I found my self bored and lacking inspiration. I was waking up in the morning, throwing on a work out DVD going to class, going to work then going to the gym if I had the time to spare. I bet you yawned reading that sentence, imagine that as your life for 3 months.
I consider myself a resourceful woman, and when I see a problem I like to attack it directly
I didn’t want my boredom to give way to lethargy. I needed to shake up my fitness routine. I wanted something fun, something that would make me feel good as well as look good.
Like most of life’s problems YouTube solved this one, I noticed a video attached to one of mine that I never noticed before. It was call Miss Pole Dance Australia 2006, in it a small red haired Aussie performed Cirque De Soleil like feats of acrobatics, flexibility and strength. I was mesmerized. It was right then I knew what I had to do. I needed to learn the art of the pole.
I’m not the first woman to come to this conclusion. There’s no reason that a woman should feel ashamed just because she’s moving her body. She should feel strong confident and beautiful.
Hungry for that feeling I looked for a studio in Newark to no avail, not to be discouraged I found a studio that could be easily reached using the Path train. One block away from the 33rd street path station lies, Exotic Dance Central, a cozy inviting studio that welcomes ” the everyday woman”.
On their website, ExoticDanceCenter they boast that they’re “NYC’s number one pole and exotic dance central” and I don’t argue with them. I’ve never seen dance studio with a martini bar. If my high school ballet studio had one I might have never hung up my toe shoes.
The Erotic Dance Center offers a 2hr pole dancing intensive lesson for 60 dollars. It seemed like a steal because the only other 3 studios that offered pole dancing charged that or more for just one hour. I figured with my strong background in dance and frugal leanings this was where I belonged.
Of course, I did modern, lyrical and jazz dance. If dance were Greek city-states, ballet would be Athens, and pole dancing would be Sparta – not historically accurate Sparta , but 8-pack-sporting-panty-wearing- Frank Miller- Sparta. A gravity defying full body work out.
Practicing these acts help women to enjoy their bodies without having to sexually gratify a man or feel degraded
Exotic Dance Central’s website lets you book and pay for classes online, so I made sure to book the first available intensive after Thanksgiving, — if there’s ever a time you need an intense workout its after ingesting 5 different types of pies.
The website tells you what you can and cannot wear, I was happy to see that I needed stiletto heels that are least 3 inches high. Finally, my two favorite things were coming together, “f” me shoes and fitness. I was far less happy to read I had to wear a tank top; I usually have an issue 
The class was small only 12 people including our friendly instructor Alieesah. The chorus line was full of interesting people, save myself. Before we started the workout Alieesah asked each of us what brought us to the class. I felt horribly shy for some reason, and mumble something about being a special event dancer.