From Aerial Arts to Pole Dancing: Playful Ways to Sweat it Out

Ask yourself: when was the last time you played? Like, really tapped into your inner child, forgot about other people watching you, and let go. Has it been a hot second? Do you even remember? 

And then, think about what words come to mind when you think about working out, particularly in a group environment? Did “play” or “sensuality” end up on that list? I’m guessing not. When we think about group fitness, we tend to think of things like bootcamp classes, Crossfit, yoga, or Jane Fonda teaching aerobics (just me?). Often sweaty, often loud, maybe just a thing you have to grit your teeth and get through. Probably not particularly playful, and definitely not sexy.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can meld getting a great workout with a sense of play or sensuality. Let me show you some options!

Aerial Arts

In 2016, I worked across the hallway from Coil — an aerial arts studio in downtown Spokane. A few times a week, on my way home, I’d peek in to watch silks classes in action, and what really struck me was that there was always laughter: the kind of easy laughter you only hear when people are completely comfortable.

I finally signed up for a class and the rest, as they say, is history: I now practice and teach aerial in the same studio that so intrigued me seven years ago. But that joy, that laughter, and that effusive sense of play is still what draws me back to that space time and time again. 

One of the things I love most about teaching aerial — and particularly the introductory classes — is that I get to be a guide, and a witness, to adults rediscovering that sense of play and that re-integration into their bodies through movement. 

Here’s what happens: a group of new students come into the first week of the intro class. They’re nervous, they don’t know what to expect, and they usually don’t know each other. We chat about safety, do introductions (yay! Nobody’s a complete stranger anymore!), and warm up. And then we get on the apparatus and everyone gets their first chance to invert, aka go upside-down in the fabric. 

For safety reasons, I usually have all of my beginner students invert for the first time one at a time, so that I can offer them my full attention and spotting assistance, if needed. This means that, yes, when it’s your turn, all eyes are on you. But once someone in class is brave enough to volunteer to go first, the magic happens. There are squeals of joy, peals of laughter, squeaks of rollercoaster-ride excited terror, and — if anyone struggles — an instant outpouring of encouragement and support. A group who had been a disparate group of scared strangers 20 minutes earlier becomes a cohesive community of play and joy. 

As you advance in your aerial career, that sense of play only deepens, as well. Once you build up a repertoire of basic moves, build up the stamina to spend more time in the air, and learn how to work with your apparatus, you begin to find that you can start creating your own sequences, and your own style in the air. “What happens if I move this way?” “How does it look if I bend my leg here?” You truly get to move and dance in a way that feels good for your body. 

But don’t just take it from me. Melissa Ardales, owner of Coil, says that when she started her aerial arts journey, she was excited for the mental and physical puzzles. 

She says: “Aerial arts encourage people to think about moving their body with flow and purpose, exploring shapes, pushing boundaries and empowering them to move their body in a way they might not have thought possible. There is such exhilaration in going upside down. There is such sensuality in wrapping yourself in a piece of fabric that is soft enough to be comforting and strong enough to hold you. Trusting an apparatus that hangs from the ceiling suspends the participant into another realm and releases our inner wild child that just wants permission to climb on everything!”

Pole Dance

If being suspended in the air isn’t really your jam, but you still like the idea of using an apparatus to help facilitate movement and play, pole dancing/pole fitness may be an intriguing option.

Over a decade ago, I started taking pole classes in the corner of a powerlifting gym that happened to be in the same building as my office. Let me tell you: there are few things more surreal than being in short-shorts and a sports bra, getting up close and personal with a pole, while 10 feet away, your boss is grunting on an elliptical. 

But I kept coming back, week after week, awkward boss moment after awkward boss moment, because it was FUN. It was silly and playful and legitimately made me feel sexy. It was also challenging in a way that I’d never experienced before, requiring a combination of physical strength and the confidence to really get in touch with your body in order to make moves look good. (Also, there are few things more “wheee!”-inducing than spinning around a pole. It’s just joyful!)

After that teacher decided that teaching in a weights-focused gym wasn’t her jam, I stopped practicing pole, except for the occasional drop-in visit to studios in other cities while on vacation. I missed it, but Spokane didn’t really have any other options… until Twirl Lit Fitness/Soul Magik Studios opened a few years ago.

While I have not had the opportunity to take as many classes from Brittn Andersoni, the owner of Twirl Lit, as I would like, I can unequivocally vouch for the fact that her classes are fantastic. She fully brings a sense of joy to her classes that is both rare and lovely — even her warmups are playful. In her own words, her “focus is to get people to find the joy and passion in their own unique pole journey. Everyone’s pole journey is unique and different. Expressing yourself feels good and expressing them dancing on a pole is a healthy way to release emotions. Not only does it benefit individuals by releasing those emotions, others get to see that beauty!”

There is something uniquely powerful about being in an environment that will absolutely kick your butt physically (a significant amount of pole is essentially holding your body weight off the ground by gripping onto a slippery piece of vertical metal) and also let you get down with your bad self, especially when you do it surrounded by others who are also discovering that same spark within themselves. Finding that combination of strength, sexiness, and silliness can be difficult, but taking pole classes is an excellent mix of all of these attributes. 

Burlesque

Maybe, however, you’re not really interested in using an apparatus and want to focus on really getting into your body and embracing your sensuality through dance and play. Let’s talk about burlesque!

I’m going to be honest: I struggled with burlesque for months after I started learning it. I’ve been taking classes at Bloom House Academy for over a year now, and for the first few sessions, I ended almost every class crying in my car. Much of the focus of this art is on presenting yourself as someone worth watching, moving in a way that asks an audience to see you, to witness you, in all your Youness. And that was, to me, unexpectedly hard. (Also, I have absolutely NO sense of rhythm. It’s a hilarious problem.)

I realized, however, that even though I had that intense emotional response, I kept coming back; I kept wanting to come back. I got excited on class days. I planned outfits for class that made me feel powerful and sexy. I started thinking about how I could personalize the choreography we were learning to suit my body and my style. And, most importantly, I got more comfortable being seen. And let me tell you: there are few things more fundamentally joyful than putting movement to music in a community of women celebrating their own power. 

Nicole Brianna, the founder of Bloom House Academy, says:

“I started Bloom House Academy as a sort of mystery-life-dance school that works between the outer and inner worlds, prioritizing movement and play as a medicine while teaching [women] to tap into their intuition, self love and empowerment. I teach burlesque as an embodied art form and lifestyle and have witnessed tremendous transformation in both myself and my students. From job changes to healthy break-ups to huge shifts in body language and confidence, an overall sense of lightening up and opening up to more happiness, fearlessness and freedom is a Bloom House trend. We fall in love with our bodies. We carry our heads higher, opening our hearts to the magic of receiving and being seen. We prioritize pleasure, self-possession and boundaries, learning to come alive in our authentic and brilliant selves.”

I admit: if I’d read this a year ago, I would have scoffed: how could a silly dance class be that powerful? But… It’s true. From learning the foundations of dance mechanics and steps to the embodiment and confidence needed to start embracing being witnessed by an audience, it’s a potent elixir. I’ve noticed that I do move differently these days. I find more joy in my body, and I definitely just dance more. It’s not always pretty, but there’s a connection between my brain and body that I’ve never really experienced before. And that is truly a powerful thing.

While one or more of these arts may resonate with you more than others, they’re all incredible options to try if you’re looking for ways to incorporate more of a sense of play and sensuality into your movement practice. Moving, getting stronger, or just blowing off steam in a productive way doesn’t need to be just sweaty and loud — it can also help you tap into some of those aspects of yourself that you may not have gotten to flex in a while. 

Let’s play!