Since I’ve become a pole dancer, people keep asking me: “How do you get the moves?” Let’s be real: I don’t have the moves. Never had them. I learnt the moves. Here’s how you can learn the moves, in some of London’s sexiest dance classes. So get ready for sexy fitness classes – the Blogger On Pole edition.
Shoes: Pleaser USA Picture: The Black Light Sydney
Disclaimers
*This post is accurate as of 2017. I’ve since become an instructor and gave a lot more studios the spotlight on the blog. Some studios have rebranded, others have changed instructors.
I might be a little biased here. I train at London Dance Academy (LDA) and most of my sexy classes are based there. However, this post will try to include other classes and, worst comes to worst, it’ll help you navigate the myriad of floor humping, booty shaking opportunities you have in LDN and at LDA.
Some classes I haven’t had yet the chance to try happen at GymBox , My Gravity Fitness, Pole People, Pole Fit and other studios I mention below. However, here I’m referring to choreography based classes, the majority of which apply to people who don’t necessarily do pole.
Because I have a limited amount of time and money, as a broke PhD student doing a bunch of odd jobs, I am only referring to classes I’ve tried/seen videos about and that have resulted in people asking me info about them. This post won’t necessarily reflect the huge variety of classes London offers, it’s my biased opinion.
Chair, Lap and Tease
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Thursdays and Fridays for me don’t mean getting drunk. They mean humping chairs in the gorgeous Emma’s Lap & Tease class at LDA. Just in case you’re doubting Emma’s tease creds, just look at her.
Emma is a former burlesque dancer and model, and she’s currently a super mean fitness instructor in other gyms. At LDA however, you get her at her best: fun, silly and smoking, gracing us with routines that make your #thirstythursday and #filthyfriday videos impossible not to post. Exhibit A.
Emma’s classes are for all levels. You won’t see crazy acro chair tricks or headstands in them: they are for everyone, and they’re meant to help you find your inner sexy. They’re great if you wanna spice up your relationship or, in my case, if chairs and floors are all you get to hump. All you need to bring is heels, kneepads and sass.
Emma thrives in making everyone feel comfortable and confident, as proved by the multitude of #squadgoals pics on her feed. So get ready to join the team. Just do not come if you are offended by filthy songs!
Guests
P.S. Sometimes amazing people cover for Emma when she’s away. Often, they’re pole dancers coming up with sassy AF routines, like this Bodak Yellow Cardi B routine by Ayesha Agogo.
Or this fierce Def Leppard routine by Lisa Yu.
Cost: £15 for an hour (the price goes down if you buy an LDA membership).
Twerk
I’ve been banging on about Twerkology Nation for a while. In my interview with its founder, Chanelle Hall, I told you all about how her company helps abused women find their confidence again. The gods of twerk have listened and they have brought her classes back to London.
So what can you expect from a class with Twerkology Nation? First of all, get ready for a killer warm up. This ain’t no yoga or ballet. In the first half of the class, Chanelle will put on some dancehall, soca or rnb and she’ll get you to twerk to the beat, teaching you the technique. Then she’ll teach you some fierce choreography (either in heels or barefoot). Exhibit B.
One of my favourite things about Chanelle’s classes is the twerk circle. At the end, everyone gets to freestyle for a second in a safe space where everyone does their bit. You don’t have to be Serena Williams to slay this: just be yourself and get comfortable dancing in front of people. It’ll become your second nature in a flash. Chanelle loves helping dancers grow and she’s been such a mentor to me that I can’t help but love her classes.
You can now find Chanelle at Base Dance Studios at 7 pm every Thursday (£8) and at LDA every Sunday at 12 (£15). Check out Twerkology Nation’s Insta each week to know if you need heels, but always bring kneepads, or your knees will hate you.
Floorwork
Floorwork is everything you do around the pole. No pole routine is complete without it. It can include simple leg swirls, handstands and headstands, shoulderstands or weird flips. It’s your call.
The London Dance Academy puts on different floorwork classes, both costing £15, either on a Friday or on a Sunday. The former feature different teachers every week, while latter are led by LDA’s resident classique queen Lauren Elise.
I couldn’t have won the Floorplay competition without both these classes so if you, like me, need to get your floorwork shiz together, this is the place. Bring: heels and kneepads.
Pole Classique, Sexy Flow & Poleography
When I first moved to London, my idea of Poleography was doing loads of tricks on the pole to music, which I absolutely love. Here, classique, flow and poleography are less trick-based and more about creating interesting combos around the pole. This has been massively helpful because I could do tricks, but I struggled at connecting them when I made my choreographies.
The great thing about these classes is that they’re open to all levels. You don’t need to pull of handsprings or extended butterflies to fit in – all you need is to have fun, and to bring heels and kneepads.
Classes at LDA are £15 and they’re taught by different people. I never miss a Pole Classique class on Tuesdays at 6 because I love Lauren Elise’s routines.
Sexy Fitness All Around London
LDA isn’t the only place for Pole Classique. Aleksandra Karolina from The Persepolis Pole Project (which I recently covered in this interview) teaches smoking classique classes at Ecole De Pole in Camden on Tuesdays. Croydon has two pole studios hosting poleography classes, Warehouse Dance Studios (£16) and Polevocative.
Poleography classes at LDA also happen on Fridays and are taught by the amazing Ayesha Agogo, who also leads Pole Flow on Sunday mornings at 11. Pole Flow is a new class and is on its way to becoming one of my favourites. I’m the worst at flowy, connected moves so this is the right clinic for my #polefails.
If your Sundays need a sexy top up, Lisa Yu’s Sexy Flow classes are your best bet. Hailing from Australia, Lisa is the queen of inappropriate sexy – which is exactly my vibe.
Vogue
Voguing is becoming all the rage in London. Its popularity has been growing in the past few years, but I discovered it recently through RuPaul’s Drag Race queens’ fierce performances.
Benjamin Milan teaches some of London’s most popular classes for £8 at both Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Garden and Studio 68 in South London. I went to one of those classes and felt awkward AF because my arms are used to grabbing poles, not to flowing around seamlessly. I need to get my voguing act together because for now all I can do is this.
This is what you could be doing instead.
Pictures: Carolina unless otherwise credited
Pin It
Ciao. Io vado al My Gravity, ed e’ un ottimo club! Vieni a provarlo se puoi!
Ciao! Non ci sono mai stata ma se sono in zona volentieri 🙂
ðŸ˜
Corpo incredibile e mosse sorprendenti. Sei così sexy.
Lol mi fai arrossire!