Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Arielle Juliette. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Arielle, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

It is the industry standard to only create dance studios, performance opportunities, and dance classes with only the young, thin, able-bodied dancer in mind. In fact, I dare you to do a Google image search for “dancer”- this is all you will see.

Young, thin, able-bodied people who want to dance are a minority in this world, yet dance is a part of the human soul. It should be accessible for ALL bodies. Dance Life was created for adults who are new to dance, especially those who are plus-size, over 30 and/or with some mobility or ability limitations.

We center the experiences of those who have been pushed to the margins of the dance world. There’s no expectation or encouragement to shape your body to the dance- in fact, students are encouraged to tune in to their body’s cues, and alter the dance to fit what our bodies need that day.

Instead of cultivating a world of dancers who are expected to be as ornamental as they are instrumental, dancers who are expected to push past their body’s limitations, we strive to help people get back on to the same side as their bodies, to listen to their cues, and most importantly, to experience embodied joy.

Arielle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Dance Life is a fat-positive, body-positive dance studio in Madison, WI. We offer in person and livestream classes for beginning and intermediate level adult dancers in belly dance, burlesque, ballet and cardio dance fitness, plus we have a library of all the founder’s classes recorded on demand.

The founder in question is me, Arielle Juliette! I started belly dance classes in 2004 and knew right away that I wanted to make it my profession. In 2010, I opened Dance Life and kicked off my career as a professional belly dancer. Many people think of this art form as very body-friendly, open to more than just the smallest body types. While this is true for classes, the standards for professionals are only slightly larger than the average model.

In my attempts to reach and maintain this ideal, I ended up with an eating disorder several years into Dance Life’s opening. In recovery in late 2018, I entered the world of body positivity, and later body liberation. My dance classes had always been full of joy and body celebration even when I wasn’t able to offer this to myself, but my own recovery and acceptance leaked over and others started to find a deeper acceptance of themselves, too.

I knew Dance Life needed a stronger online presence, and many people who left our city said they couldn’t find anything else like it across the country, but I resisted until the pandemic forced my hand- get online, or close.

Daunted by the fact that there are so few respected plus size dancers, I knew I would have to elbow my way to a place at the proverbial table. I went in full force, with videos full of dancing joy AND full of education about the topic of weight stigma. I wanted others to know that they too deserve a place at the table, and to feel comfortable in their bodies without having to change it first. That *anyone* can dance, even if it’s in a body that we don’t often get to see in motion. And lastly, that their experiences of discrimination, especially weight-based discrimination, were a product of a sickness of society and not because their bodies are “wrong”.

Now, if you visit Dance Life either IRL, through our livestream or recorded classes, or via our social media channels, you’ll get a peek into a technicolor world of liberation and fun. You’ll see a variety of people joyfully embodied as we find the beautiful, sensual, powerful movements we are all capable of. You’ll be edu-tained with joyous jiggles, irreverent humor, and heavily researched topics. Learn to call a truce with your body and perhaps even enjoy being inside it in 45 minute bite size chunks of class. Oh yeah, it’s also really great exercise! There’s nowhere else like Dance Life, and we’d love for you to be a part of our crew in any capacity. Body acceptance IS contagious.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Admittedly, I forcibly became a social media content creator in the beginning of the pandemic. My dance studio offered only in-person offerings, and if I didn’t want to close, I had to pivot and create an online sector of my business while having an existential crisis. I began offering livestream classes five days after the shut downs in my location, and within a year, I had the recorded class option available as well.

In order to market my classes, I turned to social media. Advertising changed rapidly and drastically in the pandemic- it had become essential to offer valuable content in order to successfully market, long gone were the days you could pay for an ad and say, “hey, here are my dance classes, come take them at this time and day”. The first thing I brought to social media, and what I suggest any others do, is content with something that solves a problem for people. You must give to them before you can expect them to want to financially support you.

In my industry, this is how I found my niche- as a professional dance instructor, I started offering dance tutorials, both of individual moves and and of trending dances. I offered content of entertaining dances, overlaid with facts highlighting what weight stigma is, how it harms us, and how to change it. As a plus size dancer, I turned what is often seen as a negative into my niche- there are very few professional plus size dancers, so I highlighted that instead of trying to make myself blend in. Embrace what makes you unique, and turn THAT into your brand. Pick a few pillars, and off you go.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the pandemic hit, I had to turn my in person dance studio into a fully integrated livestream and recorded dance studio, as well.

In times of crisis, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Find someone else who is doing what you want or need to be doing, and ask them to teach you. Offer them money to do it, even if it’s not something they usually teach. Rely on your support system and don’t try to muscle through it alone. You’ll burn yourself out, and statistically businesses fail the most due to owner burnout. Do your best not to be that statistic!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.madisondancelife.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madisondancelife
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madisondancelife/
• Twitter: https://www.tiktok.com/@madisondancelife

Image Credits
Arielle Juliette