DON’T STOP THE MUSIC: CARDIO BY CARA DANCE AND SCULPT CLASSES AT KERBY FIELD
“Dance like no one is watching” is the tagline for Cardio by Cara, the virtual fitness studio created by Cara Cooley Steiner that features Dance and Sculpt classes by subscription. If you’ve taken her class at The Corner Studio, you’re familiar with the vibe that is uniquely Cara. Everything from her unfettered bohemian spirit mixed with cool-girl confidence, well-rounded musical taste, and ballet-dancer strength inspires us to keep moving and grooving. With summer weather in her favor, Cara took to dancing outdoors at Kerby Field, offering a mirror-less experience that allows us to move more freely, minding less about how we look and more about how we feel, which has been her mission from the start. “It’s not about looking like the instructor,” Cara says. (Indeed, few can emulate her precision in form or kick their leg as high!) Rather, she insists, “I want people to move like themselves.”
Fresh air has proved a positive force in our current time. Starting Thursday July 9, The Corner Studio adds Outdoor Sculpt to the weekly lineup at Kerby Field. Unlike Dance, Sculpt is a zero-impact class done on the mat. The flow, although still reminiscent of what Cara calls our “animalistic movement,” or the way we’re supposed to move, involves less choreography and is enhanced with light weights, resistance bands, and ankle weights. Both classes fuse music and movement together to encourage less restraint and more expression. Cara assures, “You’ll always feel different from when you walked in.”
Cara’s fitness classes are a nod to her professional performance background. The Washington state native ventured East to study musical theatre in New York. There she performed on Broadway, touring abroad with Cats, and played in a band that landed local and even national gigs. In 2015, she settled in the Midwest with her now husband, Adam, (whom she met on stage in Cats) and can finally call Grosse Pointe home.
“It took a while,” Cara says, referring not only to finding a sense of belonging in a non-transient town like Grosse Pointe—a far cry from the urban streets of Manhattan where she had spent the previous five years—but also a sense of purpose in her chosen vocation. Despite being certified in Yoga and teaching everything from that and Barre to Spin and some variation of dance, she always felt she was “saying someone else’s words.” Cara’s desire to hone something truly authentic led her to a very personalized calling, one evocative of her past performer self, and quickly gained cult following in our community. Cardio by Cara—whether Dance or Sculpt—is, in Cara’s words, about “coming home to yourself.”
The benefits of fitness are plentiful. Cara is more specifically drawn to what Dance and Sculpt offer in terms of music as therapy and activating the emotional centers of the brain. “[Class] isn’t as much about getting a six-pack as it is about how you feel doing it,” she says. “Each time you come you’re setting yourself up to keep working and to keep coming back to that feeling.” Both classes provide opportunity for learning, improving, and mastering moves. For first timers, becoming familiar with the sequence or exercise, which could involve any and all versions of grapevines to high-knees and deep squats, can take some practice, but that’s the point. “It’s a brain workout, too,” says Cara. “It’s anti-aging!”
Cara’s classes are suitable for all levels of fitness and require no previous dance experience. She breaks down choreography and gauges the class attendance to dictate simpler or more challenging routines. You can always rely on her count while simultaneously feeling freedom in your own movement. Cara’s advice: “Just say yes and show up for yourself.”
Catch Cara’s Outdoor Cardio Dance on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9:30am, and now Outdoor Sculpt on Thursdays at 11:00am, at Kerby Field. Sign up on The Corner Studio app.
You can also take Cara’s class from home on Saturdays at 9:30am on Instagram Live @thecornerstudiogp
See You at The Corner!