Firstly, I'd like to say that I am not an advocate of strip clubs strictly because a majority of them have women strippers who perform for the enjoyment of men, and their life situation is usually not a desirable one. In no way do I have disrespect towards them or judge them because I don't know what's going on in their lives AT ALL. But I will say that I think many of the women who work in strip clubs don't do so "just because." Hence their high turnover rate.
That being said, I decided to finally, FINALLY, venture to Crunch and try the class that always intrigued me: Pole Dancing. Now this is nothing new to Crunch, it's been around for at least a year. But guess what, it's new to me dammit so let's pretend that it's new to everyone.
I walked up uncertainly, definitely nervous about the prospect of climbing a pole and somehow sliding my way down. (Please note: I have no upper body strength so I was actually afraid it would be more like jumping up a pole only to come crashing down a second later.) I asked several people of all shapes and sizes if this was pole dancing. Some of them looked geared up and ready to go while others mirrored the same uncertainties back at me. The two instructors came in as we spread out and poles were screwed into the floor. Music came on and we began warming up before we took to the poles. And this wasn't your ordinary warm up. No, this was sensuous and a little raunchy and at this point, if you're uncomfortable doing THIS then you better suck it up and deal with it because it's just getting started.
After the warm up we separated into groups of 3-4 (our "pole groups") and did some stretches against the pole. Finally, it was down to business. We started off with some light walking and spinning around the pole with a little movement on the floor then worked our way to climbing, sliding down, getting on the pole feet first, and for those advanced enough, climbing to the top and sliding down upside down. At the end of the class we each got the opportunity to do our own "free style," doing whatever we please with the pole.
Were a few people watching from the outside? Kind of but not really. And to be honest, I didn't glance outside the studio until I was just about to leave. The class was, without a doubt, one of the best classes I've ever taken. Did I master the pole? Definitely not. Throughout the class I confirmed that I indeed have no upper body strength but I had a damn good time climbing and spinning and "free styling." I could count on one hand the amount of girls who looked almost professional but everyone else looked a little bit awkward, not used to expressing sexuality in this way. And this comforted me and allowed me to further step out of my box. The fact that we were all a little bit awkward together made it more of a bonding experience in a non-cheesy, non-Girl-Scout-kind-of-way. Well at least I felt closer to the ones who didn't have all the moves down. The girls who could spin and twirl and slide put me in awe and mark my words, I WILL be able to do what they do. And not because I have any desire to slide down a pole in front of a man and hope he enjoys it. Because I really liked doing it for myself. This sounds so cliche (and even me saying it sounds cliche is...well, cliche), but it was a very liberating feeling to be in a room with a group of girls and great music and strip away societal constraints, outside opinions, and self-doubts. And it's a good workout!
And, being honest with myself, I left that class feeling the best I have felt in a few weeks. I felt like I had a "theme song" as I walked down the sidewalk (Like in Ally McBeal, how she would walk down the street and her theme song would play... Just go with it).
I highly recommend this class, bruises and all. But please leave the dollar bills at home.
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