This year, the Dreamland Theatre in Rockglen experienced a conversion from a cinema house into a gym and exercise centre.
Station Spin Studio on 103 First Avenue opened on September 19 in Rockglen.
Rockglen is an agricultural community situated close to the U.S. border and located within the Burning Hills of the Wood Mountain Uplands.
Close to South Central Saskatchewan’s gorgeous Badlands and grasslands, Rockglen is 54.2 kilometres south of Assiniboia on Highway 2.
“We opened last Saturday,” said owner and manager Devyn Ellert during a tour of the studio on Sept. 26. “We’re going to be doing yoga too,” she added, explaining the gym will offer Vinyasa and Yin Yoga.
For the uninitiated, Vinyasa is a style of yoga described as threading postures together – the exerciser fluently moves from one movement to another using breathing techniques. Vinyasa is sometimes referred to as flow yoga.
Yin Yoga is characterized as slow-paced and is sourced from traditional Chinese medicine, with asanas (postures) held for longer periods of time compared to other variations of yoga.
Ellert trained as a yoga instructor through Outbound Yoga – a school based in Calgary.
COVID-19 influenced restrictions on Saskatchewan and the rest of the country since the early spring of 2020. In reference to the pandemic, Station Spin Studio adheres to polices connected with halting the spread of COVID-19. “We’re working within the guidelines right now with sanitizing,” Ellert said, adding “We’ve got a substantial set of rules that we follow. Social distancing guidelines are respected at the studio. Instructors wear masks and clients are encouraged to do so as well until class begins. All clients are screened for COVID-19 every time they attend a class before they are permitted to enter. While we’re excited about our business, safety is our primary concern.”
Ellert conceived her fitness studio back in January, but initially had difficulties in sourcing the right place to establish her new business in Rockglen. In May, she found her ‘dream’ location at the Dreamland Theatre.
“I started thinking about it in January. I was looking at a different building and this came up,” Ellert said as she described Station Spin Studio’s evolution from an idea to a reality.
“The theatre was privately owned then went back to the town and was put up for tender,” Ellert narrated. “And we put an offer in. We got it for a fairly good price, but we had to do a lot of work on it.”
Ellert, her mother-in-law Shannon Carey-Ellert and other members of the family helped with the theatre’s renovations, particularly when everyone assisted with fixing the roof. Also, the coffee shop and the rental space inside the building required some restoration labour before the gym opened.
Constructed in 1949 and opened in 1950, Dreamland Theatre is an iconic building in Rockglen. “It’s kind of a historical landmark. We wanted to keep it going,” Ellert recounted.
Walking through the cinema, a visitor can imagine waves of hot-buttered popcorn drifting up the aisle in a dark-lit hall filled with fold-away seats.
The exercise bikes are situated under the theatre’s massive screen. Although the theatre still has a projector, movies won’t be shown inside Station Spin Studio at this time. However, Ellert, who grew up in Willow Bunch, remembered the Dreamland Theatre when the building functioned as a movie house for the region.
“I can remember watching Toy Story 2 here. My husband saw Titanic.”
Although movies likely won’t be shown, Ellert hoped to screen televised sports events at the theatre, such as the Super Bowl or the Grey Cup. Ellert also wanted to feature live music on Dreamland’s stage.
However, Station Spin Studio’s principle focus is to get everyone in South Central Saskatchewan exercising together, regardless of their fitness levels – the emphasis at this studio is inclusivity when exercising.
“A lot of people have been surprised with what they can accomplish. People are excited about coming back,” Ellert said. “Anyone of any ability or age can exercise here with us,” she added.
The general response to Station Spin Studio in the early stages after opening have been positive.
People from Coronach, Willow Bunch, Fife Lake and other communities have been spinning together in a COVID-friendly manner at the gym since Station Spin Studio opened in late September with classes continuing to fill this autumn.
“So far, there are full classes all the time,” Ellert affirmed. “All of October is waitlisted.”
Anyone interested in future openings can find the weekly schedules for classes on the Mindbody mobile phone app.
“Classes are usually on Saturday and Sunday mornings along with weekday afternoons and evenings, but it changes day by day – it depends on the instructors’ availability,” Ellert said.
Many of the studio’s instructors also have fulltime jobs, such as Ellert, who is employed as a pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart in Assiniboia.
Drop-in classes at Station Spin Studio are priced at $17, but packages over longer periods are available at lower accumulative costs.
Ellert also discussed why she enjoyed life in Rockglen.
“It’s a community that a lot of young people are coming back to and that’s exciting. It’s also a very artsy community.”
