Today we’d like to introduce you to Skyler Rodgers.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My background is in competing and performing professionally in figure skating. I toured with Disney on Ice for years as the character “Frozone” from the Incredibles. I was able to tour many countries in Western Europe, cities in Mexico, Canada, and the beautiful city of Cairo, Egypt.
Touring was my first experience of Miami. I was able to perform at the American Airlines Arena with Disney on Ice.
I also have a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in Dance Performance and Composition from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. I’ve done a lot of dance performances as well. I’ve had the opportunity to dance back up for several musical artists, award shows, music videos, opera companies, as well as some ballet performances.
I moved to Miami about ten years ago because of the nice weather – no plan and no job. I knew I was very capable of a lot of different things and I was a hard worker – not the best idea.
Before I moved to Miami, I had just finished doing my last figure skating show in Myrtle Beach. I bought my first used car, filled it with the few possessions I had, and drove down.
As you can imagine, it was a challenge getting my bearings. Ten years ago, Miami was very seasonal when it came to work. I couldn’t get a job as a waiter, sales associate, or cashier. Eventually, I was able to be hired at Bally Total Fitness at 33rd and Coral Way. – (now it’s an LA Fitness) I was hired as a personal trainer in training. I did eventually become a certified personal trainer and I was able to get regular clients… I didn’t love it. The whole time I kept my eye open to the fitness studio room. I was able to convince my manager at the time to let me teach a regular choreography-based hip hop dance class.
I instantly felt at home in the studio and enjoyed the community aspect. I had grown up taking dance classes, training in figure skating and performing. Being in the studio was like coming home.
– fast forward, I built a following and was packing the class with lots of people. I then auditioned for Equinox, got hired, and started my transition.
I quickly found out that the pool of people looking to do hip hop/jazz-funk choreography in a gym setting was small. My class numbers began to dwindle. Luckily, one of the managers took the time to encourage and inspire me to push myself.
It was like a light switch went off, I started to see the class in a fresh and more accessible way. I eventually took my choreography class and turned it into a welcoming, community-oriented, dynamic, and fun dance fitness brand. Through trial and error, I was able to formulate and fine tune the format. Skybeat Dance Fitness was born!
I then turned to working with kids. With the kid’s program, I focused on making movement and dance easily accessible to all kids regardless if they had a dance background or not. Like my adult program, I wanted the kids to just have fun. Through some work and help from my partner, I was able to develop Skybeat Kids.
Nowadays, I’m teaching Skybeat Dance Fitness at 3 Equinox locations, I have trained Skybeat Kids instructors teaching in two elementary schools, I’m running a competitive kids Hip hop program at the Miami Beach JCC, I have a full online on-demand website where people can take classes anywhere in the world, and I’m in the process of developing a training for other people to learn how to teach Skybeat Dance Fitness.
I’m excited for things to come. I want to keep promoting community, health, wellness, and fun!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ten years ago, moving to Miami with not much money and not knowing many people was a huge challenge.
Miami can be a hard city to make genuine connections with people.
Another challenge was changing my idea of what was possible in the dance/fitness studio. I didn’t grow up with dance fitness as a thing. Back in the day, Zumba wasn’t as big as it is nowadays.
And of course, the pandemic. Omg, I was in survival mode to the max. I lost all my work within days. At the time, I had no idea what zoom was and definitely didn’t have an inkling about how to start a website.
But through all the obstacles, I pushed through, learned a LOT, and have come out the other side stronger and wiser.
I’ve gained so much clarity on who I am and my purpose.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m known for being kind, empathic, welcoming and fun. The brand I created is called Skybeat Dance. Within Skybeat Dance, there is Skybeat Dance Fitness, Skybeat Kids, and skybeatdance.com. I strive to promote environments where people feel safe and free to be themselves.
The dance fitness brand has elements of hip hop dance, jazz-funk dance, some plyometrics that are all integrated into an easy to follow basic aerobic sequences. The dance fitness format uses music that is pop, hip hop, Latin, reggaeton, a little EDM – whatever is popular and sounds great. It’s the type of class where you will sweat, burn calories, and have a lot of fun.
The Kids’ class is broken up into two types. The first is for younger kids 4- 8 years old – that class has basic movement sequences, we play rhythmic games, and of course the beloved freeze dance. The second class for the older kids 9-12 has more detailed choreography and focuses more on performing.
What sets me apart is that I am all welcoming to all types of people. The Skybeat Dance Fitness can be fulfilling to people who have never taken a single dance class in their life as well as a trained dancer. With Skybeat, people can let loose and let their spirits soar.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Yes – moving to Miami was a big risk. At the time, I knew one person and didn’t have a job lined up. I went with my intuition to move to Miami. It took a couple of years to get things rolling, but ten years later I’m happy I took that risk.
Pricing:
- $9.99 for monthly on-demand & LIVE classes
- $99 for yearly on-demand & LIVE classes
Contact Info:
- Email: sky@skybeatdance.com
- Website: https://www.skybeatdance.com
- Instagram: @skybeatdance
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SKYBEATDANCE
Image Credits
Last 2 photos by Patrick Conway
