This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rutgers chapter.
It’s day 2 after I went and took a class at NY Pole Dancing, and my arms are still in pain. Legs and torso are not as bad anymore.
The short summary of what I learned is that it’s not hard to pole dance, but it is SO DIFFICULT to look graceful, smooth, and beautiful while dancing.
(Disclaimer: The pictures following are not exact but are more general to show what it was like.)
I arrived at the studio with two other good friends. The closest any of us have been to a pole is the poles you hold onto on the bus or subway.
There are two skills you need to help you pole dance well. One is flexibility, and the other is bodily strength. Out of the three of us, I probably was the most lacking in both components. To be honest, I haven’t done anything remotely strenuous besides climb flights of stairs. My flexibility is even worse than my overall strength.
Our instructor led our class of 7, and we began by stretching. We all grabbed a yoga mat, and she led us through many stretches. There were a few yoga poses thrown in, but to help with flexibility and strength. I felt a little regretful that I didn’t stretch more often since most of the time, I was no where close to how the stretch was supposed to be done, but at least I tried! It’s been a long time since I stretched formally (high school gym class ahem).
We stretched for maybe 15-20 minutes, and by the end, it’s kind of sad, but it was like I already went through a mini workout. But it didn’t matter! It was finally time to get on the pole.
There were 5 poles total in the room, and the instructor split us into two groups so we all had a chance to learn how to climb and spin (the name of the class is “Climb and Spin”).
We started off with the spin. Every angle of your body counts. My friend had some heels with her so after trying, she put them on and reported that it was MUCH easier with heels. My guess is that I’m too dependent on my feet and was too heavy on them. My friends started taking a video of me after we had a bit of practice. When I saw the video later, it was at first super embarrassing, and then extremely amusing. In the background you can see a few others doing the same move but about 100x more graceful (ironic because my name is Grace not theirs).
This is a good time to segue and mention that I really liked how all of us were different sizes and shapes, and a guy was in our class too. We were all in this together.
Our instructor taught us some choreography to go along with what we were learning. I was grateful because it gave all my muscles a break. We learned a tiny spin (in comparison to the first spin) which was probably the easiest move I learned that class. Then we were taught the Climb.
I thought the Spin was hard.
The Climb tested my will.
Personally, it was very difficult for me at this point, and everyone else could do it. The instructor came over, and I tried(struggled) before she gave me a little push and then suddenly I was vertical with the pole!!! So proud! So scary. So painful. But I did it!!! I couldn’t do the other thing that made it look good but as my instructor said, “I’ll take it.” So I will too.
Also sweaty hands do not help you at all. You would think that it would help a little, but the amount of sweat total that was happening… I slid down faster than a firefighter saving the White House.
It was a great time though. 10/10 would recommend!!!!!! NY Pole Dancing! Really nice people (and I’d def do this on the regular if I was in NYC).
So now I am here, left arm more sore than right (the last physical activity I did was racquet ball so my right arm is def stronger than the left now) and a bruise on my knee (it’s inevitable unless you wear knee pads).
I’ve always had respect for pole dancers, but that respect has grown exponentially. The skill level needed to become a pole dancer is very high, and it’s hard to understand until you (literally) step in their shoes. Pole dancing is DEFINITELY a great way to exercise and improve your body while also giving you a confidence boost honestly.
Yay! Do what makes you feel good.
(Also this artist is so AWESOME and so accurate shoutout to Leen Isabel.)