PROVO, Utah (ABC4) — A Provo dance and fitness organization is left with questions after their classes at the Provo Recreation Center were canceled due to complaints about the classes being “inappropriate,” and, the city said, to protect minors.

Dirtylicious Dance Fitness has held classes in the Provo Recreation Center for the past three years, Creator and CEO Erica Tanner told NesNation local affiliate ABC4.com.

She described the classes as dance fitness classes, leaning into the fitness aspects. People taking the classes learn a dance routine that Tanner described as, “definitely sexy and really empowering movement for women to fall in love with their body as they are right now.”

The issue for Dirtylicious came when classes were temporarily cancelled in early June. Tanner said she got involved, both as the creator of Dirtylicious and as a Provo resident.

Tanner said she thought, “Well, that’s weird, why are these classes getting cancelled? They’ve been at the Provo Rec Center for three years, so that was really confusing and made no sense to me.”

She said she reached out to city officials, and she claimed the city told her that there was a “male” who emailed the city and said the classes were “inappropriate” and should not be at a rec center.

According to Tanner, the city responded to the complaint by temporarily cancelling the classes and placing Dirtylicious “under review,” but she and others at Dirtylicious never knew exactly what that meant.

2 weeks ago, Dirtylicious classes were fully cancelled at the Provo Recreation Center.

Tanner told ABC4.com that all she wanted was some explanation. When she finally got that explanation, the city said that the classes didn’t “align” with their direction, and they didn’t want to offer the program anymore. She added that the city didn’t name any specific policies that were violated or any specific incidents with the classes that lead to the cancellation.

“It does tend to go and feel personal, or inconsistent, when our movement and our marketing tactics and our way we promote our classes at Provo Rec Center are the same as other fitness formats there,” Tanner said.

“To me, the bigger concern here is why is government making decisions based off of, in my opinion and because I haven’t been told otherwise, one person or a group of people’s opinions?” she continued.

The city responded to Tanner’s claims. Provo Recreation Center Manager Cathy Smits provided the following statement to ABC4.com.

“Provo’s Recreation Center is a family-friendly tax funded facility.  We take resident feedback seriously and actively follow up to ensure community voices play a meaningful role in shaping our services. Fitness classes at the Recreation Center are open to individuals 14 and older, we recognize the need to protect minors, particularly when video recording and online posting was occurring.“

Neither Provo Rec Center nor Tanner provided any information about if any minors were actively participating in the Dirtylicious classes. The statement from the Rec Center also did not specify if minors participating was their concern or if the concern was minors observing the class.

Tanner also brought up filming. She said it was one rule they did violate, because the city requires people get permission to film in the Rec Center from the mayor’s office. However, Tanner said that Dirtylicious was not the only fitness class filming without permission.

“To my knowledge, I don’t think anybody has permission to film at the Provo Rec Center from the mayor or the mayor’s office,” she said.

The statement continued, “During our review, we also identified unapproved marketing efforts and the use of the facility’s logo in ways that did not align with our established branding guidelines. Based on these considerations and in keeping with our operational standards, I have determined to discontinue the classes. This decision was discussed with and supported by a citizen advisory board.“

Provo Rec Center did not specify how Dirtylicious was violating the facility’s branding guidelines.

“Dirtylicious as an organization has never been contractually affiliated with the Provo Recreation Center. This is merely a decision on classes offered by Provo City staff members,” the statement concluded.

Tanner said that the Dirtylicious community, dancers and instructors, have created a petition to bring the classes back, and they have been leaving reviews to get their voices heard.

Tanner concluded by saying that she just wants to know if there’s any way to get the classes reinstated or appeal the decision, and she’s concerned that people’s voices aren’t being heard.