 "Photo: Nicole Givens / UCD Advocate")
Traditionally, pole dancing is accompanied by racy strip clubs, sleazy men, and dollar bills being placed where the sun does not shine. However, pole dancing is not just for strippers; it can be great aerobic exercise. There are pole-dancing studios across the Denver area that teach pole dancing as a form of fun exercise. According to Becky Hamm, fitness director of Mountain Side Fitness of Westminster and Ex-Los Angeles Lakers girl, “Pole dancing involves a lot of upper body work.”
She says she can see how it can be great cardio exercise. Although she has never taken pole dancing, she has taken striptease dancing.
“There are a lot of dips and rolling movements that act like squats and not [only] tone the legs, bums, but the core as well,” Hamm said.
An ex-Diamond Cabaret stripper who preferred to remain anonymous agrees.
“Oh God yes! It totally works out every muscle group,” she said. “You have to climb your ass up there somehow, and it takes strength.”
TranZenDance Studio, located at 70 Broadway, teaches pole dancing. It features many traditional dance studio elements like wood floors and plenty of space to move, but it is missing mirrors. Instead of bright lights, it is dim and the room is full of Buddhist and peace symbols. And of course, there are the 10-foot, floor-to-ceiling brass poles installed evenly throughout.
Dr. Lori Huett, who is the owner of TranZenDance studio and has a Ph.D. in psychology, begins her classes with stretching. These stretches at TranZenDance last for about 45 minutes and incorporate moves found in pilates, yoga, and striptease to warm up the body, allow the participants to “sink” into their own bodies, and feel more comfortable with one another. Then they work on dance combos including pole work. At last, they freestyle and dance however they want. Her only rule for dancers “is to not give their power away—dance with feeling.”
Huett said her main objective is for her students to feel in complete control of their bodies and sexual energy, to gain confidence in their bodies—regardless of their shape—and let the day-to-day stresses go.
“People start out constrained and rigid in their movements; after a while their walk, posture and movements change. They feel more comfortable in their own skin,” said Huett.
As a former professional ballet instructor, Huett says she likes this dance because “there is no right body type. In ballet you constantly are watching your weight, and although you stand tall, you are constantly criticizing your body. There is passion to this dance, and it unifies the students because they are all different in background and body type.”
Attendee Tracy Hutchinson, who has her Master’s in psychology, said, “It’s both feminine and masculine. It requires you have masculine strength and feminine poses.”
Students range from 18-year-old college students to 74-year-old women. All Huett’s students gain flexibility, strength, endurance, and, in her opinion, “a mindset where we like ourselves more because we are more accepting of our bodies.”
Hamm agreed, stating, “It is very much like yoga, only deemed sexier.”
“Most students never imagine climbing up a pole and are intimidated at first. Then one day they find themselves holding a split stance upside down on a pole and realize they did it. Doing something you didn’t think you could do boosts the self esteem,” said Huett.
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