August 4, 2016

Meet the Creator of Movement2Music and PopVideo, Co-Creator of YogaWorks DanceWorks: Brandon Anthony

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Anthony.

Brandon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I always say I grew up on the stage in Indianapolis, Indiana. Studying piano, voice, acting, and dance for most of my youth, before moving to Chicago to attend The Theatre School of DePaul University. The Theatre School is where I first starting taking movement classes that were about something more than performance and technique. It was the first time I started to think about movement as therapy.

Equinox was my first break into fitness instruction, and I loved it. I spent years teaching for Equinox, YogaWorks, and SoulCycle, and had the best experiences with all 3 – but eventually came to realize that I needed to create something of my own. I wanted to combine dance, fitness, art, theater, therapy, yoga, release, and connection all into one experience. I wanted a place where I could get that same release I got back in school.

I met my husband while I was in NYC teaching for Soul-Cycle. He’s Austrian and had a 6 month job back in Vienna. It was the perfect excuse for me to quit everything and take a much needed entering my 30s reset. Those 6 months living in Vienna gave me time to figure out what I Really wanted to do, and I decided to create Movement2Music. A class where you don’t have to be enrolled in an art school, or even good at dancing to come in and get one hour of movement therapy.

Has it been a smooth road?
Haha no, not at all :). I’ve lived in my car a couple times, and I moved almost 12 times in the 1.5 years I spent in NYC. Getting on my feet financially and building my base and brand has been and continues to be a struggle, but the progress I’ve made since I returned from Vienna focused has been great. Getting people to try something new is always difficult. I could teach a Beyonce or Britney routine and I know folks will be interested, but Movement2Music can be a tougher sell.

What’s your outlook for the industry over the next 5-10 years?
With the success of Barry’s Bootcamp, SoulCycle, Flywheel, and so many more, it looks like we’re moving towards more boutique, personalized, and creative fitness concepts. I love that. I’d like to help our industry continue to blur the line between fitness, therapy, and art.

Has there been a particular challenge that you’ve faced over the years?
Finding my way to Movement2Music. It was frustrating working for 2 incredible companies like Equinox and SoulCycle, and still feeling so out of place for years. These are companies a lot of fitness instructors strive to teach for. They’re the best and they’re wonderful to work for, but I felt limited. Meeting my future husband in NYC and moving to Vienna with him for 6 months turned out to be the best thing in the world for me. I needed to hit pause and figure out what I really wanted my mark on this world to be. Movement Therapy. I realized I wanted to be a Movement Therapist. I’d never even heard of one, but it’s the only title that seemed to fit. I want to help people break through whatever is blocking them in life and find release and joy. Words are always the way through for everyone. Sometimes you just need to Move.

Let’s change gears – is there any advice you’d like to give?
Take as many classes as you can from as many different instructors as you can. You’ll learn a lot from the great classes, but even more from the ones you hate.

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