Pole dance instructor calls for more support

Wednesday 19 April 2017

A Jersey dancer has branded some comments about women who decide to learn pole dancing as "shameful."

Nikki Zachariou is the owner of UberEdge Dance Company and she has used the company's Facebook page to urge women to stop tearing each other apart.

She told Express: "The comment that prompted me to write wasn't that bad, it was a very angry face with a "oh dear god" that seemed to express disapproval. I just couldn't let it go as I had just recently read an article from a stripper, - I don't like to use that word as I think it has a very different connotation for women but that is how she described herself - who was saying that the worst type of misogyny is the one that comes from another woman."

"We received more brutal comments over the past but I didn't care that much at the time. We had one man writing us to stop teaching girls how to be strippers and another women who told us we were objectifying girls for the male gaze. More often it was women telling us to stop or that pole dance isn't empowerment. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and there is always a fine line between what is empowerment and exploitation, but ultimately it is up to a woman to decide what something means to her."

Ms Zachariou used to reply to the negative comments posted on the company's page but decided to stop as it was "too much energy". She now simply deletes them and bans the people who send them to protect the instructors and the women who take the classes.

She explained: "I don't want them to be put down, especially the shyer ones who have come out of their shells during the classes. The women in our classes always tell us how good they make them feel physically and mentally and how proud they feel for achieving something new. Pole dancing helps them make feel more body confident, sexier and stronger."  

Cristina (23) joined UberEdge pole dance classes last October 2016, as she was looking for a good "workout". She commented: "I have always wanted to try it. I have been at the gym and I have been swimming but they were just not for me. People don't know how good pole dance is, it is not just about stripping.  It is really difficult and it has improved my confidence. When you get a pose that you have been trying for for months, you feel amazing!"

Passionate about dancing, Ms Zachariou launched the UberEdge Dance Company in 2008. She started offering pole dance classes about four years ago, then stopped for a year before starting again. The classes are taught by instructor Charlotte Moore and kept in small numbers. At the moment, there are currently 30 other women enrolled in the pole dance classes - the highest number since they were launched.

Ms Zachariou commented: "It's not that different to gymnastics, except that instead of being horizontal, the bar is vertical. It is a fun way to exercise and there is always something new to learn. It is a mixture of strength, fun, sensuality and it gives a sense of achievement, which appeals to the multi-faceted beings that women are."

But she says she won't closing the door to the women who post negative comments:

"If I could talk to them, I would invite them to a class and I hope they would be open to trying it. I don't blame anyone. As women we are taught to compare and compete with each other. We have all done it but if grown women tear each other down what are we teaching to our sisters and daughters?  I am all about 'badass' great women and we can celebrate each other's greatness. We don't need to tear each other down when society is doing that already."