Joy Bucher understands that you probably have a certain mental image when you hear the word “Jazzercise.” The name conjures up visions akin to PE class on “Saved by the Bell,” with thong leotards stretched over tights, crimped hair held in place by a dayglo fluorescent headband, legwarmers pulled tight above droopy socks.
It’s a name that doesn’t exactly evoke the cutting edge in fitness, lending itself more to a friendlier posture than the naked aggression of names like P90X or CrossFit.
But if you look beyond the name, you’ll understand that today’s Jazzercise long ago evolved beyond the dance-centric classes that dotted the countryside during the ’80s.
Founded in 1969, Jazzercise was born from founder Judi Sheppard Missett’s dance background and love of fitness. “She decided that she wanted to get people fit through dance and had all these big ideas because she was a dancer,” Bucher said. “But when people came into her class, they couldn’t dance. So at that point, she had to decide whether to continue with the dance angle or really open it up to be more of an exercise program.”
That marked the first step in an evolution that never really stopped. While public perception of Jazzercise had been frozen in amber since sometime during the Clinton administration, the inner workings of the program continued to refine what they offered, incorporating strength and interval training as well as nutrition. As the programs that Jazzercise inspired rose to prominence, from Zumba to Pilates to Pure Barre, the original continued helping people get fit through dance.
Joy Bucher, owner of the local Jazzercise franchise, just turned 70.
“We as instructors are given the material and put our routines together based on feel and flow of the music, but we also follow the aerobic curve,” Bucher said. “We start with the warmup, get more and more intense, and then do strength training at the bottom of it. And it’s not just a format of all cardio then all strength. We have interval training so we can mix it up and push our bodies harder.”
In addition to a more refined workout than back in the leg warmer days, Jazzercise has grown to encompass health beyond the studio. With the focus moving beyond dance, their Cardio HIIT and Power Sculpt programs have diversified and supercharged the workout one gets at Jazzercise. Their Simply Plated service, offered on a subscription basis, augments the exercises with a comprehensive nutrition program, with recipes and tips for balancing what you do and eat.
“While we think of ‘dance’ when we think of Jazzercise, we can’t forget the importance of strength training as we age. Heavy strength training is important and vital for women, even for those in their 30s. And that means using heavier weights,” Bucher said. “We know that as we age, estrogen decreases. Estrogen is the signaler for our bodies as it signals our body to give our muscles energy. So as that decreases, the only way to signal your body that it needs energy is to signal your central nervous system. How do we do that? With the combination of HIIT, or interval training, and using heavier weights in our strength training segments.”
The CH2 crew (Julia Rockett, Jevon Daly, and Gioia DiBartolomeo) gets into the Jazzercise groove with instructor, Joy Bucher.
The wardrobe might have changed from leotards to Lululemon, and the exercises themselves have been kicked up several notches as exercise science has evolved, but the founding principle of Jazzercise remains the same: getting people fit while fostering a sense of community.
“I’ve done other programs that sort of spun off of Jazzercise, and everybody is kind of into their own world and their own bodies,” Bucher said. “With Jazzercise, from the moment you’re there to the moment you leave, you’re feeling like part of a community of people.”
It’s a community that drew her in immediately when she took her first Jazzercise class in Michigan. A trained dancer from a young age, she was looking to get back in shape following the birth of her second child. A friend invited her to join her at Jazzercise, and Bucher latched on to the community aspect of it, even if the exercise side of it took her a while.
Most of the crew pictured here are Joy Bucher’s regulars, really enjoying the workout and camaraderie that Jazzercise offers. The guy on the floor heard “jazz” and thought he was going to a bar.
“I went to that first class and I couldn’t keep up. I had probably around 20 pounds of baby weight on me and I just didn’t have the motivation,” Bucher said. “But I looked at the instructor, Sally, and realized we were about the same age. I told her, ‘I’m going to look like you.’”
Going through the training process in 1994, Bucher was soon opening up her own studio, and then a string of them across Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Saline, and Dexter. After moving to the Lowcountry in 2017, she sold all of her locations and began running Jazzercise classes out of the Island Rec Center. Spurred by her bottomless enthusiasm, these classes are already helping locals get healthy and breaking down the stereotypes around Jazzercise.
“We are focused right now on reclaiming our prominence in the fitness industry, because with all these new programs like Pure Barre and Zumba and P90X and CrossFit, we’re doing some of the same things they’re doing,” she said. “If you’re somebody who only has the time to go to one fitness class, this kind of checks off all the boxes. You’re getting that cardio, you’re getting that strength training. It’s a one-stop shop. And you’ll find a community that fits.”
Jazzercise classes are held regularly at the Island Rec Center. Check out jazzercise.com/studio/sc/hilton-head-island-rec-center to schedule your next class – leg warmers optional.
