Pole Dancing?

I know, it's a bit off of the normal sports. Does anyone here do it? I started taking classes in August and it really is a lot of fun. We ended up putting a pole in the house (when my parents came to visit, I'm not so sure what they thought about it!). It is so great for stretching and the spins/inverting really work your arms, shoulders, and abs.

Most people joke with me about it, especially 5'11" me in 6" stripper shoes but it really is great exercise! I figured I'd throw it out there just in case anyone else has done this. I keep having to explain to the guys at work that the reality of it all is most of us wear workout clothes to do it and don't look the least bit exotic or cute! :o

That is well and truly hot. :D

Teigyr, just promise you'll use your powers for good and not evil, ok? :D :cool:

I've looked into belly dancing but don't quite have the build for it. I'm tempted by poledancing but have had a hard time finding classes.

I've always wondered what pole dancing was like :) :o

I have the scene from True Lies going round my head...

C

Heh....not so sure about the hot! I see it more as an athletic endeavor and it takes me out of my comfort zone a bit. My instructor has a website and also some Youtube videos and it is just incredible the stuff she can do. (PM if you are interested about her site, I'm not about promoting a business, I just see it as something incredibly beautiful!)

I've also wanted to try belly dancing. I try to, every year, do something that is just Not Me.

Crazycanuck, it is more strenuous than it appears. We learn stripper moves and also lap dancing moves and I've learned what is natural and what translates well are two different things. It's all about diverting attention and making things look a certain way when, in fact, it's anything but.

It's strange but I look at it all so critically now! My instructor was a judge for a stripper competition at a local bar. We could go for free, I couldn't because I had to work. Oddly enough however, these things fascinate me now!!! And no, we don't strip in class. I mean we learn it but it is clothes over clothes. I think if I did these things seriously, I'd blush then start giggling or something. I'd feel goofy at least!

We did a few pole dancing classes as 'girls nights out' and bachelorettes. It was a really great time, plus it was way fun to parade around in stripper shoes and flip yourself around on a pole! If you guys go, it really does help to wear as little clothes as possible (read: shortshorts and sleeveless shirt) because it's amazing how your skin helps control your speed on that thing!

teigyr, thats awesome that you installed a pole! a few of my climbing friends and i had so much fun (and a good workout too!) that we were talking about it, but we never did. Fun Stuff!

do they give special classes in how to walk in those shoes?

:D :D

Just walk sexy! Seriously, I always thought that exaggerated hip sway thing was just to get people to look at you, but then I realized that when you have 5" heels strapped to your feet the only way to keep from falling is to striiiiiiiiide baybeeeeeee :D

My teacher showed up to class dressed in white shorty shorts, a sporty spice looking track jacket, and a pair of white patent leather boots that laced up to her thighs.

I was thinking to myself, 'goddDAMM but if thats what pole dancing gets your body to look like, sign ME UP!' heh

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Originally Posted by Kimmyt

My teacher showed up to class dressed in white shorty shorts, a sporty spice looking track jacket, and a pair of white patent leather boots that laced up to her thighs.

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Hey we could wear that biking! (hmmm maybe the chamois would stick out though....) :eek:

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Originally Posted by Lisa S.H.

Hey we could wear that biking! (hmmm maybe the chamois would stick out though....) :eek:

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I don't think we can manage those shoes though. Nope, not going to break my ankles for fashion now or ever.

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Originally Posted by Kimmyt

Just walk sexy! Seriously, I always thought that exaggerated hip sway thing was just to get people to look at you, but then I realized that when you have 5" heels strapped to your feet the only way to keep from falling is to striiiiiiiiide baybeeeeeee :D

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But it's so HARD to walk sexy with those pesky ankle casts on after spraining your ankles while dancing in 5" heels! :eek: :D
1970's platform shoes....been there, done that {{{shudder}}}......

Yeaaa count me out on this one too.

I can barely walk in flats, let alone putting me in heels!

Definitely a funny thread though, it keeps me coming back!

But the boots, while utterly cool looking, aren't good for spins. They are good for gripping the pole so if you're inverting and not spinning, then they are perfect. They're also good for climbing.

The shoes are surprisingly comfortable! They aren't your run of the mill street shoes and I actually have no problem walking in them. "Stripper walking" is difficult, however, and the shoes make it even more so. That type of walking is slow and you kind of do the hip sway thing while playfully dragging your toe when you take a step forward.

It is also 100% true that the more skin you have exposed, the better. Skin helps grip the pole and it helps control your moves.

My class starts back up next week so I've been practicing and boy am I sore! It really is one of the best upper body workouts ever!

I have never been to a pole party though my instructor does them. They are really reasonable too!!! I think it would be so much fun to be around friends and just have fun. If any PNW people decide they want to do something like that, let me know!!! Shoes wouldn't be used because I think the parties are for people who haven't done it before. Besides, we only wear the shoes AFTER we learn a move so the majority of the class is done barefoot.

My instructors website is poleforthesoul.com. She also has videos in Youtube under poleforthesoul. It is amazing the type of body you can get by doing this stuff, that is the only workout she does!

