Unfortunately, sometimes pole dancing carries a negative connotation. Some think of half-naked exotic dancers performing tricks on the pole and men “making it rain” with dollar bills in gentlemen’s clubs and strip bars. This stereotype exists in the minds of both men and women.
Jaydin Hunt, a pole dance instructor in Chicago, says she started out as a dance instructor before she decided to teach pole dancing.
“I was completely petrified of the pole at first because of the persona of how people perceive it,” admits Hunt. “I wouldn’t go near the pole the first six months. But I saw the ladies [other instructors] pole dancing and I admired their class and grace with it. Once I saw the athleticism behind it, I tried it and I was hooked.”
Hunt comments that pole dancing is the complete opposite of the negative stereotype that exists.
“You’re sweating and women are saying to themselves, ‘This is really hard’,” says the 26-year-old. “More women ask me if I’m a ballet dancer than if I’m an exotic dancer because of the art behind it.”
Hunt says pole dancing is part of what she calls pole fit. “Pole dancing is like dancing with a prop,” she explains. “In this case, the pole is the prop, much like dancing with a ball or a cane. Pole fit is the actual act of pulling your own body weight up the pole. Whatever you weigh, you are actually pulling up that much weight. Try doing it three times. It will wear you out.”
With perspiration, Hunt says she reaped physical benefits from pole dancing, which differ from what she gained as a dance instructor.
“My body is better — my arms are more defined and my abs are flatter than ever,” she says. “You’re using muscles you’ve never used before. I hear women complain they’re in so much pain afterwards, but you really see results.”
Besides the physical benefits, some women enjoy pole dancing for the emotional pleasures it gives them. Some women do it to please their partners, but Hunt says their motives become more about them in the end.
“Women are taking more masculine roles as heads of households and breadwinners, so this helps them to get in touch with their feminine and sensual side,” comments Hunt. "It [pole dancing] also offers a sense of empowerment. I taught a woman who was very shy and reserved when she first started taking my class. She looked at the floor all the time and wasn’t very talkative with the other ladies. About a month into the class, she started wearing shorts, became more talkative and looked at herself in the mirror.”
Two years later, I still think about my first and only experience pole dancing. I have to admit, I enjoyed trying something new and out of the ordinary. I remember feeling the soreness in my abdominal muscles hours and days afterwards. I can even recall some of the steps from the choreographed number my instructor taught me. It’s a feeling I think I’d like to revisit sometime in the near future.
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Photography by GMO Photo Editor Billy Montgomery.
