How ‘dancing in the dark’ is helping women overcome anxiety and lose weight

For years, Jenna Chaffey, life coach and founder of Beat Freakz Fit, worked a corporate job where she felt like she had to wear a mask of ‘normalcy’ every day. She was a successful national quality, safety, health, and environment co-ordinator for an international logistics company but never quite felt like she fit in.

Naturally bright, bubbly, and boisterous, with a contagious booming laugh and a love for vocally encouraging others, Chaffey felt pressure from those in her work environment to dim her light to avoid seeming over the top or ‘fake’.

It wasn’t until she took a career break to go on maternity leave that her idea to create Beat Freakz Fit was born. She had completed her qualifications as an instructor for an existing dance fitness company but realised a need to create something unique in the industry.

Chaffey wanted to create a space for exercise that was motivating, fun, effective, and combined several training styles without being overly complicated. She attended various gym classes and had to do many different workout styles to get the full benefits she wanted.

Rather than needing to do aerobics for cardiovascular health, weights sessions for resistance training, and dance classes for creative movement, she decided to launch an all-in-one program with all of these elements for time-poor individuals, such as busy mums or career-women who wanted a time-efficient way to maximise their health and enjoyment.

“I started the business during lockdown from my dining room,” Chaffey said. “I had no friends here (in Melbourne) as I had been relocated from Perth for my corporate role.”

She began posting social media videos and running free online Zoom sessions. Once lockdown ended, she started running in-person classes. Attendance was sporadic initially, with some having a great turnout while others only had a few people attend.

Despite these challenges, Chaffey kept working towards her goal. She advertised locally in community Facebook groups and ran low-budget social media marketing campaigns, slowly increasing her marketing overheads as her business gained a following.

“I collaborated with local businesses by creating relationships with them in lockdown. I reached out to local councils and charities to offer free online sessions. I built a network around myself by always offering value to them first,” Chaffey said.

“When we stop thinking business is all about us and focus purely on what the customer or client needs, essentially everyone just wants to be seen, heard, and valued,” she said.

She now runs a popular ‘dancing in the dark’ program – an inclusive, full-body dance workout with disco lights, epic music and no judgement. She said that finding her unique selling point and offering it to as many people as possible was the key to rapid business growth.

Fitness is for every body

Beat Freakz Fit is more than an effective and efficient fitness program – it’s also working to democratise physical activity using positive reinforcement without the judgement of the mainstream fitness industry. The business is meeting the increasing demand for safe, inclusive spaces for women to workout in peace.

One survey found that more than half of women had experienced harassment in a gym setting, while many more avoid fitness settings out of fear of appearance or ability-based shame and judgement.

“The fitness industry offers very generic services in a manner that is quite robotic without understanding the emotional impact on why someone feels uncomfortable or lacks confidence,” said Chaffey.

“We are heavily focused on building a positive mindset and relationship with ourselves in our classes.”

Shellie Taia is a prime example of the transformative nature of a supportive environment for moving and connecting with your body.

She had once enjoyed working out, but after having her daughter, she became overwhelmed with the increasingly complex demands of her life. She struggled to find time for her wellbeing and tried several times to build an exercise routine, but nothing seemed to stick.

“Feeling uncomfortable in my skin allowed me another reason not to move or exercise,” Taia said.

“Not only did I not ‘fit in’ with the image that was at typical gym settings, I was so self-aware that I would be covered in sweat, puffing, evident that I was not fit, and did not want to add to my low self-esteem issues by putting the extra attention on myself by working out at a typical gym or attending classes like I use to.”

Taia remembers calling her husband before her first Beat Freakz Fit class, too nervous to walk through the doors. He reassured her that showing up was the most challenging part and that he was proud of her for coming this far.

“When I stopped getting into my own head and just walked in, Jenna was so welcoming,” she said.

Encouraging but not overbearing, Chaffey allowed Taia to take her time settling in. The room was dark enough that she felt less exposed than in other fitness settings. The music gave her motivation, energy, and something to focus on when the moves became more strenuous.

She started by committing to one class a week, easing herself into her new routine. Once she felt comfortable, she increased to two, then three, weekly classes as her fitness level and confidence increased.

The environment Chaffey created made her feel safe, welcomed, and part of a community. Her daughter even attended some Saturday classes, where she watched her mum rock her routine and model a positive relationship with exercise in a way that brought her joy and confidence.

Overcoming limiting self-perceptions

There’s no denying that building a sustainable health and fitness regime is a challenge. If it were easy, more people would meet the recommendations for weekly exercise. In 2022, only one in five Australians aged 18-64 met the baseline guidelines for physical activity.

Taia had to overcome habitual patterns of inactivity, a busy schedule as a working mum, and low confidence to build an exercise routine that worked for her.

“There are always going to be challenges in putting yourself first when it comes to exercise,” she said, reflecting on how hard it was at first to balance her fitness with her demanding job, which often involved long hours and travel, parenting, her social life, and quality time with her husband.

She developed strategies to keep her on track while building the momentum she needed to stay consistent.

She wrote her classes on the family schedule and pre-booked them in advance to stay accountable. She even had a specific perfume and outfit that she only wore to Beat Freakz Fit, creating a ritual to get into the right headspace and energy state to achieve her goals and make time for her health.

“The benefits of these classes are in all aspects of my life,” she said. “I have more energy in my daily life; I am happier in myself; I have way more confidence – confidence that I have never had before in my life!”

“This is built from feeling good about myself, gaining my independence back after having a child, and always needing to ‘be’ something for someone in my professional and personal life.”

Beat Freakz Fit became a sanctuary for Taia to focus solely on herself, the music, and connecting with her body, where she got a rush of endorphins from dancing to great music with like-minded people.

She describes the feeling as similar to the joy she got from clubbing in her youth, minus the hangover. Falling back in love with taking care of herself had a flow-on effect – she began walking more and eating more nutritious foods, which eventually led to her losing 45kg.

She describes her journey with Beat Freakz Fit as “truly life-changing, for me, my daughter, my husband, all of my friends, my family, even professionally and those I work with – they all have benefited”.

Dancing in the dark didn’t just help Taia lose weight, it empowered her to gain self-confidence, learn to prioritise herself, and fill her cup to more effectively pour energy and love into the things and people that matter most to her.