A 22-year-old who spent years in the back row of her local fitness classes has become the first person with Down syndrome certified to teach them, and her first class drew more than 60 people.
Aubry Alldredge, of Kaysville, Utah, is now a certified UpBeat Barre instructor, and she was already doing most of the job for free.
She has been going to classes at her local gym for years, working through Zumba, dance, HIGH Fitness, Pilates and SilverSneakers before settling on barre as the favorite.
“I want to help everyone feel good, and I love to wear a mic, and I love showing options,” Aubry told KSL.
Her mentor Jane Johnson, an UpBeat Barre instructor and co-owner, had noticed the pattern long before anyone made it official.
“Aubry has come to our classes for years, and even sometimes she’ll turn around and teach the class because she knows the choreography really well,” Johnson said.
“She has an incredible brain. Aubry can learn choreography so fast, and she retains it,” she said. “She also knows all the lyrics to the songs, so she can sing along with the best of them.”
Then came the first class of her own, with a full room in front of her.
“I had such a fun time,” Aubry said. “I love to be on stage. I love exercise. I loved to wear my mic and say every cue, and I love to meet with people and collecting friends. I want to help everyone feel included.”
Johnson said the gym is now working to get her installed as an official instructor in Kaysville, which lines up with what UpBeat Barre says it is trying to be.
“Finding ways to be inclusive has been one of our missions,” Johnson said. “We were just delighted when Aubry wanted to be an instructor because she holds those values.”
Teaching is not the only thing she has taken on. Aubry wrote a children’s book with her sisters called “I Have a Six Pack,” a play on words about her six rescue dogs. It is aimed at getting more dogs adopted, and at showing what people with Down syndrome can do.
“I love to be with people, and there was a full crowd,” she said of her first class.
