Hi guys,

The questions below are a part of a blog hop… Please check out the other pole peep’s blogs to see what they have to say as there’s a lot of diverse opinions among us pole pioneers!

ALSO, please feel free to help me make #19 a reality. Pleeeeaaathhhh.

1. How long have you been pole dancing? Off and on for four years. Pretty regularly since August 2012.

2. What’s your favorite song to pole dance to? ANY song by Eminem or Adele. If those two did a mash-up I’d be in heaven. HEAVEN I say.

3. What’s your favorite pole dance move? Any form of a layback.

Seriously… It never gets old.

4. If you have to classify your dance style, what would it be? Lyrical pole dancer who uses her body to scream without saying a word. I’m not a vertical gymnast, trickster or technically precise.

5. What inspires your movement? Why do you dance? My emotions inspire my movements. I dance as a form of catharsis… or sometimes just because I feel flirty and playful. Either way, giving my body a voice to speak with feels good.

6. Do you study/participate in any other kinds of dancing or other kinds of training? Nope. If I had more hours in the day I would be in pole class, hip-hop and Zumba.

7. How often do you train, dance or attend class per week? I teach 2 or 3 days a week. I’d like to do more training but the Day Job and the Bon Bon Bakery take up a lot of time.

8. Any tips for training? a) ENJOY the PROCESS and b) get one of these blue foam Pilates Posture Balls for massaging muscles that are otherwise hard to get at. I am OBSESSED with mine.

This will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. For realzies.

9. Do you train on both sides when you pole? Why or why not? I do now! I injured my right shoulder (and wrist) so have been becoming armbidextrous out of necessity.

10. If you’re not a full time poler, how do you balance work and pole? Friends and pole? Life and Pole? I don’t. See item #7.

11. Is pole dancing, which happens to be a hobby for most, worth the investment? It’s cathartic and a rad workout at the same time… it is worth EVERY penny.

12. Why did you start a pole dance blog? I wanted to come out as a pole dancer so other women who are like me (read: not 22, not 110 pounds, not particularly “athletic”) would know they are able to discover and celebrate their femininity through pole dance RIGHT NOW. Not 10 pounds from now, not if they somehow could be 10 years younger… all they have to do is show up for a good class. I’d suggest one of mine (find me here: http://www.facebook.com/bonbonshakery) but know there are great classes being taught all over the world.

13. What’s your favorite post on your pole dance blog? The time I found myself talking to Ryan Gosling in real life. I still can hardly believe that happened. #fun #dreamy #againplease

Um… he didn’t say this but I think that’s only because I didn’t tell him I blog…

14. If you teach, why did you start teaching, and how did it change your practice? If you don’t teach, do you think you’d ever want to teach? Why or why not? I started teaching because I couldn’t find a class that taught the slow, sensual style of pole dance that my body craved here in Austin, TX (I learned from S Factor and missed it terribly). I figured I’d teach it to others and thereby create what I was missing! I currently teach Level 1 and Level 2 Pole Fitness classes but remain most passionate about my Freestyle Cultivation Class… mirrors are covered, (fake) candles are lit and then we have a girl party of the highest order. Teaching and dancing both feed my soul.

15. Looking back at your life, are you surprised that you’re a pole dancer? YES. First of all, when I was between 2 and 6 my right (dominant) arm came out of socket so much the doctor’s in the ER taught my Mom how to reinsert my arm so she could do it herself. The fact that I’d take up pole dancing 30 years later is bananas. Also, I spent decades avoiding or covering up my womanly assets so to find myself advocating a full immersion, as often as possible, into such a feminine art surprised me.

16. What’s one pole stereotype that you wish would go away? It’s all about female exploitation. Plenty of pole classes are like that but MANY (including mine) are actually about celebrating the feminine form… not exploiting it. The healing power of the pole is real. Not just something I talk about.

17. Best reaction when you told someone that you are a pole dancer? My 86-year old conservative, WASP, Grandmother: “Well… You have always LOVED dance.” God love her.

18. Also, since its May… does your Mother [or any maternal person in your life] know that you pole dance and what does she think? Of course. She’s fine with it. She was the one who encouraged me to start teaching classes in my hometown every few months. That said, she will never be a student in one of my classes (n-e-v-e-r). That would be TOO weird for us both!

19. What’s your pole fantasy or dream? TO DANCE FOR EMINEM WHILE LISTENING TO EMINEM. Don’t ask me to explain myself. I can’t. I can only tell you this has been my pole fantasy for YEARS now. Y-E-A-R-S.

20. Finish this sentence. Pole dancing is…. ALL SORTS OF FUN.

Ok, now get your blog hop on by clicking here: <!– start LinkyTools script –><script src=”http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=194969&#8243; type=”text/javascript” ></script><!– end LinkyTools script –>

xoxo,

S