Mood lighting, mirrors and six 14-foot brass poles all signal to students they are about to experience an intense, unique workout.
O-Pole Studios opened its doors on Oct. 4 — the second business to bring pole dancing opportunities to Bellingham, joining Unique Technique Dance Studios.
Located at 4233 Meridian St., Suite 105, the studio offers adult beginner classes, drop-in classes, pole-adjacent classes and more.
Co-owner Alicia Kennemer previously owned Love to Dance Studios and taught dance fitness such as Zumba for 12 years until she closed her studio during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kennemer met business partner and O-Pole Studios co-owner Dar Albert in one of her Zumba classes, and the two formed a friendship. Albert had previously been training and performing as a belly dancer.
The pair were curious about pole dancing.
“We took a class and it just went from there. We were both so struck by the power of the movement and just the fitness level of it and everything, so we just fell in love with it,” Kennemer said.
Since O-Pole debuted its first classes, community members have come to Kennemer and thanked her for opening the studio, she said. Like many hobbies, pole dancing gained popularity during the pandemic.
Kennemer loves that pole dancing includes cardio, flexibility and strength all in one package.
“You’re literally dancing while doing a plank in a vertical position, or, as Alicia likes to put it, you’re rock climbing in your underwear,” Albert said.
Instructor Megan Louise spots Mikayla Dixon as she bends back from the pole. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)
Unique Technique Dance Studios, located at 3815 Bakerview Spur No. 1 in Bellingham, also offers pole dancing classes. Owner Patsy Edlin said there is a sense of gratification when mastering a difficult move.
“Once you break it down and get the move down, it fuels the fire in your soul,” she said.
O-Pole Studios instructor Brianna Hackler compared pole dancing to gymnastics and other aerial sports, such as performances by Cirque du Soleil. Because it requires a dancer to hold their body weight up, the sport helps develop upper body and core strength, she said.
After a couple weeks, pole dancers will see their strength and confidence build, Hackler said. Students begin putting moves together after a couple of months and, depending on their previous skill level, could even start moving up the pole and going upside down.
Beyond the physical benefits, pole dancing helps the brain. Albert said learning new patterns keeps your mind sharp and helps fight memory loss.
“You can leave [stress] behind because you can’t think of anything else. There’s music, your body and the challenge,” Edlin said.
Albert enjoys watching her students flex their creative muscles, like making up new moves.
“The creativity side of it is endless. You’re making shapes with [yourself],” she said.
While dance fitness can have a competitive edge, Albert and Edlin say pole dancing cultivates a close-knit community.
“In pole, everyone’s just looking for that space where they can all come together and learn together,” she said.
Instructor Megan Louise demonstrates a move from high up on the pole. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)
Despite the physical, mental and social benefits, there is a stigma surrounding pole dancing.
“Societally, we are only presented with the … misogynist point of view — meaning pole is for the erotic world, the intention behind it is pleasure, it’s something for the audience,” Albert said.
Albert understands there is a place for that type of creativity, but she doesn’t want that expectation held over her students’ heads. She said there are many forms of pole dancing, including static — which is just poses — low-flow, high-flow, aerial, dual and even themed dances.
Mikayla Dixon, Albert’s daughter and a student of the studio, has been pole dancing since July. While she is aware of the misconceptions about pole dancing, she has not encountered them in Bellingham. When she tells people about the classes, a common reaction is, “I wanna do that so bad.”
O-Pole Studios’ goal is to “not only bring a new point of view to why this is so empowering for anyone who takes it up as a sport, but to also acknowledge its roots in sex work and the women who brought these moves,” Kennemer said.
While so far no men have signed up for an O-Pole class, it is important to the business to be sex- and body-positive as well as open to all identities.
“Everybody enjoys dancing, everybody enjoys moving … gender doesn’t matter for that,” Hackler said.
At Unique Technique Studios, Edlin said men frequently attend pole classes.
“You’re all in there struggling together,” Edlin said.
As O-Pole Studios looks ahead, it plans to open its doors in more ways than one. The owners hope to bring in enough clients to have the ability to donate to charities that support sex workers, the LGBTQ+ community, the trans community and more.
“It’s really important for us to take that community and extend it and open it up and support other areas of this Bellingham community. It’s an important part of our message,” Kennemer said.
A story featuring O-Pole studios in the Oct. 19, 2022 Cascadia Daily News misspelled pole instructor Brianna Hackler’s name and co-owner Dar Albert’s name. The Cascadia Daily News regrets these errors.
