Student Spotlight - Devin!

Devin has been attending classes at the Pole Palace for around 2 years. She is the first student to participate in our new student spotlight feature.

How old are you? 
35 

What do you do when you're off the pole?
Mom a 3-year-old girl.  Some photography.

What brought you to The Pole Palace for the first time? 
After six years of saying I really want to try pole dancing, my friend sent me a link to a Groupon deal for the Intro Series.  When it was just about to expire, we booked our 1st class.  Turns out the studio was only three blocks from my house.  Now I’ve been coming regularly for almost two years.

What is your favorite thing about the studio?
There’s an amazing camaraderie among students and with instructors as well.  Everyone is so positive and supportive of each other’s unique talents and personal goals.

What has pole dance given you?
Everything from Abs to Zzz’s!  Since starting my pole journey I’ve redefined my postpartum mid-section, been able to open more pickle jars, slept better at night, increased my balance, increased my stamina, flexibility, overall strength...  But more importantly it has given me a creative outlet with goals towards which I see regular progress.  That’s an important contrast to my mom role, in which I’ll have to wait another 15 years before I’ll find out if I succeeded in my goal of raising a well-adjusted adult.  In that same vain, pole has given me adult conversation leading to valuable friendships too.

What advice would you give someone coming to the studio for the first time?
That person by the pole next to you, maybe it’s a student, maybe an instructor— they look so weightless rolling around doing gorgeous floor work, while you might feel like you’re flopping around like a beached whale.  You’re not doing it wrong.  You can do everything exactly the same as they do mechanically.  The only difference is that they have toned the precise muscles needed to move weightlessly.  Keep going through the motions and over time your floor work will look and feel effortless too.  Same goes for on-the-pole moves.