SA pole dancers share their dancing journeys from starting out to hitting the stage
An Adelaide mum says haters need to get their heads out of the gutter as her 10-year-old daughter dominates the pole dancing stage.
Lifestyle
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Pole dancing is on the rise with South Australian classes tripling as mums, kids and men give the sport a go.
Leading the pack is Hayley Higgins, who begged her mum before starting lessons at 5 years old.
Now 10, the southern suburbs girl does karate, dance and has performed two Fringe shows and twice placed runner up at the Australian Amateur Pole Competition.
“I love pole dancing because it’s fun and it helps with my strength and flexibility,” Hayley said.
“My favourite move at the moment is the dead dolphin.”
Mum Tiffany Higgins said her daughter “fell in love with every apparatuses, and she’s been doing it ever since”.
“When Hayley showed an interest, I said well if you want to try it, that’s fine. I’m a big advocate for kids following their own interests. As parents you shouldn’t bring your interests or ideals on your child,” she said.
But the mum said she had faced backlash for letting Hayley do pole dancing with adults even saying “she’s a stripper”.
“We’ve had a lot of hate from people who are ignorant and I don’t understand in this day and age why people are still so judgmental and teach their kids to be judgmental,” she said.
“People look at it and say its not a sport, but it is a sport … a lot of people in the classes are everyday people, men, women and children just wanting to do something different.
“When people say pole dancing to me, I don’t automatically get my head in the gutter and it shouldn’t be an automatic head in the gutter.”
Hayley trains at Pole 4 Fitness and owner Leanne Williamson said popularity had risen so much she had to triple the class timetables in the past six years with more kids, adults and even grandparents taking up the sport.
“I did my first class in 2008 and it was very ‘you shouldn’t be doing that’ back then, but now people are like ‘oh that’s awesome, you’re so fit and strong,” Ms Williamson said.
“Our timetables from 2017 to now have doubled if not tripled in the amount of classes,” she said.
Meet 11 fellow SA pole dancers dominating the local stages.
Louise Ginsberg Sich
Wanting to rebuild her “shattered self esteem”, Louise Ginsberg Sich found pole dancing just before her 30th birthday.
“I had battled an eating disorder in my teens and this had left me so self conscious and always comparing myself lacking to another body,” Mrs Ginsberg Sich, now 35, said.
“I had been so focused on my value being attached to a number on a scale – my mass made up my worth. And suddenly the feeling of spinning in the air made me feel weightless both physically and mentally.”
After struggling with crippling anxiety, pole dancing helped the Angaston pilates instructor “quieten the loud constant negative monologue” she was “drowning in”.
“I was heavily struggling with crippling anxiety and doing something which required me to be physical and mentally so present meant I didn’t have time to worry and work out where my body needed to be upside down,” she said.
Ms Ginsberg Sich, who won the advance category at the Australian Amateur Pole Competition last year, said she loved the “physical challenges pole presents”.
“For me each bruise is like my own girl scout badge that I’ve earned. I wear them proudly. They help keep me grounded in the present moment,” she said.
Next on her sights is to travel stages across the country and beyond.
Fawn Phoenix
After a decade of professional dancing, Fawn Pheonix took up pole five years ago and now she’s a resident showgirl at The Crazy Horse and performer at jazz bar Nineteen 10.
“I remember watching current showgirls on stage who had went as far as to win state, national, and world titles and was amazed at the pure strength and grace it took,” Ms Phoenix said.
“As I was a professional trained dancer in America, I saw it as another form of dance that I wanted to conquer.”
Ms Phoenix, who moved over from Colorado in 2019, said although pole dancing was “extremely challenging”, she found joy and freedom in it.
“It’s a wonderful form of exercise that incorporates strength, grace, flexibility, artistic flow, and sheer discipline and most of all, is extremely fun,” she said.
After months of training she became a resident showgirl and went on to compete in a number of state and national competitions.
