The exercise hadn’t started, but I was already sweating.

I was waiting nervously at the back of the 30 or so people at Body Positive Dance Fitness in Portland. Lucy Sullivan hit play, and “Take Me or Leave Me” from the musical “Rent” blasted on the speakers.

“We’re going to start to our left,” Sullivan said. “Slide and kick.”

I was standing (and now, sliding) in a 567Broadway class with 30 or so people. Sullivan started teaching this summer, and she has already developed a group of fans who regularly attend her Sunday morning class. 567Broadway is a dance fitness class set to show tunes, but it’s not your average Jazzercise. The second half of the hour is dedicated entirely to learning choreography to a musical number.

I love to dance. I’m just not very good at it. Dancing in a crowd at a wedding is one thing. Following an actual routine? That’s a different story, one that would be adapted for the stage with a catchy song about two left feet. So I was nervous as Sullivan started leading us in a warmup.

“From the top,” she said.

FINDING SPACE TO FAIL

Sullivan, 44, grew up in Falmouth and danced at Maine State Ballet through high school. Her 7-year-old son dances there now.

Tap was always her favorite.

“I always felt included,” she said. “I don’t look like a dancer. I was never going to be an elite dancer. But I felt very valued.”

She also loved theater and did all the school plays. But she stopped dancing as an adult.

“I knew it was never for me professionally,” she said. “That was never what it was about, but I always loved it. And then I got to college, and I went to a couple little auditions and was so thrown and humiliated and embarrassed and basically didn’t dance again for 10 years.”

A decade later, a friend convinced Sullivan to return to tap. She signed up for what she thought was an advanced beginner class. It was really hard, but she kept going back. Two months later, she commented to another student on the level of difficulty. “What are you talking about?” the woman replied. “This is the advanced class.”

“We as adults don’t always give ourselves a lot of space to fail and be bad at stuff,” Sullivan said. “I’m so glad that I tricked myself into being bad at something for a while and working at it and getting better. We can all do this.”

That experience prompted her to get back into dance and community theater. When COVID-19 hit, Sullivan was locked down with her husband and children in a Munjoy Hill apartment. She was desperate for movement and a little me time when she discovered 567Broadway on YouTube.

Dancer and choreographer Joseph Corella has performed on stage and screen. He developed 567Broadway as a dance class for all levels and teaches in person in North Hollywood and online. The first video Sullivan did was “All That Jazz” from the musical “Chicago.” She worked up a sweat and a smile.

567Broadway quickly became part of her routine. She was wishing for an in-person option when she saw that Corella was offering certifications for instructors. Sullivan had taken cardio kick and step aerobics and group fitness classes for years but never taught one.

“I had thought about being a group exercise instructor since my early 20s when I started falling in love with these classes, but at gyms and in these environments, I always felt so intimidated by people’s bodies. Like, ‘I’m not in the right shape for that. People couldn’t take me seriously as a fitness instructor. That wouldn’t be for me.’ And with this format, with 567Broadway, the way the creator of it teaches, it just feels more inclusive.”

‘YOU DON’T FEEL JUDGED’

She got her certification and started teaching the class on weekends at Body Positive Dance Fitness over the summer. Erin Evans and her sister, Carson Burnham, started the studio in 2023 because they wanted more classes and times for their favorite workouts. They now have 23 instructors and 11 different classes from Zumba to African hip-hop to strength training.

“Even though it’s called dance fitness, it’s not about being a great dancer or even necessarily setting fitness goals,” she said. “It’s much more about moving your body and getting out of your head space and having fun and creating community.”

Evans said Sullivan brings great songs and an even better vibe to her class.

“You can see her loving it,” she said. “It’s her personal energy.”

I was also in school musicals when I was growing up, but I save my performances for my kitchen now. On my wedding day, I was only nervous about my first dance with my husband because I didn’t want to mess up in front of our guests. (By the time we stepped on the dance floor, I was so deliriously happy that the nerves had melted.) But I was feeling inspired after belting the soundtrack to newly released movie adaptation of “Wicked” in my car. So I showed up to 567Broadway on a Sunday morning in December.

