Watch Our Exclusive Interview With Adam Anthony
Meet The Royal Peacock
What do you call the youngest of 5 children, that is a classically trained musician with an MBA, a welcoming personality, a great aura and who has a passion and amazing talent for dance? You call him Adam Anthony: The Royal Peacock.
The Baby Peacock
Adam was born in Cleveland but soon after he was born they moved to Florida were he grew up. As a young child he had many role models to inspire him.
His parents, natives of Puerto Rico, are a talented and musical couple according to Adam. This musical talent is something they passed down to their children. As the youngest of 5 children, he was surrounded by parties and lively family gatherings filled with music, song and of course dance! These experiences heightened his awareness and love of music and at the age of 10 he started studying the saxophone.
He continued to study music for more than a decade, majoring in Classical Musical Performance at FIU/Miami. Recognizing that making a good living in music might be difficult, Adam switched his major to business. Little did he know how much a background and business would help him later on in life when ideas about opening a dance studio started percolating in his mind.
In the meantime, while at FIU he took some dance classes and his instructor took notice of his innate talent and encouraged Adam to pursue dance. While he was flattered, he decided to continue his studies in business. Nevertheless, that class he took, just because, lit the flame that would later fuel his talent and his passion for dance. Eventually the need and the desire to dance put him back on a creative path and The Royal Peacock Studio became part of Adam’s story.
The Royal Peacock Studio: Dance Without Judgement
When Adam Anthony decided to open The Royal Peacock Studio the idea he had in mind was to combine two of his passions: dance and fitness. He already had experience teaching group fitness in many formats and dance too, but he wanted to innovate his teaching and engineer something that was wholly his. “My purpose was to offer adults a unique way to achieve their wellness goals”, says Adam. This idea became a cornerstone of The Royal Peacock’s foundation.
Unlike other gyms and dance studios, where everyone seems to be an expert and newbies tend to feel uncomfortable because of their inexperience, The Royal Peacock Studio was designed for all levels of knowledge in the art of dance and physical exercise. Adam affirms he wanted a place where “everyone could move and groove without any judgement and feel welcomed despite any lack of experience or training“.
This was important to him because except for those dance classes he took at FIU many years ago, Adam has no formal dance training, none, zero, zip! He wants people to know that he is like other newbies or persons inexperienced in dance; he is just a man that loves to dance, but that he is not a professional dancer. If he can do it, he knows other people can do it too, they can come and dance without judgement.
Based on his success so far, it seems his plans have been working just fine. With less than a year since the studio opened in August of 2021, the studio’s classes are very popular. Wednesday’s Hip Hop class is one of the most popular. On Wednesday it is a packed house, full of energy, great music and lots of great energetic dancing.
The First Friday of every month Adam hosts a Girls Night Out (GNO) Heels Class where anyone, regardless of gender, can come and learn to be sexy dancing in a set of heels; “Or not”, Adam shares, explaining that heels are welcome but not obligatory. The GNO class offers people a different way to indulge in the art of movement with music. Dancers are encouraged to leave their insecurities at the door, let their hair down and have lots of fun. At the end, the class commemorates another great evening of dancing with friends with a champagne toast.
Meet the King Behind Oakland Park's Royal Peacock Dance Studio
Adam’s business has nothing to do with math, but The Royal Peacock Studio is a perfect equation: exercising plus dancing or dancing plus exercising, however you want to look at it, equals having fun – lots of it, actually! The equation works because Adam knew that he needed offer more than conventional dance classes to attract people to the studio, “It’s not just a brick-and-mortar facility for in-person classes. We welcome all bodies and skills levels, with virtual options for those with busy schedules and out of the area. And most importantly, a resource for choreography”, he explains.
Choreography is the key to the freedom that Adam offers to his students in the studio space. If you’re thinking about the basics of two steps right and two steps left, forget it. The choreography of each class is much more exciting. The classes not only take your mind off of every day challenges, make your body move and burn calories, they make you have so much fun you don’t even realize you’re getting a great workout while at the same time perfecting your dance moves.
Girls Night Out, Rise & Grind 45, Core30, TurboMAX, HipHop, Inc!, WERK!, VOGUE 101 and Spotlight Series are just a few of the classes. The names of the classes alone area hint that what you are in for is not your conventional dance or fitness class.
When he turns the music on it takes over and forms the basis for the choreography and the fun that comes with it. Music is what commands his work. As Adam says, music has been the most influential aspect of his past and present, “The concepts and foundation for all classes I offer are driven by the music. It’s the jumping off point”, he affirms.
From Zero to The King of Choreography
As previous mentioned, Adam has no professional training in dance. “I took a few classes in college for fun. While living in California, I took a few adult classes, not much different than what I offer here now. I came across an opportunity to teach fitness classes, started to meld in dance and choreography classes, quickly became the ‘King of Choreography’ by the hundreds of students I’ve met over the years”.
Now embarking on this exciting and challenging journey of owning a business Adam shares that he has had his share of challenges but he is learning to overcome them. To hear Adam talk about the challenges he has faced as well as the joys of being the King of Choreography and owner of The Royal Peacock Studio, check out our interview with Adam himself at the top of the article.
Who Can Benefit From the Royal Treatment?
According to Adam, The Royal Peacock Studio professional women in their 30s-50s that Adam defines as “The use-to-be, the gotta-be, and the wanna-be dancer”, are his main clientele, but he wants to underscore that the studio welcomes people of all ages and genders.
To diversify its range of services, the studio has recently started to offer go-to choreography services for weddings, couples, bridal parties, Quinceañeras and Sweet 16s, flashmobs, music videos and other community events.
In April The Royal Peacock Studio participated in Dancing in The Street, the community event held by the City of Oakland Park on NE 12 Avenue. Adam and his royal retinue will also be performing at the Pride Parade this year in Wilton Manors.
As the Royal Peacock grows you can expect much more from Adam, so keep your eye out for those bright peacock feathers.
Follow the Peacock's Lead
Adam Anthony grew up surrounded by music and dance. While found he had a passion for both arts, he followed a secure path in life. But the call of the music was too loud and Adam eventually had to answer it.
Answering the call led him to discover he was innately talented in dance. In fact, he found out he was so talented it earned him the sobriquet of the King of Choreography. Eventually Adam opened the Royal Peacock Studio to inspire others to follow their heart and do what they love. So if you used-to-be, gotta-be or wanna-be a dancer follow Adam’s lead because he is going places!
