Exercise is movement with purpose. Dance is movement for joy. Dance fitness is joy with a hidden purpose.
Mission: To provide a safe, fun fitness option in a place where all abilities are welcome.
Vision: With dancing, laughing, and singing we create a better life. With harmony, balance, and movement we live a better life.
New name: I am born of the North Pacific and resident of a North Pacific island, so it was only logical that my company name should reflect its roots and its focus. In November 2020, LocoMotion FitnessSM became known as Kiwa Dance FitnessSM.
Not just a name: Kiwa Dance FitnessSM is island born and personifies island life – it’s about being active but at a slower pace, with simpler moves. Kiwa embodies the island state of mind as one of a welcoming community with a sense of togetherness. We are ohana, a chosen family finding unity and harmony together on and off the dance floor.
Ohana is not just family, it’s that we are all family; and (to quote Lilo and Stitch) family means no one is forgotten or left behind. All classes are designed to accommodate the slowest participant with options for the more fit, flexible, and active.
Beginnings: I started my fitness “career” just wanting the knowledge to be able to modify fitness classes so they were safe for me. Then I realized there were others like me who couldn’t move the way they used to and needed safe fitness options. In 2017, I launched LocoMotion Fitness as an outlet for joint safe fitness classes, starting with dance fitness.
Aloha moment: A few short years later, along came a global pandemic and lockdown of group fitness activities. With time to sit and ponder, I began to embrace my older body and its abilities. Once I was cool with that, I had an epiphany – there is truly only one exercise modality that allows us to move at our own pace without having to worry about keeping up or getting it right – dance fitness. So, instead of being a generalist in a field of group fitness leaders, I had a focus and decided my company name should reflect my commitment to dance fitness. Dance fitness would allow me to live an aloha life.
Language: In doing research for a registerable company name, I became keenly aware of how English is always short story long, using way too many words to express a single concept (as evidenced by the words “ohana” and “aloha”). Kiwa is Polynesian for Pacific.
Updated: July 2024
KIWA dance fitness 