Embracing Diversity Through Dance and Fitness at MIX Studio by Nadia Dahdouh
To be healthy and physically fit can involve a lot of different things. Simply hitting the gym every day or only focusing on one type of physical activity does not necessarily mean that you are maximizing your body’s full potential. For example, going for a run is great for you, but adding other forms of physical activity, such as dance, can really strengthen your body. And when paired with something like yoga, you’re getting a complete workout experience for your body, as well as your mind—or a nice, well-rounded mix.
Lesa G. Williams, owner of MIX studio in the Rolando area of San Diego, offers just that: dance, personal training, and yoga classes. It’s a one-stop-shop. I had the opportunity to interview Lesa to find out more about her studio and her background.
MIX’s name has a deeper meaning than just the services it offers, though. Lesa is of mixed ethnicity: Her father is African-American and her mother Filipino and Spanish. So this idea of being a “mix” has been a consistent theme in Lesa’s life. She explains to me that she has always embraced her mixed heritage, due to her parents being open about the subject.
Stereotypes don’t hold any weight for Lesa. “I was exposed to a lot of different races and people growing up,” she explains, and says she always knew people for who they were as individuals, not what races they were. And when faced with people who stereotyped her, she has had the same attitude—to simply be herself. “I had to just be Lesa—as opposed to ‘the black girl,’” she says, explaining that it’s about who you are, not what your race is.
“Growing up, I always felt that learning from a lot of different people made for a well-rounded person,” she explains. And this well-roundedness is exactly what she wanted to integrate into her studio. She wanted to create a place where all different types of people could come in to work on their bodies and minds.
Lesa is a dance and yoga instructor, and certified personal trainer.
“I like to describe myself as, ‘the boot camp dancer who believes yoga can change the world,’” she says. Dance classes came first when Lesa was just a toddler. Needless to say, she continued on with dancing and has experience in many different styles such as tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop and burlesque to name some of them, but she enjoys contemporary jazz the most, and has a special love for ballet. Lesa even danced competitively when she was 19.
A bit later on, she hit a bump in the road on her dance journey. Just as she was about to major in dance at UCSD, she injured her ankle. She wasn’t able to dance which was a scary reality for her. But through yoga, Lesa was able to heal her injury. “From that, my love of yoga grew,” she explains, and says in addition to yoga saving her dream to continue pursuing dance, it has also provided the mental clarity she needs. “My life’s always been busy, because I’m always trying to reach certain goals whether they are in business or education; so for me, yoga is the way that I’m able to balance everything.”
Because she is a dance and yoga instructor, and personal trainer, Lesa believes in many types of physical activity. “If someone’s pushing weights and can also stretch in certain poses and have flexibility, that person is technically more physically fit than someone who is only able to push a lot of weight,” she says. Lesa’s belief in having this mix of physical aptitude is what led to the creation of her studio, MIX. She explains that earlier on, she would have to go to multiple places to meet all of her dance and fitness needs because at the time, most places didn’t offer multiple services at their locations. Lesa wanted her studio to provide that for her clients.
A few of the various classes offered at MIX include yoga, contemporary jazz, boot camp, and the “Mix Technique,” a class Lesa created exclusively for her studio. The Mix Technique incorporates ballet, Pilates, and yoga. “It seems to be a favorite at MIX. You don’t have to have taken ballet for 10 years to do it, but you could have taken ballet for 10 years to appreciate it and get a workout as well,” she says.
MIX even offers the “Yoga Winedown” class once a month, where you do ambient yoga and then enjoy a glass of wine after the class. MIX opened in August of 2009, and Lesa says that so far, her dream of having a variety of clients is coming to life. Her clients are anywhere from 18 to 60 years old, and are at all levels of experience—from people who have never danced before in their lives to seasoned dancers with professional aspirations, and from beginning yogis to advanced yogis.
“I definitely want to welcome all people,” Lesa says.
Lesa G. Williams trained in dance at The Ailey School in New York, and received her Bachelor’s degree in Dance at the University of California, San Diego. She is completing her Master’s degree in Physical Education at Azusa Pacific University this month. For more information, call MIX studio at 619.889.0061 or visit www.lmgdanceandfitness.com.
