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This is probably my most favorite. As a dancer, when you watch other dancers freestyle or even dance to a routine, they’re showing a part of themselves to you. They are letting you into their lives, their minds, and opening up to be vulnerable. I love watching others dance; they are so unapologetically themselves. It’s not about perfecting anything or being the best, it’s about truly expressing who you are. Their body movements and facial expressions are a part of the experience, and I love getting to watch people in their element.

I adore getting to learn from all different kinds of dancers: flow-ers, tricksters, amateurs, professionals, newbies, experienced polers, or anyone in between. Learning from others forces you to think of dance and movement from another perspective. It allows you to open your mind to movements that you wouldn’t ordinarily gravitate toward or allow yourself to learn. It’s so much fun getting the chance to collaborate with others and learn what their favorite movements are.

I suck at creating routines; I really do. It’s something that I’m trying to work on and challenge myself with when I compete. But the inherent nature of pole dancing and its origins – largely a performance based dance – makes it more about freestyling than choreography. A lot of what pole dancing is and the movements we allow ourselves to flow through are all about what your body is feeling at that moment. There is no “standard” and there are no rules. It’s about how you want to move at that time and learning to work with your pole as your dance partner, and not about sticking to the rules or being like everyone else, like other forms of dance.

A lot of people think that pole dancing is just stripping, twerking, or generally just shaking your ass. Do you know who much work it takes to learn to invert? How much work behind the scenes that dancers do to accomplish these goals? True high-level pole dancing moves way above and beyond what strippers do (although no hate on sex workers, they’re literally the reason we have this hobby to begin with, and they do a fantastic job at what they do, it’s just not pole dancing). You will feel sore after inverting, shoulder mounting, or any other kinds of preps if you aren’t used to them yet. It takes time and work. A lot of people assume that because dancers are so graceful, and they make everything look so effortless, that it’s this super easy thing (hint: it’s not). I’ve lost weight and gained muscle tone and definition I never knew I had, and I can’t wait to see how my body keeps transforming (for the better) in this process. I feel and live healthily thanks to pole dancing. It’s the only workout I’ve ever enjoyed. Seriously – have fun convincing me to do literally anything else.

Similar to #3, pole dancing is literally the best single sport there is because it’s about how you want to move at that time. The only person you are competing against is yourself. The only rules are the ones you give yourself. Pole dancing is less about doing what someone else tells you to do or looking the exact same as everything else, but more about allowing the movements of your body to become an extension of who you are and giving yourself a sense of understanding your identity. It’s freeing, liberating, and truly a one-of-a-kind experience.