Ms Phoenix won Miss Lyra SA in 2022, was Australia Pole Dance Competition Champion for 2022/23 and is a regular Fringe performer. She also has a training company, Rising Phoenix Academy of Performing Arts.
Ash Roxi
All the way from Argentina, Ash Roxi is bringing a taste of South American pole dancing to SA.
The new Linden Park resident made the move 10 months ago and teaches at Pole 4 Fitness as well as online classes for her studio back home.
“I fell in love with it immediately, it was like a crush, it was so beautiful,” Ms Roxi, 31, said.
“In my first six months after starting pole I became an instructor.”
That was 11 years ago and her love of the sport lead Ms Roxi to study anatomy and exercise to better herself and her students.
She came to SA to study business last year and plans to stay.
“I’m preparing myself to compete, I’ll be involved in two competitions this year, one in exotic pole,” she said.
“So why pole? Why not, it’s been more than 11 years for me and I’m more in love with it now than ever. It’s everything to me, it’s my life.”
Ms Roxi will be competing in the Exotic Generation Pole Camp Bali in May as well as the Australia Amateur Performer Competition in June.
Elise Bannister
For Elise Bannister, 33, one of the most exhausting things about being a trans person is “constantly feeling” like she is being singled out or othered, even by those who mean well.
“I’ve never felt that way at pole, I’m just another dancer there. It’s been liberating to have a space where that part of my life truly doesn’t matter and I can just forget about it for a while,” Mrs Bannister from Christies Downs said.
“I have always felt fundamentally alienated from my body and just hated being in it. Pole dancing felt like an ideal way to help rehabilitate that while exploring how I express my identity.”
Mrs Bannister, who socially transitioned in 2020, only started pole dancing a year ago and is currently pushing herself to be the best she can be.
“It allows me to push and challenge myself both physically and mentally. I’m able to do stuff now that felt impossible just a couple of months ago and that sense of constant progress is really rewarding,” she said.
Cam Waters
Cam Waters started his pole dancing journey after seeing a friend compete in a studio competition.
The West Lakes man had always wanted to pursue dancing and figure skating as a child but was never allowed as they were “too feminine”.
“It was only after going through a pretty rough time with an eating disorder I had since I was a teen that I decided to take the plunge and try my first lesson as a therapeutic outlet,” he said.
Mr Waters said pole dancing had made him the fittest he had ever been allowing him to discover a love and appreciation for his body “beyond an aesthetic level.”
“I get more than I ever thought I would out of pole … Flying is honestly what keeps me grounded,” he said.
Mr Waters has performed at the Fringe – just completing a 23 show season – Feast Festival and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and won various national and state competitions.
Dekota Cruze
Dekota Cruze feels at her most confident pole dancing, and loves how it makes her feel.
The 25 year old Brighton woman is self-taught and started dancing six years ago at The Crazy Horse.
She has since propelled her career across three different states and six clubs around Australia.
“Pole dancing is amazing. You feel confident and sexy. I would recommend it anyone and everyone,” she said.
Ms Cruze used to perform at Strats on Hindley Street but now is performing at Pole Position on Pirie Street.
She plans to continue a pole dancing career, teach others the sport she loves, and certainly doesn’t believe there should be any negative stigma attached to it.
“It’s 2023 get over it. It’s a sport and an art form that is loved by so many,” she said.
Scarlett Rose
Scarlett Rose started pole dancing during her final year at university after a background in ballet.
“I missed the creative outlet of dance but didn’t want to return to the regimen of ballet … at first I thought I would just try a class for fun but found I loved it and quickly became obsessed,” Scarlett, who prefers to go by her stage name, said.
Now, almost 10 years later, the Hillier woman is owner and instructor at Sky High Pole and Fitness in Elizabeth Downs.
“Pole allowed me to be creative, push myself to achieve that goal of delivering my best on stage, while also satisfying a little competitive streak,” the 29 year old said.
