Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Our reporter put through paces at Dundee studio
A mixture of strength, balance, coordination and technique is needed and this made for a few awkward moments as my lack of these saw me hanging at rather odd angles while a class of dancers watched on intently at the studio in West Hendersons Wynd.
I’m by no means unfit but certainly a few years and pounds past my prime, so this was always going to be an “interesting” test of my physical prowess.
However, I soon began to pick up the technique and it got a bit easier and a lot more enjoyable — and by the end it was certainly an intense and satisfying full-body work out.
The sweat can make it difficult to grip the pole at times and as your arms tire it gets more difficult to keep yourself from sliding down.
Throughout I was ably guided by Heather Thomson, who has been teaching the exercise for five years, and branching out into classes including aerial silks and aerial hoop.
Heather, 33, firmly agrees that pole dancing should be given Olympic status, comparing it to other strength exercises such as gymnastics, with which it shares many similarities.
She said: “The parallel bars have been an Olympic event for years.
“The only difference between them and our pole is the angle it is from the ground.
“Pole dancing ticks all the boxes for it to be an Olympic competition too. It’s highly entertaining, physically competitive and challenging, and, of course, really popular across the world. There are always new moves to do — there are literally thousands of different things you can incorporate into a routine.
“And the great thing is anyone can give it a go — there’s something for everyone. There’s no equipment or special clothing required, you just come along in normal gym gear and you’re good to go.
“We have people of all shapes and sizes.
“Some come here shy and awkward and within a couple of weeks they carry themselves with a confident strut, feeling better about themselves and what they can do.”
I decided to try as hard as I could to follow Heather’s instructions and see what I could incorporate into my makeshift routine.
The first manoeuvre I tried was a simple spin around the pole — clinging on for dear life with two hands and my right leg and circling with my left leg bent to the outside. After a few attempts I managed a halfdecent rotation before coming to a fairly inelegant stop as gravity and lactic acid took their course.
This progressed into a couple of more complicated moves, eventually working my way up to a pose in an upside down hanging position,with the blood rushing to my head.
While I don’t think anyone will be calling me up to the Olympic squad in 2024 — when I’ll be 40 — or paying me to dance for them, it was still an entirely different exercise to what I’m used to.
And, I have to agree with Heather, it was quite a bit more interesting than running on a treadmill in the gym.
I was encouraged to come back and work on my moves. Perhaps I’ll set my sights on the Commonwealth Games instead.
WHAT immediately struck me after I took my first tentative grip of the pole was that the exercise is quite a bit trickier than it looks.