Get To Know Phoenix!

Our equipe has grown since we have opened the doors in 2017 and with every new instructor comes a great story and a better personality.  With that, we want to introduce you to Phoenix!  Phoenix has been part of our equipe as she began this year and has been leading classes brilliantly for labarre studios.
 
Phoenix embodies San Jose as she comes from a family that boasts the city as their home for 7 Generations.  Amazingly, her family has been a part of the fabric of the area for decades and she continues on the tradition.

If you were wondering where she went to school… a safe bet would be San Jose State University as it was a clear fit for her.  Many of her family members are alums and Phoenix is a proud Spartan who graduated with a BS in Hospitality Event Management.

Her love for dance and fitness, however, started prior to her college career.  She started teaching Yoga in high school as a senior project and before that, she was a competitive Irish dancer at a young age.  This form of dancing took a toll on Phoenix’s body, however, and her mom, who enjoyed Yoga, introduced Phoenix to its healing power.

Yoga became a huge form of relief for Phoenix and it prompted her to do a 200-hour certification training when she was 18.  That led to the ability to teach full time throughout her college career.

“I love yoga and have been practicing it for years….and then a friend found labarre and said ‘Hey! You have to come to a class here you will absolutely love it!’  I walked in and decided I needed to add it to my resume!” Phoenix states. 
 
“I came and immediately fell in love with labarre.  The format of barre, the space and what Lisa (Alberino) has done with the studio there.  She has created this incredible pocket of happiness and fitness in what can be a crazy hectic area of San Jose.”

After becoming certified to be an instructor at labarre, Phoenix is able to use both Yoga and Barre in her repertoire of classes she teaches.  Phoenix delivers a very different outlook for each discipline and explained what a class she teaches would feel like to those who have never taken one with her at the helm. 
 
“My Yoga class includes basic foundations and postures but I sprinkle in active and high intensity at times to have a change in pacing to what traditional Yoga is all about.  It includes core and breath work as well as intentional mindful movement of the body.  Otherwise you may as well stay at home if you are not going to do the work!  I want a quality experience for everyone in my classes.”

Phoenix continues, “Barre is different, the high energy you have to bring to a barre class is phenomenal and yet very challenging.  At the end of a work day for me, I hype myself up and bring as much energy as I can because I know the students will feed off my energy.   Quality of movement is key in these classes.”
 
Her musicality is also a big part of what makes this former dancer a special addition to labarre.  She is “obsessed” with music as she has been immersed in a musical household her entire life.  Her dad is a musician (drums, guitar, bass, piano, mandolin to name a few of the instruments her father can play!) and that is where the seed was planted for her.

In her free time – which she most certainly doesn’t have much of – she loves to travel and be around her family.  Her older sister and boyfriend's family live in LA so she often travels down south. "My littlest sister recently moved to Wales for University so I can't wait to pay her a visit and continue my travels abroad.  I love my California roots but love to travel out of state or out of the country any chance I get! Next on my list is Italy, Bali or perhaps Aruba! Anything active is always welcomed.”
 
And when she is not out on a trail or traveling, she also loves to cook and bake and has currently stumbled on a recipe for healthy Twix bars… if she patents this she may be a billionaire! 
 
Come see Phoenix for yourself and find out why we love her as much as you will!