The Dogpatch just got a little bit more bustle with the debut of Dogpatch Dance & Yoga, which held its grand opening this past Sunday, October 2nd.
The new studio at 435 23rd St. offers a mix of classes, which studio owner and director Kafi Payne says can best be described by what footwear—or lack thereof—they require.
“You’re either barefoot or you’re in sneakers or you’re in heels. So we have a hip-hop class, lots of Beyonce on the playlist. We have a twerk class, we have a kind of urban burlesque class, African dance…” Payne lists. The class lineup is indeed diverse, ranging from yoga to bellydance to rollerdance with Richard Humphrey.
Payne has spent her career in education, and came into the dance and yoga world as an adult.
“It wasn’t about being a professional dancer and auditioning. It was just to destress after really long days," she says. "I love those spaces for adult dancers and adult yogis where it’s about finding joy in movement and finding just your own happiness and peace through movement."
Payne says she has made a point of bringing on many instructors who are self-taught.
The 3,500-square-foot studio is located in an old molasses factory on the second floor of a storage building. Payne says that history is exactly the kind of thing that inspired her to choose the Dogpatch.
“There are some places where you see this molasses that is decades old. So I love that kind of industrial history,” Payne says. “What’s really interesting about the Dogpatch is the transformation of it being really industrial, where there weren’t residents, to this place that has this growing residential population. It’s just really fascinating to me.”
The space also has a view of the Bay.
“When I saw it, with the big windows and the light coming in and the view of the water, and just the energy of the space, it just screamed movement. People needed to be dancing and moving and stretching and feeling peaceful in that room,” Payne says.
To check it out for yourself, take a look at the new studio's class schedule here.
