For Adrienne Fleming, the most significant investment she's ever made didn't happen in a bank. It happened on a dance floor.
Growing up in New Jersey, Adrienne danced seven days a week. “It was my life, my obsession,” she tells Westport Lifestyle. “Not just dance, but the studio environment. I love movement, but I also am really passionate about sharing the experience in a room with people. That group fitness dynamic where there's an energy in the room, the music is amazing and you're feeding off each other? I thrive on that.” Yet, like many, she eventually took the so-called “practical" route, studying at Vanderbilt University and moving into a career in finance in New York City. Though she found a temporary “home” by teaching Barre on nights and weekends, the dream of creating something of her own remained on the back burner. “I remember there was one crossroads where I was looking for a new job and I said, if I don't get this job, I'm going to go into fitness full time. I ended up getting that job.”
Then, in 2023, the unimaginable happened. Her husband died suddenly, leaving her a widow and a solo parent to three young boys.
“I completely stopped moving,” Adrienne recalls. “I felt like a sheet of glass. If I put any stress on my body, I would shatter.”
The catalyst for her return was a 40th birthday dance class, organized by persistent friends. Through tears, Adrienne felt a spark. “Something inside me was waking up and reminding me: You love this. This is part of you.”
Adrienne had a choice: let grief define her or bet on the dream she had carried since youth. She chose the latter. Today, her popular dance cardio, strength, and sculpt classes—held at Dance on the DL in Darien and The Spot at JD in Norwalk—are a tight-knit community built on resilience. Her story is a testament to the idea that there is no "perfect time.” The right time is when you show up for yourself.
Westport Lifestyle: You’ve said the circumstances of starting your business made "no sense" on paper. How did you find the mindset to begin?
Adrienne Fleming: I was 40, a very recent widow, and figuring out how to be a solo parent to three little boys. I was broken and lost, but I also felt a deep pull toward this dream. When I slowly started moving my body again after months of horrible grief, a tiny glimmer lit up that felt like the "old me." I latched onto that feeling like a lifeline. I felt this deep need to create and choreograph—and to face the fear that it was "too late." After this event changed my life, I didn't care what anyone thought anymore. I released self-consciousness and said, ‘Life is short. I want to prove to myself I can do this.’
WL: Once you made that decision, how did you keep going?
AF: In the summer of 2023, I contacted Dance on the DL and asked to rent the studio every Monday and Wednesday [that fall]. I knew if I just did a one-off class, I’d check the box and let weeks go by. I needed momentum. I practiced around the clock all summer, choreographing and figuring out the right level of difficulty. I was so nervous during my first class, I was shaking; I swear I almost fell over when the music started. But then I just kept showing up again and again and again until it started to feel fluid.
WL: From those first few sessions, your business exploded. Was that growth intentional or organic?
AF: It was very organic. For the first eight months, I didn't even post on Instagram. I was slowly healing through my classes and finding myself; I wasn’t ready to "put myself out there." It was all word of mouth. Eventually, I launched a website and finally posted a reel while on spring break with my kids. By the time I got home, all my classes for the following week were sold out. Now, we have three additional instructors and 13 classes a week. What this has turned into is beyond my wildest dreams.
WL: You’ve built a fiercely devoted following. What do you think draws these women to your studio every day?
AF: The energy. There are no egos in my classes; people are genuinely excited to be there. I see friendships forming, and these women have become my friends, too. We're all here raising our kids in the same community. We have a special bond. There are some mornings I’ve cried my eyes out before class, and I know I’m not the only one showing up on hard days smiling while feeling down inside. Movement is a mood lifter that releases happy hormones. It is healing, uplifting, and powerful. Sharing that experience with other women speaks to my soul. I just want everyone to walk out of my class feeling energized, confident, and connected to their bodies and to each other.
WL: How do you personally gauge the success of your business?
AF: Every day, I wash all the towels from class—and I never, ever get annoyed by that task. Sure, it can be tedious, but every towel represents a woman who showed up that day to work out with me and I take that privilege very seriously. So many women have told me that they have never been this consistent with any workout before. That’s not just because of the incredible results, but because this movement accesses femininity, emotion, and connection to self. That feeling is addictive.
WL: What do you hope your three boys take away from watching their mother build this from scratch?
AF: I want them to learn resilience and the importance of finding passion in your work. My boys and I have been through something tragic, but they see that every morning I get up and do what I love. I also love that I can be there when their bus gets home and be at their games on the weekends. It is special that I can do both.
WL: What do you believe ultimately gave you the push to pursue this path?
AF: Grief changes you on a cellular level. There's not one second that I take any of this for granted. It freed me from many binds I put myself in. I said, ‘I'm going to be me, I'm just going to do this thing I love.’ If it turns into something amazing, great, and if it doesn’t, I’ll be content because at least I tried. I realized there isn't always a tomorrow. You just have to go for it. I told myself for so many years I wasn't good enough, I was too old, the ship had sailed, or I couldn't compete with other people in the industry. Finally, I decided: I’m not competing with anybody. This is my heart and soul. It's such a big part of who I am. I don't even know where this class begins and I end. It’s all one and the same.
For more information about Adrienne’s classes, visit adrienne-fleming.com