“My self-confidence and perception of my body improved dramatically as I continued to be around these lovely people. If you’re in a class, the other students will cheer you on and get excited for you when you achieve something new.”
Scarlett won the title of Miss Pole Dance South Australia in 2021.
“Performing gives me the opportunity to create, to tell a story, express emotion through movement, and leave a crowd in awe,” Scarlett said.
“There’s nothing better than hearing an audience cheer while you’re spinning around the pole or a gasp of surprise when you perform a dramatic drop.”
Catrin Johnson
“You’re never too old to pole,” is a slogan Catrin Johnson lives by.
The 49-year-old started pole dancing three years and says she will be doing it “for the rest of my life”.
“Although I was already a fan of aerial yoga and aerial hoop, I was convinced that I didn’t have the strength or spatial awareness to hold my body up on the pole,” Ms Johnson said.
“I never ever thought I would be a graceful fluid dancer, or be able to repeatedly climb to the ceiling at the age of 49.”
The Noarlunga Downs woman believes pole is for everybody, no matter your age, body type or fitness level.
“I’ve gained body confidence which carries through from the studio into everyday life. I’ve increased my strength, flexibility and mobility plus gained the ability to dance in 7 inch heeled boots,” she said.
Mr Johnson’s 10-year-old daughter, Lily, also enjoys visiting the pole studio and spinning on their pole at home.
“She sees no difference to the fireman’s pole in playgrounds, except we can now climb up as easily as sliding down,” she said.
“She currently attends The Brass Parlour’s monthly ‘pole with kids’ sessions. I find this a great mum and daughter activity which promotes self-care and gives her a more balanced view of what healthy bodies look like than that promoted by social media.”
Josie
Josie became “hooked straight away” after going along to a pole class with their mum as a Year 12 student.
“My mum knew that I loved to be active and she had just started this new hobby, so offered to take me with her to a class,” they said.
“I was hooked straight away because it was fun, challenging and there was always something new to learn.”
Josie, who prefers their stage name and goes by they/them pronouns, has been in the pole dancing world for 10 years.
The 27 year old from Munno Para West enjoys competitions and was even named a runner up in Miss Pole Dance SA in 2021.
Lauren Mathore
Lauren Mathore is a keen dancer and has taken classes in France, New Zealand and England. When wanting to take up pole dancing a year ago, she said she struggled to find beginner dance classes for adults, until she found SuperPowered Pole & Fitness in Woodcroft.
“It was at time when I was struggling with mental health and also physical health, as I have endometriosis and adenomyosis,” Ms Mathore said.
“I needed a safe space to work on myself, to feel better and accept my body.”
Ms Mathore, a construction project manager from Mount Barker, said and her mental health had improved from pole dancing along with chronic pain making her “truly happy”.
“Every single time I go training, I leave with a huge smile on my face. I feel beautiful, and I learned that my body is stronger that I thought,” the 33-year-old said.
“Despite my medical conditions, I can do wonders. That is very empowering and healing. It also makes me physically stronger, which helps with chronic pain.”
Ms Mathore said she would love to become a pole dance teacher one day and help beginners find their passion as she did.
Emily Bartlett
Pole dancing was a hobby admin manager Emily Bartlett took up fresh out of Year 12 in 2012.
“It was something completely different to what everyone else was doing at the time,” Ms Bartlett said.
“This sport challenges me, it challenges my body and it challenges my mind, with the added bonus of keeping fit as well.”
The 28-year-old Munno Para woman has been competing since 2018 and won her first title in 2022.
She is part of a double team called Emphasis, with fellow dancer Emily Harris, and together they won the State Heat and the National Title of Group Championships in the Australian Pole Championships.
“Having a dance background, I’m no stranger to the stage. I love the feeling of creating something and sharing that with others, being on stage is one of the best feelings in the world,” she said.
“I’d love to keep competing and helping others in their competition journeys. Pole Dance is something I think I’ll be doing until my body physically can’t anymore.”
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