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Before I discovered the joy of pole dancing, all I knew about tricks was that magicians and animals performed them, and ladies of the evening turned them.
Then I learned that in pole dancing, tricks are acrobatic moves done on the floor-to-ceiling pole, like back-hook spins, baby valentines, fan kicks, butterflies, rainbows and more.
Poling is not only exhilarating but terrific for keeping fit and quite sensuous as well. More about that later.
Pole dancing — long the stuff of strippers in gentlemen’s clubs — was all ready for its mainstream closeup: First it showed up in films and on television shows.
Did you catch Mikey Madison starring as an exotic dancer tricking upside-down on the pole in Anora? Or Jennifer Lopez pulling off some wild, ultra-sexy moves in Hustlers?
But poling is no longer reaching the masses only via movies and TV.
In the 1980s, it started to morph into a physical fitness activity for everyday people, even as it retained its notoriety as a strip club staple.
Poling classes have been available nationwide for the last several years and are steadily increasing in popularity, as demonstrated by a slew of dance studios dedicated to them.
Now poling — which can be adapted to one’s fitness level — is a growing trend among women 60 and above. Senior centers are even holding classes, and many women — and men — perform in pole dancing showcases and at special poling conventions.
Some professional pole dancers are standouts not only for their proficiency but because they happen to be seniors. Mary Caryl of Los Angeles, who has arthritis and a replaced hip, is a 71-year-old poling award winner. And in China, Dai Dali, 78, who started poling at 64 and won a gold medal, still competes and also teaches the art.
Having had ballet classes for six decades now, I find pole dancing appealing because of what it has in common with ballet.
For a start, core muscles are key. And in both, the body bends into beautiful shapes enhanced by graceful arm movements. Pole dancing, which boasts several styles, can be performed with a gritty, edgy approach too.
Compared to ballet, instead of hoisting your leg up on the horizontal barre for stretching, in pole dancing, you lift your entire body up against a vertical pole, then create amazing shapes and at a more advanced level, complex acrobatic tricks.
But wait — to have a fantastic time pole dancing, there’s no need to climb the pole. Just think of it as a passive, reliable dance partner.
You can keep your feet on the floor, hold on and do kicks and easy tricks as you groove to music. Or you can back up and provocatively grind against your static partner (with a spin pole, the pole itself spins).
“I’m not hanging upside down, but I know how to do ‘drop-it-like-it’s-hot’ squats. And I spin and turn,” says Betty Wilson, 71, who had both knees replaced before starting classes with Mica Saunders, founder of Moxie Movez, which provides workout programs for older adults and people with disabilities.
She brings them to senior venues in the Washington, DC area, such as the Zeta Center for Healthy & Active Aging.
“A lot more women 60 and older are taking pole dancing classes. They see it as a form of fitness and fun, good for balance training and coordination,” Saunders says.
Lois Cannon, 82, with eight screws in her back, is a dedicated poler.
“It’s helped me be more mobile, loose and fit. I can do pirouettes. And it’s a lot of fun to be able to say I’m a pole dancer at 82!”, she declares.
Without a doubt, many older women have fallen for poling. “Pole dancing classes taken by women 60 and older are absolutely a trend. There’s been an increase in the past 13 years since I’ve been in the industry and even more in the last couple,” says Colleen Jolly, CEO and owner of PoleCon, a company that holds poling conventions.
Jolly teaches pole dancing to seniors at Fit 4 Polers in Alexandria, VA, and My Body Shop in Hyattsville, MD.
My very own first exposure to pole dancing was watching Elvis Presley in the film Jailhouse Rock in 1957. His moves jibed with the then-controversial pelvic gyrations that accompanied his singing.
However, the King cheated a bit: After jumping on a static pole, a “cellmate” actor gave him a strong push to start him spinning.
When it comes to pole dancing, just like Elvis, proceed at your own pace. Once you’ve mastered off-the-floor moves, you’re ready to climb the pole using your legs and arms to grip it. From there, have a blast with a basic trick.
