Gym Rat: Daybreaker dance workout gets day off to a rollicking start

Lighted jellyfish puppets are passed through the frenetic crowd on the concrete floor of the Venice restaurant. There are no teachers barking orders here, just free-form dancing.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Yohei Nakajima, 27, center, dances while wearing a monster headdress.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Karen Fukuhara, right, follows another dancer under a limbo line.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Alan J. Crossley, center, dances with Jennifer Shields, left, and Karen Fukuhara.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Joseph Hakim joins the conga line.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Djamilla Sada Ram, right, dances with Zoe Soleil during Daybreaker, a monthly event. There are plans to offer a Daybreaker workout twice a month starting in January.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Dancer can wear anything from pajamas to elaborate costumes for the 90-minute session.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Dancers squeeze in for a group picture during Daybreaker, a wild and welcoming before-work sober rave.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Stephanie Kelly uses weights to add more punch to her dance workout.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Breakfast bars are available to sustain the dancers.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A dancer straddles the limbo line as electronic music blares Saturday-night loud with DJ Overjoy.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Following a dance workout, participants take a breather and listen to a live performance.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Yohei Nakajima keeps dancing as the party spills out onto the sidewalk on Lincoln Boulevard.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

People in workout clothes, PJs and all manner of costumes take part, including Michael Haytayan, 31.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Djamilla Sada Ram, right, dances with Kyrian O’ Kane, left, and Karen Fukuhara, middle, as the free-form party moves outside.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)