Meet Chacidy and Kay Cherie | Owners of Expression Dance and Aerial Fitness

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chacidy and Kay Cherie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chacidy and, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
– What was your thought process behind starting your own business? We wanted a safe space for people to be able to explore pole and pole fitness. To help them reconnect and fall in love with themselves while doing physical activity and having fun. As we have been on this pole journey and interacting with people in the pole community there are so many of us that are looking for a way to get “our sexy back”, a space where we can let our hair down and not be judged and have the freedom to really explore who we are while also treating our bodies better. So we wanted to create a space where anyone and everyone can do exactly that. The two of us met through doing pole and have met a lot of other amazing people inside the community and they have all been very welcoming and have even become family. We wanted to help foster that type of environment and community feel while we help people in their pole and fitness journeys.

-Social impact: How does your business help the community or the world?
By creating a safe all inclusive space for people to come out fellowship and be supported by other like minded individuals on a similar journey. We also empower those who come through our door to be who they are and find themselves whether they feel like they have lost themselves due to life and other responsibilities. Or if they are starting over or just got out of an unfavorable situation of starting on a path of self discovery. It also allows them to be able to have their me time while taking a break from the pressure of life. Our tag line is “Find Your Freedom In Expression” and to us that means exactly what it says being able to release your inhibitions to be free self worry, doubt and being judged by your peers, the stress of trying to be perfect and being everything that those that depend on you for that and letting you shine through. To be confident and secure enough to let your hair down without fear of being judged while really putting your true self out there and being who you really as if no one is looking.

-Risk taking: How do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?
Risk taking means to us stepping out on faith and having the confidence that this plan will work. While having the support of our friends and family to get started and the encouragement from each other and loved ones was the biggest push we had to take the risk. Who wants to live a life full of “what if’s or I wish I had.” It was important to build a solid plan and product that we can stand behind giving us the confidence to share what we love with the world.

-What is the most important factor behind your success/ the success of your brand?
A love for what we do and being passionate about the product that we are putting out while having accountability and responsibility to the people who spend their time with us. We have put in the work to ensure the quality of our product. Getting our instructor certifications. Continuing being students of pole ourselves from attending workshops/trainings, taking additional classes and working the program ourselves to keep us honest and our content fresh. Putting in the hours and the research to make sure we stay on top of industry standards, trends and new releases. The genuine love and care we have for our students, we truly want to see each and every person that we interact with succeed and reach their goals. Our joy and excitement when a student masters a skill is just as real as their’s. We take being a part of their journey very seriously and are appreciative of them putting their trust in us.

-How to know whether to keep going or to give up?
As long as the passion and enthusiasm remain at the same level as you had when you start something what reason do we have to give it up? If anything, throughout this journey it would be more of a matter of recognizing when we need to improve or adjust the approach to remain relevant in our community and continue to give our patrons a quality and unforgettable experience. Things change and the world changes but as long as those don’t cause us to lose sight of who we are, our brand and our mission it’s not the time to give up.

-Work life balance: How has your balance changed over time? How do you think about balance?
Because this is a job that we truly enjoy it does not feel like work. The connections that we’ve built through classes and fellowship gives it a feel that we are always with family. So making time for this business doesn’t come forced and is always a want for us. This business pulls us to it in a way that we don’t feel the same without doing something within it at some point throughout the week. In an effort to ensure that we are giving ourselves that recess for our work life balance we have learned to make ourselves take a break and do something outside of pole that we love by spending time with our actual family and doing other things that we enjoy.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are mobile pole dance studio who specializes in private lessons and parties. We meet you where you are literally and figuratively to help you reach your goals and create that one of a kind experiences when your looking to turn up with your homies. We are proudest of the events that we have put on thus far. We have taken pole showcases and added our own twist to the creating an experience you don’t get everywhere else. We have been able to present pole in many different facets its not just the stereotypical thoughts about what pole is or the common views of aerial fitness and aerial arts.

From utilizing our experiences as students and working up to being certified instructors, we have been able to provide a better experience for our students and party-goers. We wanted to be able to give people what our pole moms gave us. We gave special attention to the little things and talked to our peers and past students about their needs and wants so that we could create a well rounded program. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been necessary. We have had to think of ways to grow the business, get our product out there and reach an audience beyond people that we already knew. In keeping with the times and the way we consume information and fun, we have had to make sure we accommodate as many situations as possible. We’ve created an online avenue for our business that allows people to work in their own time and allow us to reach people wherever they are.

We have learned to trust in ourselves and each other and play off of our strengths. We have also learned that one person does not have to do it all and it is ok to fall short and not be perfect at everything because wherever one of us is weak or lacking the other can pick up the slack. We will always have someone that will push the other one to do better and not just rely on OK being good enough.

That Expression Dance and Aerial Fitness is for everyone. No matter your age, gender, background, past, etc. you are welcome here. We work hard and push each other to be better, we cheer on each others victories and comfort and encourage each other in our low points. Even if you don’t try Expression if you have ever been interested in pole and other aerial art forms, for fitness and fun, we just want to encourage everyone to get out there and give it a chance. Don’t let your fear of what other may think or your feelings about your body, strength, looks, etc. stop you from getting out there and giving it a try. Pole helped us fall deeper in love with ourselves and appreciate where we were while working towards our end goals.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We both enjoy a good meal and libation so food is always on the list of things to do. Some of our favorite places to eat are Rudy’s Chicken, Grimaldi’s pizzeria, Smokin’ Ace BBQ, ESO Mimosa and a family member or friends because there is always good food and good fellowship. For activities we like to be mobile and moving around so things like ax throwing, VR virtual reality, Andretti Indoor Karting and Games.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our tribe deserves some recognition for all the support, care and love they have poured into us, pushing to get out there and do what we love. A special shoutout goes to our moms for being our biggest fans.

Website: Www.expressiondancefitness.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/expression_danceandaerial?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@expressiondanceandaerialfi9726

Other: linktr.ee https://linktr.ee/ExpressionDanceFitness Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075930144868&mibextid=ZbWKwL TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@expressiondancefit?_t=8au2gWZ08YY&_r=1 Patreon http://patreon.com/ExpressionDance