What benefits does pole dancing, a form of resistance training, offer? It helps balance and coordination, while strengthening core and arm muscles and improving grip strength, which tends to weaken with age. It’s also a confidence builder.
Developing flexibility, poling can help ease the pain of arthritis and by slowing the rate of bone loss, help stall osteoporosis.
According to physical therapist Bridgit Shaefer of Cynergy Physical Therapy in New York City, “Women 60 and above benefit from weight-bearing exercise to improve bone density and aerobic activity for heart health. These can be achieved in pole dancing classes.”
Says Francesca Brooks, 75: “I have arthritis everywhere, from my back all the way down. I love pole dancing because it helps with my balance.”
Apart from improving physical fitness, the other tremendous plus to pole dancing is that it brings out a woman’s steamy side with a sexy confidence that helps recapture that sensuous feeling.
“We’re seeing more women over 60 eager to reclaim their sensuality. Poling lets them reconnect with their bodies. They feel beautiful and empowered,” says Katrina Wyckoff, founder of Vertical Fitness franchised pole dancing studios.
Alison Tarshis, 63, has been taking lessons from Colleen Jolly for two years now.
“It gets me into my woman-ness,” she says. “I learned how to express myself and be me.” Not only that but spinning on the pole and other moves reduces her fibromyalgia-caused muscle pain.
Many women, especially those divorced after long, less-than-happy marriages, insist that poling is liberating.
“Pole dancing is a way for some women to say ‘screw you’ to their exes who wouldn’t let them do anything that showed off their body,” says Melissa Cloutier, founder and owner of Red Hot and Ladylike dance studio in Portland, ME.
“After a really bad marriage, one of my students, who’s 66, finally discovered who she is through pole dancing,” she adds.
That’s a cool value-add. As Braniff Airlines’ TV commercial from 1969 put it: “When you got it, flaunt it!”
Does Shirley Howell, 71, feel a bit naughty doing sexy pole tricks? “The fact that I’m doing it at my age is naughty enough!” she says, with a chuckle, volunteering that she’s a tall plus-size.
Alongside poling is an upsurge in another activity: burlesque dancing. All about hips and dips, shimmies and shakes, bumps and bounces, classes have also expanded in popularity among Gen Xers and beyond.
“What I love about burlesque dancing is that women are tapping into their divine sensual being,” says Rebecca Armstrong, 54, who performs in student showcases together with seniors in their 70s.
A little history: Some researchers say that pole dancing might also be rooted in Maypole fertility dances in 12th-century Europe.
Fast forward: In 1890s America, a very different sort of poling emerged: belly dancers in circus sideshows rotated their hips against tent poles to entice and pull in more customers.
Considering that raunchy background and pole dancing in modern pop culture, many mistakenly associate poling solely with nudity and dirty dancing.
When Alison Tarshis told her 84-year-old mother she was taking pole dancing lessons, her mom was appalled.
Recalls Tarshis: “’Oh, my goodness!’ she said. ‘No! You’re not doing that. You’re not stripping!’”
That was a “preconceived notion,” Tarshis says.
“I told her, ‘No, Mom. I’m not stripping!’ She’s fine with it now.”
Surely, poling has proven to be more than a fad. And to top it off, many older women have purchased home poles — either tension-based or screw-in — for practicing or taking remote online classes.
Ophelia Chaudhry, 79, set one up right next to her bed.
“I figure that when I get up in the morning, the first thing I’ll do is use the pole for stretching,” says Chaudhry. “I have yet to turn upside down, but it’s a goal!”
As for ballet-dancing me, I’ll take my pole dancing in a studio along with other women who are also fantasizing they’re Jennifer Lopez or Mikey Madison doing spectacular upside-down flips in eight-inch platform heels.
Jane Wollman Rusoff was photographed at Body & Pole in New York City for The Girlfriend.
Would any of you try pole dancing? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below.
