Pole Dancing | Hotpants and Bruises

 The new sport has long shed its shady red-light image in the USA and has been gaining popularity overseas as well. We're talking about pole dancing – not strip-pole dancing but rather an acrobatic discipline that mostly takes place mid-air. I wanted to see what stars like Kate Hudson and Heidi Klum were obsessing about and registered myself at Redlightdance-Studio for a training session.

 The place looked almost deserted when I arrived, only six of the twelve poles were occupied. There were six red mats on the floor, laid out by six women ranging widely in shape, age and size and equipped with hotpants and tight tops. There's a practical aspect to this outfit: The more skin contact you get with the pole, the harder it will be to slip off.

 To make sure it all runs smoothly and no one gets hurt, we begin with a workout and stretching exercises to warm up our muscles and smooth out our tendons. Our trainer switches on a chain of red lights and we're off: Jazzdance exercises (including a split!) to rhythmic music. I'm thankful for my showdace experience. We go on to more daring moves and I can spot even some of the shyer participants working those thighs and hips with increasing enthusiasm.

We practise our new choreography in a dry run on the floor. From there, the girls jump up onto the pole and get themselves into a stretched out horizontal position. Because it all looks so easy, I decide to just dive in. But as is the problem with most physical exercises that seem easy to handle at first, I become desillusioned within minutes after my first attempt at jumping the pole. The climb alone requires an amazing amount of strength in my upper arms. Not to mention the squashing and sticking of bare skin on metal. At several points, I simply slip off and awkwardly land on my back.

But it's still loads of fun since everyone's having a good time and able to laugh about themselves. At the end of the lesson, there's a final attempt at a more elaborate choreography where there's dancing on and off the pole. I give my best and start to feel a little less out of place.

Once the lesson's over, my thighs are burning like hot coals. I'll look like a rape victim the next day says my neighbor dancer. Even Wiebke started out with a lot of blood, sweat and tears: “The first couple of training sessions are tough. You have to conquer the pain. By now, I don't feel anything anymore, I could kick back and watch some TV on the side” she says. I nod and think to myself: "Watching TV while hanging upside down on a pole? Seems like a bit of a stretch."  But hey, a little dose of optimism never hurt anyone.  

 (sb)