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People on the Move: Ann Yokum
06/27/2008 - By Beth Burke
High-kicking spirit
Seeing Ann Yocum, the youthful, energetic owner of Colts Neck Hot Yoga, walk confidently around her studio, you’d never know that she just completed 2 weeks of stem cell treatments to avoid her second hip replacement in 9 years. The trip to Colorado, which she views as a “medical vacation,” was just the latest in a series of adventures for this world-famous Rockette.
Ann grew up in the Edison area, and says that her first love was ballet – not tap. Her interest in dance developed around age 11, and once she got “the bug” she was in the studio 7 days a week; she danced her way right into a scholarship to the famed Joffrey Ballet School (in New York City) at age 12! In high school, Ann’s talent branched out to musical comedy and theater. She subsequently attended Butler University in Indiana as a dance major; however, 2 years later she became impatient with school and headed back east to “stop wasting time and start auditioning.”
Her gamble of leaving school paid off when she got a job with the Finnan American Show, a dance company that performed in Japan, Egypt, and throughout Europe. Soon after that, Ann began singing, modeling, doing commercial work, night club shows, and even performing on a TV variety show in Athens, Greece. Though the money overseas wasn’t great, Ann thrived on the crazy lifestyle. “As long as I had enough to eat I didn’t mind the travel or the work. I just loved it!” When she came back to the States, Tony Award-winning choreographer Susan Stroman hired her for a ”Great Performances” show (aired on PBS), celebrating Steven Sondheim’s music. She also danced at Carnegie Hall with Broadway icons like Liza Minnelli and Bernadette Peters, her favorite memory, but her most noteworthy job was yet to come.
In 1993, Ann made it through the grueling audition for the The Rockettes’ 60th anniversary tour, where she was required to perform ballet, tap, and jazz dances, as well as sing. She credits her previous experience and ability to learn quickly under pressure as the key to landing that job. “I basically learned how to tap when I became a Rockette!” The show toured 77 cities in one year; she was required to dance and sing in eight numbers in each of eight shows per week, and her one day off was usually spent traveling. When the show was sold to the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, the weekly schedule increased to 12 shows. Anxious to get back to New York, Ann returned to kick up her heels with 35 other dancers in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, but the next twist in her life began 2 weeks before the end of the 1995 season. Injured during a number that left her with torn hip cartilage, Ann danced through the pain and finished out the season; unfortunately, the damage had been done, forcing her to retire in the prime of her career. Four years later, at age 41, she had her hip replaced and began wondering about her next move.
After moving to Ocean Grove, Ann got her answer when she began taking yoga classes at Colts Neck Hot Yoga as part of her recovery. This therapy was just what she needed to regain her lost strength and flexibility. She quickly became as impassioned with yoga as she had with dance and began teaching yoga classes; ultimately, in 2005, she bought the studio. Since then she’s added specialized yoga classes and has come full circle by teaching adult ballet classes.
When she’s not running the studio, Ann still sings, and is scheduled to perform in some local restaurants near the Jersey Shore this summer. With her free-wheeling spirit, she continues to inspire and entertain everyone around her.
STATS
Favorite restaurant: Market in the Middle, Asbury Park
Favorite music: Rock ’n Roll (Beatles, Janis Joplin, Rolling Stones, etc.) and standards/jazz
Favorite Movie: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Pet peeve: people who are negative and can't see the lighter side of life
Three people you would like to have dinner with: my good friend Magdalena,
who I haven’t seen in 25 years, my dad, who I miss dearly, and a tall, dark, handsome man who is easy-going, comfortable with himself, and gets a kick out of life…like me!
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