Image shows Angie Edwards, Director of AE Dance + Fitness. Photo by Dani Bower
I’m originally from Wales and spent my teenage years living in The Netherlands. It was on a very sunny Bristol Uni open day, in the summer of 2008, when I first fell in love with the city.
When I was 12, I launched my first dance class at school. When I was 15, I announced I wanted to run a dance school someday. At 19, I moved to Bristol to study psychology and began choreographing for and running the UoB dance society. Aged 21, after a couple of years working in marketing, I realised that I didn’t need to commit the rest of my life to working for someone else in ‘a real job’. So, when I was 25, I moved back to Bristol and started building my dance teaching career. In April 2017 I started my first independent classes on a Friday afternoon at Hamilton House. And we’ve not stopped spreading joy ‘n’ dance since that day! Today, we run more than 50 different dance classes, taught by 13 local teachers across the city.
Something that would’ve scared me three years ago but I now love, is that each class has its own vibe! My Jazz class is high energy and fast, whereas Paola’s Floorwork class is grounding and explorative. But whatever class you head to there’ll always be a feeling of community and collaboration. We believe dance classes are a team sport, not a solo game.
Joining your first AE dance class is, hopefully, spirit-lifting! You’ll be entering a room of enthusiastic, welcoming, good people who all love to throw themselves around to big tunes. We laugh lots. We’re ambitious. And we put ‘feeling good’ over ‘looking perfect’ any day.
I remember that when I first moved back to Bristol, the thing that struck me the most was that everyone I met had chosen to live here for an interesting reason. They’d picked Bristol rather than just ending up in London, like so many of my peers had. They love living here and you can feel that.
I’m on the hunt for new hidden gems in the city! I’ve been living off Cheltenham Rd (covered in hidden gems) for the past 10 years but we’re hoping to move to the more grown up Bishopston/Horfield area next year. I’ll report back when I find a new hoard of hidden gems.
I could happily live off the frittata and salad plate from Spicer + Cole or FED for the rest of my life. But I’d equally be happy on the top deck of Under The Stars, or hidden in the back of Chido Wey. Or Tomo No Ramen. Or Snobby’s. Or Wilson’s…
When I need to get out of the city’s hustle and bustle, I’ll visit my parents, who live just over the bridge in South Wales. And while Wales has a reputation for being very rainy, their garden is a sun trap and the most relaxing place on earth.
Over the summer, I had the absolute pleasure of teaching a dance workshop to the Bristol Bears (women’s team. To be honest, I forget there’s a men’s one). And those women – many of them World Cup winners – were solid 10s. The kind of people I adore – full of laughter and up for giving the ridiculous a go. But also, actually really giving a s*** about things, committing, working together. My favourite kind of people.
If you’d like to know more about AE, head to aedancefitness.com and follow along on Instagram @ae.dance.fitness.
