“I really hope that beyond all your goals and the critical things you say about yourself, try in 2020 to fully embrace every side of you, even the parts you deem not good enough.”
This is the kind of positivity that guides Melody Afkami’s life and her business. She spoke to YWA members at January’s Speaker Series event to talk about her journey from the corporate world to building her own dance fitness brand, Melody DanceFit — which, she says, isn’t really about dance or fitness.
It’s about women empowering other women to show up to their lives with their whole selves.
Discovering Dance
After graduating from The University of Texas, Melody landed a job in technology sales.
She knew pretty quickly that it wasn’t something that could fulfill her search for meaning in her life. But she also knew:
“You don’t get things by sitting in your office complaining. So I decided to do things that scare me.”
She took an acting class. Then a Latin ballroom class (Why? “Don’t ask me, I just did it!”). And then she started teaching Zumba classes.
“I taught my first class [while still working at my corporate job] and fell in love. I felt like this is who I am.”
She eventually quit her 9–5, teaching more classes and picking up other odd jobs to make ends meet. And then, between fitness instruction and her volunteer work at Dress for Success — an organization dedicated to empowering women to achieve economic independence — it all began to come together.
Melody realized everything she loved in life revolved around women lifting other women up, and she knew: “This is how I’m going to start my brand.”
Putting the Fun Back into Fitness
“Fitness can sometimes be a lot of toxic positivity,” said Melody.
That’s not what she was about. Instead, she wanted to create a brand that made everyone feel welcome and free of judgment. So she created a safe space that empowers women to be who they really are.
It worked. Partly, perhaps, because she took a completely different approach than your typical fitness instructor.
“What if I brought dance fitness to a bar on Saturday at noon, or where people go to concerts?” So she started partnering with venues to hold classes, creating a party atmosphere with a healthy twist.
And she did it in a way that felt genuine and true to herself.
Bringing Your Whole Self
Everyone feels anxious sometimes, isolated, and alone, says Melody. She didn’t want to reject or deny those feelings — her brand, she says, is about celebrating the light and darkness we all experience.
“There are all these things that make us more alike than different, and if we didn’t feel so much shame around those things, we could talk about them more — in an empowering way.”
Melody DanceFit turns fitness into play, and it also comes with a worldview. That we all have the power to create meaning in our own lives, and in the lives of others who need us. And that we’re all okay just as we are.
“You’ve always had the power,” she said. “There’s no grand conquest you have to achieve. There’s no promotion you have to get. It’s the decision that you want to embrace who you are.”
And approach to her DanceFit classes makes a pretty good approach to life as well:
“Nobody gives a s*** what you look like. Let’s just dance.”
About Melody DanceFit
Check out more about Melody and her DanceFit classes — including her Austin class schedule and an online membership option — at melodydancefit.com.
About YWA
Learning from and connecting with a variety of professional women in Austin is a priority for YWA, and the group’s monthly speaker series is a great way to take advantage of that opportunity.
If you’re interested in being a part of the organization’s opportunities for learning, networking, and serving the community, attend an event or consider joining. Sign up to be reminded of the next open enrollment period!
