FuzzyNavel started this discussion ·
Hi Veeners! My aunt who lives in San Diego, CA has recently acquired a new x-pole and would love to try studio classes. Do any of you know of reputable studios in the area?? Thanks!!!
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Hi Fuzzy, I know of 5 places of which I have taken classes at 3. Starting at PoledanceSanDiego and then moving on to FunPoleFitness was perfect for me and I'd do it the same way again 🙂 http://www.poledancingsandiego.com/ I started at this place and still think it is great for beginners totally new to pole. They only offer beginner classes though. I switched studios when they moved (and were closed for a while) which was at the same time I felt I started to outgrow their level. Apart from pole they also have "booty burn" which teaches fun routines with floor, chair and/ or wall work. Susan's the only teacher and she has background in ballroom dancing. She stresses alignment and safe positioning a lot, big plus 👍 She teaches each spin/trick separately, about two tricks per class, and then incorporates them into a mini routine. I like this format a lot because it gives you time to learn & practice a new move but still get an idea how to use it in a dance. We started strength moves (climb & hold, knees-up invert )early on, but even though she gives you a new challenge when you're ready for it, Susan makes sure you don't do it if you are not 👍 👍 👍 She didn't have a lot of poles at their old studio (haven't seen the new one yet, she had XPoles, from the pic on the web side I think now it's stage poles), so 2-3 people had to share a pole. As a beginner I didn't mind because I couldn't pole for an hour straight and watching other people was very helpful, but by now I prefer having my own pole the whole class. http://www.funpolefitness.com/ That's the place I'm at now. I'd consider it good place for beginners through intermediate/beg. advanced (although some classes are called "advanced"), however I think their style teaching very beginners would have been a bit fast for me in the beginning. Everyone gets their own pole, you have to sign up beforehand. Poles are X-Poles and they have the different sizes/finishes so you can pick which works best for you. I love that the instructors are all very sweet, break each move down & explain preps to progressions, give everyone personal attention & help getting a move. You get a response really quickly (usually under 24 hours) and all the staff just really cares. The focus is a bit more on fitness & fun and if you want to learn "stripper style" dancing this might not be the best place for you. The ladies taking classes are very nice, down to earth and supportive, I made many friends here. You can be as sexy or not as you want it's totally up to you and everyone welcomes either way. They start with Intro 1 & 2, which contains a routine with the basic spin families (inside planted foot = everything fireman to chair to cradle, outside plated foot = everything backwards, inside hooked leg = front hooks & side spin, blind hand grab = reverse grab). Different leg variations are then explained when they show up in a choreography or you take the "spins" class. I think for me, this would have been too fast in the beginning. There's a lot of different style classes to choose from. Beg/int. choreography classes are fun and not too hard. Pole conditioning is great using the pole for strength training. I'd recommend this one before moving on to tricks. However, they let you take (beg.) tricks right away, which includes climbing, forearm/handstands, strength exercises, and inverts (although they teach lifting into invert they'll let you try in your first tricks class - not so fond of). "Advanced" tricks includes inverted tricks, holds, different climbs (advanced inverted holds like straight edge, twisted grip, handspring & Co. are not on the list yet, that's why I wouldn't recommend it for truly advanced dancers). They also offer GoGo dancing, floorwork, and chair/lap dance classes. http://www.polesinsations.com I have only taken the Beg./intermediate choreography classes here, but they offer from intro to advanced (not sure how advanced that is). They have wonderfully tall permanent brass poles 👍. Organization didn't seem their strong side and it took a while to get a response. Even though you have to sign up beforehand, there were always more people than poles so we had to share (not sure if that changed since they switched to an online sign-up system). The beg/int. classes teach a full routine which I found much more challenging than at FunPoleFitness. Moves were demonstrated, but not really broken down (don't know if that's also true for intro or advanced). Their style is pretty much super sexy "stripper" style, and many girls going there are professionals, I assume they use the routines at work. I love to watch dancers move like this, but as a just-for-fun dancer I'm not good at it and felt a little out of place (although everyone was nice). http://sexysilhouettesbysara.com Haven't been to this place yet, but a friend of mine just took her first class there. She said it's a small studio but they don't share poles, so they can handle only 4 students at a time. They had a promotion running not too long ago and a lot of people signed up, not sure how easy it is to get in. My pole teacher said the instructor is a quite advances dancer. Currently they only offer beginner/intermediate classes and don't have regular classes on weekends. http://www.frommindtobody.com/classschedule.html They didn't even reply to my email asking questions about classes and how to find which level I belonged in. That kicked them off my list. The San Diego studio used to have 3-4 beg. and int. classes per week, but is currently listed with only one (beginner) class. Sorry it got so long! Hope this helps finding the right place for your aunt! ~Tine
Don't apologize for this being so long! Oh WOW, thanks so much for such a detailed answer. I am going to copy and paste your message into an email to her! She'll be thrilled! Thank YOU!!! as a side note, I did recommend Veena's lessons as well, but I also thought it would be very helpful for her to be at a studio and see and interact with instructors. She is very athletic, but has some previous injuries and such so this will be a great start for her. Good karma to you Tine...that was above and beyond 😀
Pole Sinsations has a location up in Vista now also. They have classes at the Deja Vu Love Boutique store on the 78. Their Beginner/Intro classes are very good for beginners. They have a strong focus on spins and floor work.
