An Open Letter to Home Polers

An Open Letter to Home Polers…

I didn’t forget about you.

You are just as important (if not more) than the gold medal holders and the world travelers.

You are keeping pole dance alive for a lot of us.

Let me explain.

There was a time when we were ALL home polers. As little as a decade ago there weren’t pole studios in almost every city! I used to host “Stripper Pole Saturday’s” at my home, when all my girls would come over and we’d look up moves on the internet. Thank you Karol for the Pole Encyclopedia! We’d make brownies, have some wine, and eventually all collapse on the floor in our tie-side body zone shorts that hardly covered half a cheek…let alone our gluteal fold ;).

You’re keeping pole dance alive for me because you remind me that I don’t have to keep up.

I have no dance or gymnastics training, I’m self-taught, I make my own costumes, choreograph my own routines, train by myself in an empty studio, and cut my own music. I am most definitely NOT putting down the ladies who compete at the highest level and have beautiful couture costumes and professional choreography. My mind is blown daily by the growth of our community and the strength and flexibility needed for today’s most advanced routines.

I just take comfort in knowing that there are a bunch of ladies dancing in their living rooms, with kids and pets wondering in the shot, and they love pole dancing just as much as the most competitive acrobats. I want to know that people still participate just for pure joy, because it makes them feel strong or sexy (hopefully both).

We can’t go back in time and become a rhythmic gymnast, or a professional dancer, or a contortionist, or a body builder. We will never keep up with the children in the sport, and very few of us can train full time.

All the more reason to be proud of your accomplishments eh?

Move the cat out from under your pole, prop up that cell phone, freestyle, and keep being the unique home polers I need. Thank you for the inspiration!

Sarah Jade