Dancing Through Life

In a live/work unit at ICCF’s Steepleview Apartments, one entrepreneur is helping clients find a healthy groove.

At Strong Dance, clients are asked to arrive in comfortable clothes, ready to sweat. In return, they receive personalized encouragement and training in a well-provisioned, comfortable, judgment-free zone. The business is owned and operated by Lewis Richards, who functions as part personal trainer, part dance instructor. When Lewis is closing his studio for the day, he exits through a back door that leads directly to his one-bedroom apartment at Steepleview, an ICCF multifamily development. The live/work setup allows him to fully embrace his mission to educate, create, and inspire people to healthier, happier lives through fitness and dance.

Lewis is an accomplished athlete with years of training. “But on the inside, I’m just this nerdy kid who likes to dance,” he said with a smile. At 15 years old, Lewis accepted a girl’s invitation to dance class in the hopes of getting a date. Instead of leading to a romantic relationship, Lewis found himself falling in love with the elegant movement and physical challenge of dance. Even when his classmate stopped attending, Lewis knew it would be a part of his life forever.

After high school, Lewis dreamed of studying dance in New York City and returning to teach youth. He worked in a variety of positions in West Michigan, including gigs as a personal trainer and dance teacher. Lewis found that many of his dance students were interested in strength training and many of his fitness clients wanted to look better on the dance floor. He recognized an opportunity to merge the two worlds and open his own business, inspired by his aunt’s legacy.

“My aunt was a personal trainer and a strong woman,” said Lewis. “She really loved to dance, and when she passed, I realized she would have wanted something better for me.” Lewis started dreaming of a dance/fitness studio near the popular Wealthy Street business corridor with its salons, shops, and restaurants. He began searching with the help of a realtor, who quickly pointed out that area would be far outside of his price range. Frustrated, Lewis realized he was right. After a few weeks of being disappointed by sky-high costs, a friend recommended that he investigate Steepleview. It’s been a perfect match ever since, as the business celebrates its third anniversary in the space this spring.

Strong Dance occupies one of six live/work units at Steepleview, which contains a total of 65 apartments, a community space and kids’ room, and onsite parking. Opened in early 2020, the building earned LEED Silver designation for sustainability efforts and also includes affordable housing for formerly homeless youth in partnership with Bethany Christian Services. The income-based units help ensure neighbors who would otherwise be priced out of the neighborhood can help contribute to its vibrancy, warmth, and success.

The live/work units also provide a unique opportunity to support local entrepreneurs whose businesses enrich the community. The connected commercial storefronts have 700-900 square feet of retail, service, or active office space. The space is designed to allow business owners to thrive at home and in their work without having to choose between one or the other.

Lewis finds joy and strength in movement, and he wants his clients to do the same. “My priorities have always been people first, product second, price third,” said Lewis. He tailors his programs to a client’s specific desire for anything from fitness boot camp, to ballroom dancing, to joint mobility training. Lewis encourages his clients to make their own dreams a reality, reminding them that hard work will be rewarded. And for Lewis, it has been.

“My passion is to help people ‘dance through life,’ remaining strong even through hurt and pain,” said Lewis. He recognizes that his clients

Strong Dance

Lewis Richards strongdance525@gmail.com

walk through the doors of Strong Dance carrying many burdens. Eventually, they learn to bear them better through the self-confidence, strength, and grace they learn from Lewis.

“We’re all on a journey. We have to believe that we can be strong people in the midst of all the struggle,” said Lewis. “The question is, are we willing to dance through it?”