Also in the class was Lauren Abrami of Cape Elizabeth. She had been a couple times before and told me she was hooked. She did musical theater in high school and fitness dance classes as an adult. She liked the opportunity to combine the two.

“My wife and I used to live in New York,” Abrami, 41, said. “Going to a Broadway dance class, unless you’re a Broadway dancer, you shouldn’t go.”

But she found a more accessible environment with Sullivan.

“You don’t feel judged or like you even have to know all the steps,” she said.

Andy Brooking was new to the class but not to theater. He came ready in a T-shirt from the musical “The Book of Mormon.” At 18, he loves dancing, tumbling and performing.

“I was a little nervous to show my moves,” he said.

But he did, and he said he would be back. He liked Sullivan’s energy (and her “Cats” T-shirt).

‘GO FULL OUT’

So did I. Sullivan has a personality as bouncy and exuberant as her curls. The class was divided into two sections. In Act I, Sullivan played a handful of songs and led us in basic steps at the front of the room. We sashayed and squatted and spun. We moved to “Bend and Snap” from “Legally Blonde” and “Raise You Up/Just Be” from “Kinky Boots” and “Nowadays/Hot Honey” from “Chicago.” I definitely wasn’t getting every step the first time, but we repeated combinations enough that I could keep up.

“That beat’s going to drop,” Sullivan said as “A Brand New Day” started playing. “Who loves ‘The Wiz’? Here we go! Step, touch.”

In Act II, Sullivan plays one song and teaches the choreography. Sometimes she follows one of Corrella’s routines, and sometimes she makes up her own. She practices in her barn in Cumberland and teaches every dance to her husband Chris before she brings it to the full class. Because it was the last Sunday class before Christmas, Sullivan chose “That Christmas Morning Feeling” from the musical movie “Spirited,” starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.

“When in doubt, shimmer the fingers,” Sullivan told us. “Go full out. I know we’re learning a new combo, so sometimes it’s the instinct to be a little tentative, like, I’m not sure if this is the next step. Worry less about the steps and being all the way here on everything you do even if you’re not sure it’s the right thing. That’s more the energy and the spirit of this number.”

Inclusivity is important to Sullivan. She repeatedly offered modifications and told us to do what felt right. Some added their own flair. (Brooking did a split, something I couldn’t do even when I was 18.) Others stuck to the basic steps. One regular sat in a chair and did only upper body choreography.

“I do want people to feel like even if they didn’t get every step right, even if they didn’t get 20 percent of the steps, or if some of the steps were something their body didn’t feel like doing that day, that they still feel like they can have an amazing time and they can perform,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said developing routines and teaching classes has given her a new confidence.

“I’ve been able to shed a little bit of the imposter syndrome that has been with me my entire life,” she said. “I couldn’t ask those people to trust me with an hour of their time and go up to the front of the room and say, ‘I’m not a real dancer. I’m not a real teacher.’ I couldn’t do that to them. So I have to believe in myself. I have to walk up there and be like, ‘I am a dance teacher right now.'”

As the hour came to an end, Sullivan primed us for our final performance of the class. “It’s opening night,” she said, and everyone cheered.

Her confidence was contagious. I did the Charleston and step-ball-changed and shimmered my fingers. I was also smiling as if I really was on stage. Maybe I’m a dancer after all.

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: 567Broadway: Maine with Lucy Sullivan

WHERE: Body Positive Dance Fitness, 1100 Brighton Ave., Portland

WHEN: The first, third and fifth Sundays of the month at 10 a.m.

HOW MUCH: The first class at Body Positive Dance Fitness is free; the drop-in rate is $18 with punch passes and discounts available.

INFO: Follow @567maine on Instagram. Visit bodypositivedancefitness.com or call 207-536-4617 for more information.

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