Shaping up well: Inclusion Fitness opens site in Florence
FLORENCE, Wis. — When Marla Bradley decided to expand her Inclusion Dance business from Iron County into neighboring Wisconsin, she didn’t expect to take on an entire fitness operation.
“I talked to Rachel (Egelseer) about opening a dance studio and she asked if I would run the fitness center located there. It fit our whole Inclusion family so well,” Bradley said.
She opened Inclusion Fitness with help from Jean Moore in June in Encore on Central, 748 Central Ave. in Florence.
Encore on Central is listed on the National Historic Register, and includes a stage, large wood dance floor, 50-foot long bar, nightclub loft and space for 300 people.
The basement area contains fitness equipment, space for spin classes taught by Moore, an additional dance room, changing and shower areas, a stand-up tanning bed and something unique — an endless pool.
The pool is large enough to have swimming lessons for up to four children at a time. It also is utilized for low-impact training sessions.
“It’s great to have a pool that fits in such a small space,” Bradley said.
The coronavirus did not disrupted operations too much because during the summer they don’t have as many people using the 24-hour fitness center, Bradley said. To help combat the virus, cleaning supplies are available for people to sanitize equipment before and after using it. They also clean during the week and have an outside service do a thorough cleaning of the fitness center once a week.
But the number of people using the facility will change drastically in September, when they begin offering a full schedule of classes, including dance, ballet and gymnastics.
“We plan to offer half Zoom and half in-person classes, so students who don’t feel comfortable in the classroom can follow classes at home,” Bradley said.
They also plan to use the large upstairs dance floor for larger groups.
Starting in January, the Ninja Warrior Parkour classes taught by Thomas Rutherford will be available in Florence as well.
For adults who want a unique night out with dinner, dancing and drinks, they plan to have ballroom dancing for adults on the first Friday of every month. There will be couples dances from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and singles from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., followed by free-time dancing until 9:30 p.m. with a DJ.
Both Bradley and Moore are committed to fitness. In the past two years, Bradley has lost 144 pounds and Moore, a certified trainer, has lost more than 30.
Inclusion Dance also has dance studios in Crystal Falls and Iron River.