A fateful step into fitness
If MaDonna Grimes’ college cheerleading partner hadn’t dropped her, causing a serious knee injury, it’s possible that the dance major might never have discovered weight training, stepped into an aerobics class, gotten involved with the exercise movement and become one of Los Angeles’ premier fitness teachers, fusing her extensive dance background with aerobics.
“It’s a tragic story,” she says, touching her hand to her forehead for mock-dramatic effect, “but it was the beginning of a new part of my life.”
For the last decade Grimes, who declines to give her age, has been a fixture on the L.A. fitness scene. She was at the forefront of the dance-aerobics movement in the early ‘90s and quickly earned a reputation for teaching lively classes combining elements of jazz, hip-hop and ethnic dance with traditional aerobics. It earned her stints at such clubs at Voight Fitness & Dance Center, Gold’s Gym, Crunch Fitness and Bally Total Fitness, where she developed a large, loyal following that helped her start her own studios.
Her latest turn is as the group exercise creative director for the Sports Club/LA, where she’ll develop and teach classes. Priority one will be to incorporate more dance-based classes such as Brazilian, jazz and hip-hop into a schedule that includes group cycling, yoga and Pilates.
“I love creating new classes and I want to add different elements,” she says. “I want to combine modern dance with fitness and jazz, and it would be great to have a live piano in the corner during class. I would love that.”
Does the pressure of constantly coming up with the hottest new thing ever get to her? “I change like this,” she says with a quick snap of her fingers. “I’m not afraid. I’ll say, ‘Let’s try it, let’s do it.’ ”
Grimes was extremely instrumental in “creating a very strong dance influence and integrating that into fitness. She’s also always been on the cutting edge of choreography and stayed ahead of the current trends,” says Rob Glick, regional group fitness director for Crunch Fitness in Orange County and San Diego.
But it was that fateful fall while cheerleading for Ohio State University that landed her in the weight room, where she did strength training to help heal the torn ligaments in her knee. The aerobics classes were nearby, and Grimes would watch at the door and laugh at what seemed like silly, regimented moves. She eventually tried it and liked it. The pace appealed to her; unlike dance classes, which have a stop-start rhythm, aerobics offered continuous high-energy music, repeated movements, and straightforward combinations.
She didn’t like it enough to teach -- at first. Grimes got a master’s degree in dance performance and choreography at New York University, then performed as a dancer while choreographing for and competing in aerobics competitions. (She was part of the team that won the U.S. Aerobics Championship in 1987.)
After discovering that fitness instructors earned more than dance teachers, Grimes bounced back and forth between her base in New York and Los Angeles to teach at a number of clubs. Weary of East Coast winters, she moved to L.A. in the early ‘90s.
Developing her technique of dance aerobics wasn’t a conscious decision to be a groundbreaker: “I just didn’t follow any rules,” she said while sitting in the noisy Sports Club/LA cafe. “I wasn’t thinking I was going to make history or anything. I did all kind of dance movements with funky music for half an hour, then I taught them a routine that was pretty physical.”
Styles such as Afro-Latino funk developed as Grimes traveled in the United States and abroad. While teaching, she continued to compete in fitness competitions and win titles, and choreograph for other champions.
But the itch to start her own studio wouldn’t go away, and in 1995 she opened the MaDonna Grimes Dance & Fitness Theatre Company. She grew out of that space in three years, then joined forces with Gold’s Gym Hollywood before outgrowing that as well. She rented the old Voight studios until fire destroyed part of the building in 2000. Since then she’s completed a three-part instructional video series titled “I Just Wanna Dance,” and has continued to teach at various clubs, including Crunch Fitness in Los Angeles and Bally Total Fitness. She still maintains a small studio in Old Town Pasadena called the Athletic Garage.
Signing up Grimes exclusively, says Sports Club/LA founder and executive vice president Nanette Pattee Francini, is part of the club’s goal “to be as progressive and edgy as we can. Group exercise is a huge area, and dance-based classes seem to be on the rise, and that’s one of her big talents. She also makes it fun.”
As a teacher, Grimes’ strength is in not just coming up with the latest choreography, but “making people feel at ease,” says Glick. “She connects with people and makes them feel it’s cool to be just who you are.”
Grimes says she’s happy to have bridged the previously separate worlds of fitness and dance: “Before,” she says, “dancers would never touch fitness; they’d never go to the gym. Now they’ll take a fitness class, and fitness people will take a dance class. They’re not afraid of it.”