Jazzercise

Jazzercise shows people how to shake their booties toward fitness. A leading fitness instruction operator, the company has more than 7,800 franchised instructors across the US and in more than 30 countries offering some 32,000 weekly fitness classes that blend jazz dancing with an aerobic workout. Jazzercise generates revenue through franchise fees, as well as the sale of clothing, books, and other merchandise. The company's JM DigitalWorks unit produces Jazzercise workout tapes and provides video production services to other clients. Its Jazzertogs division offers fitness apparel and accessories. CEO Judi Sheppard Missett, a professional dancer, founded Jazzercise in 1969 and began franchising in 1980.

Jazzercise, Inc. is the world's leading franchiser of dance and fitness classes. The company pioneered its own brand of dance-based exercise routines. These are taught by certified Jazzercise instructors across the United States and in Europe, Japan, and Latin America. The company has over 5,000 franchises, and an estimated 450,000 students worldwide. Franchisees pay a nominal start-up fee to the company, and then 20 percent of gross revenues monthly. Founder Judi Sheppard Missett choreographs new routines approximately every ten weeks. The company also produces videos, music recordings, and other educational materials, as well as a computer-based CyberStretch program that aims to prevent repetitive stress injuries among office workers. The company's retail division sells exercise wear, accessories, and items bearing the Jazzercise logo. The division sells primarily through a mail-order catalog. Jazzercise also operates a video production division, JM DigitalWorks, which produces Jazzercise videos and also does videotape production, post-production, and duplicating work for hundreds of other clients.