The Dance Fitness Class That Doesn’t Even Feel Like Exercise

Take this dance class and you’ll be shaking the weight off in no time

A few months ago, my friends and I decided to try a different kind of happy hour — a sweat sesh instead of our typical wine time. I can tell you, the high we got from learning a few new cardio-pumping moves was a nice change of pace from our usual evening out, and we woke up hangover-free. There are several dance class companies popping up around the country, but the one we signed up with, RSVP 33, is a Vancouver-based organization based run by Saschie MacLean.

We liked the class so much, we just had to catch up with MacLean to learn more about her company.

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When and why did you decide to launch this business?

RSVP 33 started in early 2015 — I had lost my little sister Chantal in a car accident that past Thanksgiving. What started as a therapeutic outlet for myself evolved into RSVP 33. I wanted to share what I found in dance; I wanted people who joined our classes to take that hour for themselves, sweat out their demons and laugh at their failures. Whatever they needed to escape, I wanted to create a safe space where they could do that.

Can anyone take part? And by anyone I mean people with two left feet?

We do a six-week workshop format and all fitness levels are welcome. Almost everyone who has signed up for our classes has zero dance experience, so we make sure our clients are having a great time and learning but not feeling too overwhelmed about looking a certain way. We tell our clients that they should do what feels good for their body, rather than aiming to look exactly like the instructor. Expect to break a sweat!

You’re in three cities (Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto); do you have plans for further expansion?

Yes! We hope to add new locations throughout Canada in 2018.

And, the name? Where does RSVP 33 come from?

RSVP: Répondez s’il vous plaît. The name comes from the idea of showing up for yourself. There’s nothing more important than being accountable to your own goals, and we want to encourage that. The hardest part of doing a workout is often getting to the class — RSVP 33 is about that part of it. Showing up is the first step. The 33 is a nod to the international dialling code for France, +33.

The fusion workout that promises to burn up to 1,000 calories in a single class.