Pole Dance and Fitness: Breaking the Stigma

Do you remember Enrique’s Dirty Dancer that was released in 2011 ??

While this song was pleasing to both eyes and ears for many, I was mostly intrigued by the dance the girls in the video performed. With their extreme flexibility and their work with the pole, they were the highlight of the whole music video 😁
I was in college at the time but the memory of the video remained with me as I was growing up.

Then after several years of leading a routine life, I came across the new number, Rockabye by Clean Bandit in 2016 and it was yet another push for my wish to be able to dance with the pole.

Of course, there must be other pole dance music videos in between, but these were the ones that enthralled me.
We went to Thailand in June 2017 and in one of the clubs, there were so many girls around the pole, but there was this one, who was an absolute combination of strength, energy, and beauty. It was sensual but at the same time, it was clear pole dancing is no easy job.

Time passed by and I moved to Seattle for work. I have lived most of my life with complete freedom, but living in the US was so much more freedom with so little judgment. On a random day, when I was bored to death, I started looking at different dance forms taught in the US. This is when I came across Pole dance classes on Groupon. I got super excited and super scared at the same time. Excited because this is one of the things I wanted to try as a young girl and scared because I thought I didn’t have the strength, flexibility, and the discipline that this dance form requires.
Anyhow as impulsive I am, I signed up for Pole Series 1 classes with Enchant Vertical Dance. I can swear by it that it was one of the few best decisions I have taken for myself.
Pole dance is not only sexiness and sensuality but so much more than that. A simple move like pole wrap around requires body discipline and training, the right posture and the right movement.

Each class was a dose of motivation. Every time I thought I will not be able to do a certain move, I left even more confident and proud of myself after successfully completing the class’s routine. After each class, I was glad to finally be able to get that one move and took pride in my pole kisses (pole injuries and burns). My teacher Sara Sanchez at Enchant was so inspiring that you would want to push yourself further in each class ☺

After spending an amazing time in Enchant’s Series1 and half of Series2 Pole classes, it was now time to move back to India. I wanted to continue learning and building my strength, so I joined Aarifa Bhinderwala’s Pole Burnt Classes in Mumbai. Learning at Aarifa’s was a different experience in terms of broadening up of perspective. I was so happy to see houseful classes. It just made me happy to see so many people coming forward and trying and learning something that most people don’t approve of 🤐

During this time, I met people who appreciated my choice, but there were a few who wondered why I would learn such a dance form and how is it going to help me in my career. While I am not thinking of it as my career, it is a trait that I want to be a part of me. There are so many people who have taken teaching pole dance as a full-time profession and there are people who take their talent one step ahead by participating in competitions – these are dancers who shun the rest of the world to pursue what they believe in 🙂

Pole dancers are not strippers, they are just regular people who just do what they like and most of them are actually working professionals.
And for all the guys out there, pole dance is not just for girls, it is equally strenuous and challenging for boys.
Pole dance is empowering, it helps increase strength, flexibility, and confidence. So let us all try and remove the stigma that exists in our society 🙂