Launch date: 18 July 2022
We first visited Transform House, the new home of Green & Blue Studios, in February. It was a Sunday and blustery, memorable as it was the last gusts of Storm Eunice that were moving the trees that day. Fortunately, the storm that was about to descend on our family was an exciting one, not the sort that flattens fences.
The last few months have been a blur. Anabel has been planning to open a studio for years, decades even, but there’s a big difference between planning it and actually doing it. Well, the studio still looks a mess, but most of the big pieces of work are done and the preparations are entering their final stages. We can finally announce that we’ll be opening our doors to the public on 18 July 2022.
So, what is left to do? Starting at the top of the building, Studio 2 is almost complete. Studio 2 is for smaller groups of 10 or 15 people. It’s a multipurpose studio and it’s where we’ll be holding most of our yoga and barre classes. We’ve fitted flooring from Harlequin, which anyone who has had any contact with the dance world is sure to know. It’s hardwearing and also means we can run dance classes if we choose to a later date. We’ve laid the flooring over some existing wood block parquet which was too damaged to use but has left a great warm, insulated effect, keeping the heat in and the sound from Studio 1, below, out. It’s important to keep the heat in because we’ll be holding our hot yoga classes in Studio 2. We’ve also added some some insulation to the exterior walls and are just waiting for the heaters to be fitted now.
From Studio 2, double doors open onto a mezzanine balcony overlooking our aerial studio. The aerial rig (6 points) will be fitted next week by High Performance Productions. With aerial dance, safety is paramount and High Performance are really the only option for a serious studio. Their clients include the Royal Albert Hall, Cirque du Soleil and the English National Opera, so we’ll be in very good company. Once that’s done, we just need to paint and fit the flooring.
On the ground floor, a glass wall with double sliding doors separates the Aerial Studio from Studio 1. At almost 800 sq. ft (72m2), Studio 1 is bigger than some of the units we considered renting in the past. There’s still a bit of work to do, it’s another multipurpose room which will have ceiling supports for aerial yoga and hoop plus straps and rings for callisthenics and bodyweight training. We plan to fit rubber gym flooring so we can run classes with weights or kettle bells. And we’ll have a mirror wall for activities that require perfect form. Apart from that, it needs some paint and a new lighting system.
We’re really happy about the lounge area, too. We want it to be a lovely relaxing space to chill, chat with friends and fellow members, and rest after a good class. Last week we added some big windows into one of the internal lounge walls which means that parents can sit and drink coffee while they watch their kids in the aerial studio below. As we finish each of the areas we’ll share some pictures on our social media accounts so don’t forget to follow us if you don’t already.
Lots more news to follow over the coming weeks. We hope you’re as excited as we are about the July 18th!