How long have you been dancing?
I have been dancing in general since I was three years old! I am now 23! I trained in Disco Freestyle, Rock’n’Roll, Latin America and Ballroom. From my first dance class I was hooked and loved the way I felt when I began to dance! I later went on to do an A Level in Dance and then a BTEC Diploma in Performing Arts where I learnt Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern and street dance!
How did you make the transition into Pole fitness?
During this time when I was at full time college I began to Podium Dance for some extra money, I absolutely loved it! Made me feel so free and alive! It was after this that I felt I wanted try something new and learn a different style of dance, I decided to try Pole dancing! I went for my first lesson and fell in love with it, Obviously I had an advantage in terms of the fact that I had good flexibility and strength to begin with. The moves were so beautiful and it is extremely challenging and very rewarding!
What kind of music works well for you to choreograph pole fitness?
I love to dance to all kinds of music, R’n’B is probably my favourite but I love Funky House also. I love anything with a good beat as long as it’s not too heavy!!
How long have you been pole dancing for?
I’ve been Pole Dancing for nearly a year now and dancing in general for about 20 years!! There are still loads to learn in terms of moves, it’s never ending!!
Is there any advice you can give a beginner?
For pole performances you need to be aware of sweaty palms! So you need to make sure your pole isn’t slippery, the best things to use to clean the pole are, Vinegar, Vodka (diluted with water) or a glass/window cleaner! Also liquid chalk is a good idea to help you grip the pole for those advanced moves.
You have your own dance troop who promote in clubs using the skills, what goes into this?
Preparing for shows or performances takes a lot of time and effort! It is very time consuming, as it is very particular sport, the movements can be very difficult to link, so putting time into choreography is essential! Also a lot of thought needs to go into costume, as you don’t want to come across as too revealing/sexy but you need to have a lot of skin showing due to the amount of skin grip you need to perform certain advanced moves.
What are your long term aspirations?
My long term aspirations are too continue to teach pole fitness and promote pole dancing purely as a sporting activity, which I think is a very important message as Pole dancing is frowned upon by many, but as soon as those people try it they realise that it takes extreme strength, agility and flexibility to be able to pole dance. It’s a beautiful sport and its gradually becoming more and more popular and so it should be!!
Words by Lea James