Meredith Shumway is a professional ballerina who started her studies under Ballet Master Maggie Black and later continued her training with The Kirov Academy of Ballet and The American Ballet Theater. She was born and raised in Southampton and has made a significant impact on the fitness communities of the Hamptons and New York City. With over 16 years of experience in training clients privately and in the group fitness industry, Shumway has created her own high-intensity, full-body workout method called The Formula X Meredith. Her method emphasizes injury prevention and is driven by beats. We recently spoke with Shumway to learn more about her approach.
Could you tell us about your background as a ballerina and how you started in the fitness and wellness industry?
I started dancing at the age of 3, and I always knew it was my passion from the get-go. I was trained by the legendary teacher to the stars, Maggie Black. She was a force. She was nicknamed by Balanchine “Black Magic” because she took injured dancers and completely transformed them and trained their bodies to avoid the so-called inevitable with a professional ballet career. This was my first-hand experience of learning how to train the body to avoid injury and to even heal it. While training with her, I received a full scholarship to attend the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensives for all four summers while in High School. As with every ballerina, they reach a crossroads of college or no college to pursue a professional career. I opted for college. Upon graduation in 2008, I was left at another crossroads — a crashed economy and no jobs available. So my mother, who had a dance studio in the Hamptons, offered me a teaching job, and I also got offered a fitness job with a Barre-based company in NYC and the Hamptons. I immediately took it, and from there, my fitness career started blossoming. I had the knowledge of the body and the work ethic of a professional athlete. All I needed was the experience.
You became the studio manager and top trainer for the Tracy Anderson Method for eight years. Can you tell us about this experience?
Getting the job at Tracy back in 2014 in my 20s was my dream job! She was on fire, and I was so hungry. The fast-paced, high-end luxury boutique fitness world was where I thrived. She was such an innovator and knew exactly what she wanted which was something other fitness brands or leaders struggled with. Learning from and watching Tracy for so many years had a profound impact on me. She is truly one of a kind, and it was an experience that taught me so much that I will forever be grateful for.
Could you describe The Formula X Meredith and what those who sign up can expect from the workout?
The Formula X Meredith is a combination of everything I love in a workout. I wanted to create something where you can take one class and feel that your entire body and every muscle has been targeted and, at the same time, have so much fun doing it. The Formula is a 60-minute, high-intensity interval training class with elements of Pilates core, functional training glutes, and barre-based thighs and legs. The class is beats-driven, meaning the music is the motivator, and you will feel it to your core. The class is challenging, but my main focus and priority is form, relating back to my ballet training.
As a Southampton native, what summer traditions on the East End do you hold dear? Can you paint a picture of your ideal summer day?
Family is the most important thing to me in this world. It was mandatory that growing up, we always had dinner together, especially Sunday nights. We would pack the dogs in the car, go to the drive on beach, have a bonfire and BBQ some food, and just spend time together until the sun went down. My parents really did a great job keeping my brother and I close and always staying involved in our lives (whether we liked it or not). My ideal summer day would be to wake up at 6 AM, take my kids and my dog down to the ocean for breakfast, teach a sold-out Formula class, spend the remainder of the morning/afternoon back at the beach, and finish the night with oysters and rosé at either Dopo Argento, Beacon, or Sunset Beach.
What are your goals for summer 2024?
I am all about setting goals! If we don’t have anything in sight, how can we achieve our dreams? My personal goals are to be more present for my kids, i.e., less phone checking. My business goals are to inspire as many people as possible. To set the bar higher for myself in my content delivery, and to truly transform as many bodies as possible to feel better about themselves and more confident in their skin.
