TAKING A POLE DANCING CLASS
wHAT? wHEN? hOW?
After doing some extensive research on the art of pole fitness, I decided I should have a go at it!
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On Friday, March 12th, 2021, I attended the "intro to pole fitness" class at DID FIT Studio, in Indianapolis. I signed up for their class on their website a few days prior.
I had such a fun time, and it was definitely not what I expected.
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First impressions
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Walking into the studio alone, I felt very nervous. Soon however, I was approached by a woman who greeted me kindly and asked if I was here for "intro to pole". This was my instructor, Julianne. She then checked me in, told me where to go, and where the bathrooms were.
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After putting my things in a cubby, I grabbed a towel and spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol (which they provided), chose a pole, and sanitized it well.
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I arrived 10 minutes early, so while I waited I began stretching. There were 5 students total, who were all super nice. We shared introductions before the class started. One thing I noticed was how there wasn't a single man in the entire building, which I didn't mind.
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The class:
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The class started at 7:15, and would last an hour. She started by teaching us a simple spin around the pole, followed by more difficult ones. Every time she would teach a move, she broke it down step-by-step, waited for everyone to successfully complete it, giving individual critiques, then reversing it on the other side. She taught us a handful of moves, a lot of them were variations of the same move.
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Julianne made the class accessible to everyone's various levels by showing us ways we could make a specific move more or less advanced. For example she would say, "if this is easy for you, try doing it with one hand."
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Our instructor taught us different spins and moves on the pole for the first half of the class. She would take breaks every so often, just letting the music play and guiding us while we practiced.
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Around 20 minutes in, as I started to sweat, the moisture on my hands made it increasingly difficult for me to grip onto the pole. This was the most difficult part of the class for me. A big takeaway for me was the importance of grip strength and growing callouses on your hands. Julianne gave me some "Dry Hands" a product that evaporates the moisture from your skin, essentially anti-lotion.
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The last half of the class, Julianne taught us a routine. Luckily my dance background helped me pick it up as fast as she taught. We went through the routine several times, before she encouraged us to record ourselves.
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My recording:
final takeaways
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First of all, ouch. It's three days later and my arms are still sore. Despite only being an hour long, I managed to beat the heck out of my body. I have bruises all over my legs, coupled by blisters on my fingers and forearms. This experience has given me tremendous respect for pole dancers, and the physical toll that they endure.
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Pain aside, I really enjoyed this class. The studio was a very positive and accepting environment. The comradery among the students in the class was what made it so fun. It was such a challenge physically, in ways I didn't expect. Overall, I learned a lot from the experience and I would 100% recommend it to anyone who is interested.
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