.movementloftstudios.com
- Email: hello@tmloft.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.con/movementloft
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/movementloft
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MovementLoft
- Other: https://g.page/movementloft?gm
Image Credit:
Ana R Davila Photography on Ellen solo shot and team picture
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