Return to story

Local woman's company delivers pole dancing parties for bachelorette parties, wedding showers or just a night of fun.

January 8, 2006 12:50 am

It's tough not to be shocked by the sight of a gleaming, 8-foot metal pole in the middle of someone's living room.

In North Stafford recently, the pole looked especially out of place in a formal living room with white couches, a marbled fireplace, and framed wedding portraits.

"Did you see that pole?" one guest asks. "It's gettin' crazy in here!"

But the arrival of the pole was just the beginning. The group of women, invited by hostess Sonja Aiken, was going to spend the next two hours learning to pole dance.

Not pole dance as in Maypole. Pole dance as in strippers.

Jenny Becker enters a house with a large pink suitcase and a pink and gray duffel bag, both on wheels. She also carries a black plastic case labeled "Lil Mynx."

It opens to reveal egg-crate foam, and a highly polished, stainless steel pole.

Setup for a pole dancing party is complex.

First Becker climbs a stepladder to put a stud finder against the ceiling. If the pole isn't installed against a stud, it could punch a hole through the ceiling.

With the stud marked with a foil star, Becker measures from floor to ceiling, twists the pole to the right length, and squeezes it into place. A level clipped to the pole ensures that it's plumb, and it's ready to go.

The suitcases contain a stereo, feather boas, business cards, pens and clipboards with releases. The releases ensure that everyone participating knows they'll be doing a physical activity and there are some risks associated.

Pole dancing is growing in popularity.

It's been featured on the "Oprah" show with Sheila Kelley's "The S Factor: Strip Workouts for Every Woman." Kelley even convinced Barbara Walters to pole dance on an episode of "The View."

Becker, 29, of Stafford, found her company, A Pole Lot of Fun, on the Internet.

"I was looking for classes," she says. "I saw this situation where I could get in and learn, but also have my own business and be an entrepreneur.

"I love teaching other women. It helps them feel good about themselves and their bodies."

The Vancouver, Canada-based A Pole Lot of Fun has 130 franchises worldwide, Becker says.

She's owned her franchise since May, and also works as a government contractor at the Marine Corps base in Quantico.

Becker has no background as a dancer and said those considering a party don't need one either.

"This program is specially designed so that every woman, of every age, shape and ability, can do this," she says.

At the Stafford party, women of all ages and body types are dressed in everything from jeans and exercise pants to dress pants and blouses.

And while their wardrobes differ, they share many things--the nervous giggles, the worried fidgeting, and the looks of apprehension.

To begin the party, Becker passes out small glasses of sparkling grape juice and offers a toast "to each other and the pole dancer in all of us, because she will come out tonight!"

Becker explains that pole dancing helps a woman find her inner beauty and sensuality.

Becker asks the women to take off their coats and shoes.

"Those will be the only things coming off tonight," she says.

"Lord, somebody help me," one woman pleads, to the laughter of the other guests.

Warmup includes a round of hip rolls, the "basis of pole dancing and all exotic dancing," Becker tells the women.

"There you go, girl," one woman shouts to another.

"I won't need to do Pilates tomorrow," a woman exclaims.

"Billy Banks either," another responds.

The two-hour party consists of Becker teaching an entire pole dance routine, broken down into steps.

Becker demonstrates each move, then asks for a guest to volunteer to try it.

At first, volunteers are scarce, but someone always gets brave.

The steps include:

The walk: basically a slow strut around the pole. One guest's explanation: "All you got to do is act like you're cute and you got it!"

A standing turn, where dancers wind up with their back against the pole--one hand above her head, the other at her waist. "You may have invented a new move," Becker tells one woman after a near miss.

Hip circles and a slide, where each woman slides her back down the pole to wind up in a sitting position. "Now I see why we had to sign the waiver," one guest laughs.

(By this point in the evening, inhibitions have vanished. Women who had been shy and uncomfortable earlier are fighting over who gets to try out the new moves first. They have found their inner pole dancers.)

A crawl around the pole. "Drop it like it's hot, girl!"

The routine ends with "the fireman," a move that involves each dancer jumping into the air, wrapping her feet around the pole and making a full circle around it.

Companies like A Pole Lot of Fun promote pole dancing as a great girls' night out, as well as good exercise.

"It's great for exercise, weight loss, toning," Becker says. "You're exercising and you don't even know you're exercising. In 10 or 15 minutes you can get a full-body workout. I've got muscles I didn't know I had and have probably lost 10 or 15 pounds."

Bringing the pole to a person's home makes it a less stressful experience.

"People are comfortable in their own homes, with their friends," Becker says. "That's what enables them to get loosened up. There are no men, and we don't allow any bystanders. If you're here, you have to participate."

Becker also offers private lessons in her home.

So far, her business has grown largely through word of mouth and fliers she's put up around the area.

The two-hour party costs $350. Another $50 buys a special package for a bachelorette or birthday girl, who gets a T-shirt, a boa and another gift like a pole dancing exercise video.

Once people learn, Becker said, pole dancing becomes addictive. They can buy their own poles, for about $200 to $450. Some poles are permanently mounted between the floor and ceiling, and others are in two pieces and can be put up and removed easily.

"A student of mine just ordered a pole to take with her to Vegas to surprise her husband on a trip," Becker says.

For every party's finale, each woman makes up a "pole dancer name" and does a routine using at least three of the moves she's learned.

Each woman wraps a boa around her as a black light shines on the pole. A strobe light completes the effect.

The women strut up to the pole full of confidence and begin to dance. But as they work through the routine, there are flashes of panic on their faces as they forget what they want to do next. Becker is nearby with a whispered suggestion.

"I missed my calling," one woman says after her routine. "I'm not going back to work!"

Another agrees.

"I think we should open up a club. I tell you all, we could all quit our day jobs!"

By the end of the evening, many women are asking Becker where to buy poles, and how to host parties of their own.

Hostess Aiken didn't have a special occasion for her party.

"I just wanted to have fun and introduce my friends to this type of fun," she says. "It's a way of opening up and learning new things."

Shelinda Speight, 38, traveled from Maryland for the party.

"I always wanted to learn to work the pole," she says.

Marshelle Harris, 25, a friend of Aiken's daughter Alisha, says it didn't take long for her inhibitions to vanish.

"I don't know most of these ladies, but after the first round, it wasn't a thing to me," she says. "I was trying to show off."

So was Crystal Queen.

"I learned a whole different body language. It enhances your self-image and makes you less uptight about things," says Queen, 37, of Maryland. "I forgot about everything when I was dancing. I felt like I let out the beast that was in me."

For more information, contact Becker at 540/659-3990, or visit apolelotoffun.com.

To reach LAURA L. HUTCHISON: 540/374-5485
Email: lhutchison@freelancestar.com