Pivot Studio signage on Water Street (Credit: Elizabeth MacLeod)
Water Street entrepreneur Ingrid Woodhouse has rebranded and renovated the former BunkHaus Hostel and Uptowner Café to become the Pivot Studio.
“We don’t really have an alternative fitness studio like this uptown,” said Woodhouse. “It’s a really great way to get out and just feel really confident about your body, which is a big, big part of pole fitness.”
Pivot Studio is the first pole fitness studio and event space in Saint John and features six 12 ft poles and one 10 ft pole, located on a stage that can support a variety of events, from a full band to public speakers.
Woodhouse’s idea for Pivot studio came when Zara MacKay-Boyce, the studio General Manager, came in for an interview.
The timing was perfect, with Woodhouse looking for an enterprise to replace the BunkHaus and MacKay-Boyce thinking of opening a pole fitness studio in the city.
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- Pivot Cafe and Studio logo (Credit: Pivot Studio Facebook)
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- Whitney Cox, Pivot Studio pole instructor (Credit: Pivot Studio Instagram)
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- Sophia Miao, Pivot Studio pole instructor (Credit: Pivot Studio Instagram)
“It’s been her passion project, she ended up contacting other pole studios in the area to see if they knew of someone that would be looking to teach here and through her networking she was able to find quite a few different people,” Woodhouse added.
The classes offered include pole dancing (beginner, intermediate and advanced), chair dancing, burlesque, flexibility training and choreography. Over 20 classes taught by five certified instructors will be available throughout the week, Monday to Sunday.
Pivot’s hosted its grand opening soiree last Saturday, which sold out in 24 hours. Class registration is now open with classes beginning Monday, November 9.
