OKAY, pole-dancing may well be associated with a somewhat seedier tradition than your average fitness craze, but then many dances out there – think samba and tango – do look like endless variations on the theme of mating.
While the original pole-dance is a ritual still performed in Europe on May Day, ostensibly by floaty-frocked village virgins with flowers in their hair, the dance is in fact keeping alive a Pagan tradition with exceedingly strong sexual connotations. No doubt this ancient dance was the inspiration behind American strip club owners who, when in search of yet another way to titillate their customers, knew full well that pepped up Pagan rituals always go down well.
Agreed, the sexual connotations attached to pole-dancing is more than a little bit obvious, but when stripped (excuse the pun) of its ‘adult’ associations, then it could instantly be hailed as the perfect exercise of choice for any aspiring gymnast.
Not that there are many wannabe Olympic gymnasts residing in Konia village. If there were, then the challenge is there for them to try and conquer around 60 or so different and decidedly tricky moves whilst trying to hang with any grace from a 4.5 metre hollow steel pole with a diametre of around five centimetres running from the floor to ceiling in Louise Fiddes fitness studio.
This is a woman who can literally lift her own body weight as she attaches herself to the pole and with consummate balletic ease seems almost glued to the structure performing a series of ‘thighs the limit’ type exercises, after which she slithers like a caterpillar down and dismounts. Looks easy, but it’s not.
“First you have to have a certain level of fitness to do this. If you are overweight it’s going to be a struggle as technically you have to lift your own body weight,” she said. “But the whole point of the pole as a fitness work out is the combination of endurance, strength, power, stamina and mobility especially in the upper body areas.”
After Louise’s clients have mastered the basics, they find pole-dancing is a preferred way to keep up a core fitness regime which works in tandem with any other fitness dance class.
“But it’s not for the fainthearted or for those who tend to give up too quickly if they can’t master something immediately,” she said.
The obvious question is whether Louise ever has women who, after signing up for her classes, then request specifically to train in those less salubrious ‘booty shaking’ manoeuvres in order to bring a bit of sparkle to their hubbies’ eyes?
“To be honest classes start with 30 minute floor exercise warm up then, another 30 minutes working different positions on the pole,” she said. “If someone can get to the level where they can simultaneously perform a booty shaker, while clinging to the pole, and still be able to manage a winning smile then they have probably reached the stage where they don’t need my teaching prowess anymore. They will surely have gone out and bought a pole of their own for 300 euros on e-bay.”
Watching 30-year-old Louise lever herself through an airy ballet of swooping and suspended balances and somersaulting Pas de Deux’s it’s clear she has mastered not only the dreaded ‘split arm tip over’, but also the straining ‘straight leg’ with the ease and agility of a primate.
There are, however, downsides to pole dancing.
“It’s mainly bruising as you do fall off to start with. Then there’s the risk of friction burns. You need to wear just the basic covering like shorts and a tank top as it’s your skin sticking to the pole that also helps you stay in position, so when you miscalculate a move and have to keep repeating it, then the skin can become damaged,” said Louise. “You cannot wear any moisturisers or creams as that’s what we would call ‘the slippery slope’. You just slide off and won’t be able to gain any traction. Some people will wear a glove to gain extra grip and to stop any calluses developing.”
She warns that if you don’t good instruction from the very beginning you can damage ribs, and that as with any form of intense exercise you have to warm up first and not push your body way beyond its limits.
Twenty-eight-year-old Naomi Morris works as a stewardess on oil rigs and was introduced to pole-dancing when she went on a hen night.
“I thought then that it was just a laugh, but once I got into it I could tell it was not only great fun but also a darn sight more challenging than the treadmill and weight work outs at the gym,” she said. “So I am now a fan. My partner also works out this way, not from any male sexual fantasy sort of thing, but because it’s helping build up his core body strength.”
Maxine O’Daly is a sparkling, fit, very healthy 60-something lady who pole dances and belly dances. “I love this form of exercise. It’s great for helping increase bone density in older women and men. It’s also fun, and at the same time challenging,” she said.
Janice, a 46-year-old primary school teacher is another devotee of the pole. “It’s so silly to always think of it as solely being in the domain of seedy strip clubs,” she said. “My only comment would be that the ladies who work in these places all look remarkably trim, so I suppose that’s actually a form of ringing endorsement for the fitness benefits of pole dancing.”
n For more information contact Louise Fiddles at [email protected]
