DeAna Muehlen traveled from central Oklahoma to Bradenton in mid-July, coming 1,360 miles for a family reunion. She hit the area’s beaches, coffee shops and restaurants. She checked out some sunsets. She also had something of an unusual, non-touristy must-do on her list: go to a Jazzercise class, at the area’s only Jazzercise studio, in Lakewood Ranch. Three Jazzercise classes, actually, during her six-day stay in town.
And this was July 2026 — not July 1986, the year and era many people think of when they hear Jazzercise, the fitness studio that bills itself as the original dance party workout. Founded in 1969 in Chicago by dance instructor Judi Sheppard Missett, Jazzercise is a fitness studio pioneer, shimmying and stomping long before Zumba, SoulCycle and others went hyper-niche within the industry.
And, as most people of a certain age recall, Jazzercise had a moment in the sun in the 1980s. Back then its core client base were suburban moms decked out in bright leotards and brighter leggings, doing pelvic thrusts and hip swivels. Jazzercise lost some of its shine in the ensuing decades, as other concepts had their moments…