Hi, I’m Gabriela.
I co-founded Hipline with my sister in 2008, and I’ve been running it on my own since 2021.
Born in the Bay to Lebanese and Peruvian immigrants, I wanted to create a space that provided a sense of belonging for people like me, a bi-racial, white-passing, cis-woman, and people who were nothing like me.
I had no “formal” dance training. I had a background in biology and Holistic Health, and I worked in food science. But dance had always been present in my life. From rocking out at home to Arabic music, Spanish music, Edith Piaf, or The Rolling Stones, to the many nights spent dancing in cages at the Sound Factory in SF or Oakland’s very own Home Base, the dance floor was always a happy place. Even when it wasn’t. It’s where folks could gather and release joy, anger, pain...
Where barriers were broken down, albeit temporarily.
I wanted to create a space where you could access that feeling anytime.
And so, Hipline was born (it started off as a belly dancing school, but that’s another story).
From there, something magical happened. Because the space was inclusive, those of us who have often been pushed to the margins felt seen, held, and welcome. And with every new body that joined us on the dance floor, Hipline’s reason for being expanded.
The original focus had been to create a space where women felt comfortable in their bodies, and I think we succeeded at that. But over time, I’ve grown more aware of the overlapping systems of oppression (racism, ableism, fat phobia, to name but a few) that bear down on our everyday lives, relegating certain communities towards exclusion.
So the purview of Hipline has grown. Yes, we are a dance and fitness studio and we champion self-love and acceptance (voted Best of The Bay three years in a row). But we also offer a space for building and strengthening allyship. There are many stories that co-exist on this dancefloor, and together they create a united movement, involving people who might not have come together anywhere else.
When I set out on this adventure, I did not yet know about the power of dance as a form of resistance. And as injustice and bigotry run rampant in this country and abroad, resistance is so central to me, personally.
Throughout the years, I’ve been fortunate to receive the help of many BIPOC and white allies I’ve worked with, so that I may continue to forge a brave space to support more bodies at every level of this organization.
The plan is to keep inviting marginalized voices to the dancefloor and to keep using dance to amplify voices of resistance and hope.
We come together to move in harmony, but we also come together to learn how to show up for one another.
For the longest time, I thought I was a business owner.
It turns out, I’m also a community-builder, and I wear that badge with pride.
One of my favorite places to build community remains the dance floor, where I get to let my hair down while I teach Shimmy or Power Pop, riding on the high of the energy that’s created in those moments.
I am so grateful to all those willing to share this journey with me, so find me on our class schedule so we can Shimmy it out together!
Peace,
Gabriela