Daily Inspiration: Meet Debbie Klinker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Klinker.

Hi Debbie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In March of 2023, I attended a pop-up dance fitness class in our small town. We had things like Jazzercise, but we didn’t really have anything like the popular cardio dance fitness specifically for adults. I took that class, loved it, and just knew somebody was eventually going to bring something like that to our county so I could keep taking classes and stay active as I got older.

A year went by, and no one brought it here.

So at 44 years old, I decided I was going to become a dance fitness instructor myself, which was completely out of my comfort zone. Even though I liked to dance, I had no structured dance background at all. I wasn’t a dancer, a cheerleader, or a musical kid. This was something totally new for me.

At first, I started with a company and worked under their brand. But about six months in, I realized I wanted to create something of my own because I could see changes I wanted to make within our dance community. What started as a part-time thing on the side quickly became something much bigger. I really started reading the room in our classes and paying attention to what our community was looking for and what they needed.

That’s when I created my own brand.

Last July, I launched Dance Werk Fitness with Debbie. At that point, I was still just renting space in two different locations in the community, with no real intention of it becoming anything more than that. Then in August, I came across a space in Bellefontaine. It wasn’t ideal for a dance studio. The location was good, but the space itself was small and definitely not what most people would picture for a studio. Still, I decided to take the leap and turn that not-quite-perfect space into a dance fitness studio.

Very quickly, I realized this was becoming about much more than dance classes.

It was becoming a community.

It was becoming a space for women in Bellefontaine and throughout Logan County to come together and have an outlet where they felt safe, encouraged, supported, and never judged. It became a place that offered something not only for physical health, but for mental health too.

Very early on, I started getting messages from women after class telling me things I never expected to hear, about what these classes were doing for them, how they were helping them, and what this space meant in their lives.

That’s really where all of this has grown from.

What started as one piece of my own health journey has turned into creating the kind of space that so many women, including myself, truly need. And it just continues to grow.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. It’s been challenging. I’m still a mother, wife and I work full-time as a nurse, so trying to make this a priority and give it the time it deserves has not always been easy. But seeing what this has done for other women has been incredibly motivating and has kept me moving forward.

When we decided to move forward with the studio and start renovations, I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t really know what I was doing. Like I said, I’m a nurse, I have a clinical mind. A business mind is not something I had ever really developed. Taking on the role of project leader and remodeling a space was very challenging for me.

Thankfully, I had a very strong support system. They not only helped keep me going, but they also lifted me up during the moments when I felt overwhelmed and questioned whether this was the right decision.

Then, about six weeks after we opened the studio, I experienced another unexpected challenge. I suffered an injury that required extensive surgery; a full ACL and meniscus repair and I’m still currently rehabbing from that. It was definitely not part of the plan, especially so early in the studio’s journey.

But something really special happened during that time.

The studio shifted from being centered around me as the only instructor to becoming something much bigger. We began adding instructors, and the studio truly became a team effort. Now, just six months after opening, we have nine instructors including myself.

They have kept the studio going.
They have kept the momentum alive.
And most importantly, they have preserved the culture and environment that we worked so hard to build.

Even while I’ve been out rehabbing, they’ve continued to create the same welcoming, encouraging space that I envisioned from the beginning and honestly, that’s when I truly realized this was never just about me. It was about building something bigger than one person.

And that’s exactly what Dance Werk Fitness has become.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve been a nurse for 22 years, so when it comes to the dance studio, it’s been a very short journey but one that has been incredibly meaningful to me. What I envisioned our studio becoming is exactly what it is today: a place where women can come and not feel judged, no matter their reason for walking through the door.

Some women come for weight loss.
Some come for social interaction.
Some come just to escape the everyday stresses of life.

Whatever their reason is, we celebrate it. We’re just happy they’re there.

Personally, I do get overwhelmed at times trying to balance my full-time career, being a mother, and continuing to grow the studio. I’m constantly leveling up, adding new classes, making improvements, renovating spaces, and creating the best possible environment for the women who come through our doors. But when I step back and look at what this community has become, I know every bit of it is worth it. It’s never been about “me.” It’s always been about “us.”

The most rewarding part has been hearing the stories. Women are bringing their friends and family. They’re telling me this is the best decision they’ve ever made. I’ve had women who have never danced a day in their life tell me their only regret is not starting sooner. They’re now prioritizing themselves and scheduling this time for self-care and not letting anything take it away.

Many of these women have shared that they never had the confidence to walk into a dance/group fitness class before. They worried about being judged, for how they looked, how they dressed, or what their bodies could or couldn’t do. Knowing that we’re providing a space where they feel safe, encouraged, and uplifted by other women in our community is what truly sets our studio apart.

Early on, I thought I wanted a bigger studio so we could fit more people since we were selling out classes. But then I realized something important, I didn’t want bigger classes. I wanted connection.

I want to say hello to every person as they walk in.
I want to speak to them as they leave.
I want them to feel seen and valued.

So instead of growing bigger, we chose to grow smarter. We added more classes and kept our class sizes smaller so we could preserve that close-knit community.

Because at the end of the day, we want every woman who walks through those doors to feel safe, supported, and encouraged and most importantly, we want them to come back because of how they felt during that very first class.

When we started out we just offered dance fitness class. We have recently added a step fitness class and will be adding a strength class this summer.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
This has never been an individual journey. While the idea started in my head, I would never be where I am today without the people who supported me from the very beginning. Many of those same women are now instructors right beside me today.

They believed in me when I didn’t have a plan, when I truly didn’t know what I was doing. They didn’t come to my classes because I was the best dancer. They came because of how they felt in the class. They came because of the environment we were building together, and they wanted to be part of that.

They stuck with me from the very beginning. There are too many to list individually, but they know exactly who they are because I tell them all the time: this has never been about me. This has always been about us, about what we can build together.

The only thing I’ll take credit for is being the ringleader, the one who initiated the idea and helped guide it forward. But this would never be what it is today without the people who supported me from the start. They showed up for classes, helped with merchandising, stuck with me when I rebranded, and when it came time to open the studio, they jumped in however they could. Their husbands helped. Their families helped. And they continue to show up and support the studio to this day.

I would never want to take full credit for this, because it has always been a team effort. Our dance community continues to come together time and time again whenever there’s a need. Not just for the studio, but for things outside of the studio too. When someone needs help, our dance community shows up.

And that’s what I want us to be known for.

Not just as a dance studio but as a community that supports, encourages, and lifts each other up both on and off the dance floor. It’s so much more than a dance class.

One person that inspires our dance studio daily is Jeff Weber. He has a saying that says “Get up and Go!” We loved it so much that we had a mural of it painted on our wall in our studio so we can see it every day and remind us that even on the days we don’t want to that we NEED TO….GET UP AND GO!

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