March 26, 2012

Kaos (pole dancing class)

Let me preface this review by telling you that I am not fit, I am not thin and I am not elegant. Pole dancing did not make me feel any of the things I am not though I think that if I stuck with it then I just might.

The truth is that pole dancing is hard. I don’t mean kind of hard. You know that one Pilates class you went to (the one serious one where they didn’t just ask you to breathe and image your spine growing)? The one where you wished you would die because it was so hard and you hurt for a week afterwards. Yeah, that one. That is kind of what pole dancing is like, only fun.

Kaos is way, way up in the top of the James Smith building which used to house the James Smith markets (which I still miss). I wandered around a couple of floors before I found it as the signage is minimal but I think that must be a building policy as there aren't many signs for any of the businesses. No one will ever know you are going in there to a pole dancing class or if they see you enter in gym clothes they'll think you are going to the gym conveniently located in the same building.

The studio is nothing like I imagined, large and airy with wooden floors. The poles (both spinning and stationery) are screwed into brackets on the ceiling. The instructor I imagined would be a statuesque blonde but I was wrong here too, she was short, dark and muscly. She impressed us all by climbing up a pole backwards by which I mean using her legs to pull herself up. The class itself was excellent, we were shown several different moves and given time to try each of them (enough time to make some progress but not enough to get bored or disheartened). We all got to try the moves on a stationery and spinning pole, the latter making some moves much easier.

One thing I liked about this studio is it has no links to the sex industry. Instead, the owners have chosen to focus on pole dancing as more of a performance art, like circus. This is shown in the title of the studio as well as the other class run there; aerial yoga (and I understand they are hoping to offer more options in the future).

I left the class feeling inspired which I managed to maintain the next day even with bruises and aches - I think I could maybe do this.

You can find out more about about Kaos Pole and Circus Arts Academy on their Facebook page

Price: $25 (casual)

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