:)

I must admit I actually considered this TODAY to surprise hubby. Not so much take a class, per se, but, figure out how to strip without feeling like a total moron!

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Originally Posted by HoddyToddy

:)

I must admit I actually considered this TODAY to surprise hubby. Not so much take a class, per se, but, figure out how to strip without feeling like a total moron!

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You should do it! There are little tricks you can do and some are SO subtle but make a huge difference. Guys like these things....simple creatures that they are :D

I wanna learn to strip and belly dance.

I could only do that if it involved copious amounts of alcohol... :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

I wanna learn to strip and belly dance.

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You should do it!!!

Kelownagirl, you learn to kind of put those feelings aside. I'm kind of the same way...you should've seen when I had to learn to give a lapdance to my classmate who was about half my age! Poor girl :eek: Fortunately the lights aren't that bright cause I'm sure I was beet red.

How much does it cost to install a pole?
And who do you call?

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

I wanna learn to strip and belly dance.

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You calling me a simple creature? :cool:

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Originally Posted by kelownagirl

I could only do that if it involved copious amounts of alcohol... :rolleyes:

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Yeah that's quite the mental image; Trek as she simultaneously looses all sense of social inhibition and coordination :eek: and there's sliding down a pole involved :rolleyes: :cool: ;) :p Someone get the camcorder, this is going on AFV or youtube.

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Originally Posted by zencentury

How much does it cost to install a pole?
And who do you call?

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I think just about any contractor would gladly do it. Let's see if I can work it into the remodel budget. I don't like my stairway anyway, take it out and install a pole?

Speaking from the Y chromosome side of the house, Belly Dancing is probably the sexier of the two, particularly if the dancer knows how to use her eyes well. I saw my first live belly dancer at a restaurant in Turkey and would have married her on the spot but for muslim custom.

Stripping is a context-driven thing. I don't frequent strip clubs because all I see is a bunch of women trying to pay their bills. However, your SO stripping for you is an altogether different thing.

Pole dancing is cool to watch if the dancer is good. Nice mix of sexiness and athleticism.

speaking for myself only, this is one subject that could do without the male input.

Trek, nothing simple about you :D

The pole we got was about $175. It installs really easily, there isn't much to do except put a hook in the ceiling. The strange thing is the hook, when the pole isn't up, is disguised to look like a plant hook in case there are "questions". ??? Dunno, I figure if you're going to do something, why be ashamed of what you do?

Anyway, no contractor required for a pole. The place is in San Francisco so for those in the Bay Area, there would probably be no shipping :)

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Originally Posted by teigyr

Trek, nothing simple about you :D

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Thank you, uhm I think? :cool: That was a compliment, right?

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Originally Posted by teigyr

It installs really easily, there isn't much to do except put a hook in the ceiling. The strange thing is the hook, when the pole isn't up, is disguised to look like a plant hook in case there are "questions". ??? Dunno, I figure if you're going to do something, why be ashamed of what you do?

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But if I hang the pole from the plant hook then what do I do with the chandelier. I was going to put one of those in to swing from? ;) :rolleyes: That's what women like, right? ;) :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by teigyr

The place is in San Francisco so for those in the Bay Area, there would probably be no shipping :)

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It's Bed, Bath, and Way Beyond.

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Originally Posted by teigyr

when the pole isn't up, is disguised to look like a plant hook in case there are "questions". ??? Dunno, I figure if you're going to do something, why be ashamed of what you do?

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Ok, so now I've got the fake planter on the hook. But what do I do with that pole "when not in use"? Do I prop it up in a corner, put it on the roof rack on the car, it's too long to fit in a walk-in closet, disguise it as another hat rack?

It's a freakin' 10'+ long brass pole for gosh sakes :cool: ... so when an elderly aunt comes over and "uhm yeah, the brass pole in the corner? What's that? uhm that's uhm a hat rack, right! ...."

Ooh, ooh, I know!! Bike rack attachments!! That'll work.

Leave it up or turn it into a bike rack. Nobody would believe I have house plants anyway.

Dunno, mine is up all the time. And lest anyone think it's the least bit racy, it is in the spare bedroom with my weights and a catbox. My parents saw it and didn't say a word. Perhaps they didn't know what it was? It is really good for stretching on too...

The pole is in two pieces and it's held up by tension.

I only joke about male simplicity because I hear about positioning and how to draw someone's attention to one thing while you're doing another. It's amazing what people focus on, I guess it's a "typical male" thing which is stereotyping in many ways. You can do a really complex move but when it comes down to it, you have to make sure the target body parts are front and center for viewing :p

Trek, you can't be simple. I know the company you keep :D

Yes, much alcohol and dim lights.
There's a laugh factor...could I be serious and sultry and not crack up? Be sexy and not trip over my own feet? :D

Delurking to say that I've taken a couple of S Factor intro classes, and they're really fun! It's not a sleazy atmosphere, it's all very "You go, you fabulous goddess, you!" If it didn't cost a bomb, I would have signed up for a class, seriously.

Just found this thread. I'm intrigued...I think I'll look for a class (did I just say that??)