Sweat Equity

I used to take a dance class in a studio with a sign that exhorted, “Dance like nobody’s watching.” It’s hardly a philosophy suited to the social media age, when your attempts to master choreography are likely to end up posted on an instructor’s Facebook or Insta.

But not all fitness leaders are simply trying to maximize fame and exposure. I recently took classes with two instructors whose workouts create community in ways both local and global.

I’d been wanting to reconnect with Rachel McDonald because her Zoom exercise classes helped me maintain a fitness routine during COVID lockdown. These days, McDonald has pivoted, focusing on personal training, primarily with “nearly and newly retired” women, although her clients range in age from forties to eighties. In 2022, she also obtained her Cancer Exercise Specialist certification in order to support clients during and after treatment. McDonald, who for years led teams in the Barbara Ireland Breast Cancer Walk, was inspired to work with cancer patients by her close encounters with the disease. A good friend’s mother, who was like a second mom to McDonald, died of breast cancer, and McDonald notes that among her closest friends, two have had breast cancer and two are high-risk.

McDonald, who grew up dancing, still offers classes in her sunny Goleta studio too. For her Positive Groove dance class, she’s curated upbeat songs from many genres and choreographed the routines herself. Doing salsa to a cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine,” a country line dance to Collin Raye’s “That’s My Story,” and the Charleston to Jessica Mauboy’s “Kick Up Your Heels” made me realize how much I had missed dancing to a variety of songs, compared to the reggaeton-heavy playlists of many Zumba classes. After the dance class, I stayed for Strengthen and Lengthen, a moderate 30-minute conditioning class that combines weights and a variety of props, such as gliding discs, resistance balls, and a chair.

The classes I attended had four to five students in the studio with others attending online; small groups, says McDonald, build community. And she’s continued to offer her classes by Zoom because she knows that for some of her members, having the online option is the difference between exercising and not. She tries to sustain the community outside the studio as well — for example, hosting an outing for her members to see Barbie. She jokes that her studio is a “great place for introverts” — private, non-competitive, and well-stocked with exercise equipment but intentionally lacking mirrors because not everyone wants to watch themselves working out.

Janet Reineck has a background in dance, anthropology, and humanitarian aid, and she has woven those strands together with World Dance for Humanity (WDH), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit she founded in 2010 that raises money to help people around the globe affected by poverty, conflict, and other disasters.

Some may be familiar with Reineck’s organization from seeing WDH dancers perform “Thriller” in flash mobs — in full costume and zombie makeup — all around the county during Halloween season as part of Thrill the World, the global dance event. WDH uses the event to raise funds to help children both far away and right here in Santa Barbara: This year, the group raised $26,000 to fund educational opportunities for young people in Rwanda and for the Downtown & Westside Boys and Girls Clubs.

In the month leading up to Halloween, WDH’s Wednesday-evening classes in Oak Park were dedicated to “Thriller” practice, with dances to the classic Halloween novelty song “Monster Mash” and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” all building up to the main event. The stage was filled with dancers of all ages, and the Oak Park setting was lovely on an autumn evening, the most intense heat of the day having passed (classes continue during the winter months).

Probably more representative of the WDH experience were the Monday-night classes I attended at the Schott Center. Reineck — who has a master’s in dance ethnology and has lived, worked, and danced throughout Europe — creates a different playlist for every class. We danced jazz-style to Michael Bublé’s version of “Fever,” did classic aerobics moves to the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” and swung to Brian Setzer’s “Jump, Jive an’ Wail.” Reineck has a pair of veteran dancers up front with her so everyone in class can see the steps and follow along. Many of the regulars wear belly-dance waist scarves, and the coins on them jingled pleasingly when we did a folk dance. After an hour of dancing, Reineck finished up with some ab work and stretching.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, WDH’s Sunday Zoom class (a holdover from the pandemic, when WDH offered classes by Zoom seven days a week) was quickly converted to “Dance and Dialogue with Ukraine.” The day I attended, Larysa Shumeiko and Alex Mitin were on the call from their homes in Ukraine, with S.B. resident Dasha Lobko translating. Mitin described hearing the bombing of Kherson from where he lives. Shumeiko, who lives in a quieter area, voiced concern for friends living where the conflict was more active. After 15 minutes of discussion, Reineck began the dancing, opening with some Israeli songs and expressing hope for peace in Israel and Palestine (it was the day after Hamas launched its attack on Israel). Shumeiko and Mitin stayed on Zoom while we danced, which seemed awkward, but later they told us they had been able to donate blankets, solar-powered lanterns, and hygiene kits to fellow Ukrainians displaced and left bereft by war. The donated items were funded by the $5,000 per month WDH is raising for Ukraine.

WDH also raises funds to provide relief when other crises arise, such as the Syria–Turkey earthquake and Maui wildfire, always seeking out local partners so that donors know exactly where their money is going. “It’s an incredibly intimate and personal way of working with the world,” says Reineck. “It makes life very different in Santa Barbara when you’re having these direct relationships with people in Rwanda and Ukraine.”

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Fitness with Rachel: Located at 160 North Fairview Avenue, Suite 2, Goleta; personal training by appointment; cardio machines also available. Group fitness classes offered in-person or by Zoom; register using a mobile app. Cubbies for storing personal items. There is a bathroom that doubles as a changing room; no shower. Plentiful free parking. See fitnessrachel.com. 

World Dance for Humanity: Classes are held outdoors at Oak Park and the Chase Palm Park soccer field and online (donation suggested); for classes at the Schott Center, register through SBCC School of Extended Learning. See worlddanceforhumanity.org for class schedule. Sunscreen and hat advised for daytime outdoor classes.