Reporter Abigail Bates discovers why pole dancing doesn’t just belong in the world of sleazy strip clubs and soft porn.

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I’ve coiled myself around the pole, slid down it and spun around it. I’ve performed mid air splits, flipped myself upside down and hung on with my bare thighs. I’ve even thrown in the odd wiggle for good measure.

But I’m not wearing a sequinned bra and thong and performing for leery men at a seedy nightclub. I’m in my gym gear, at Shrewsbury’s Studio One fitness club, and I’ve just had one hell of a workout.

I’m one of dozens of girls in Shropshire flocking to pole dancing classes, doing it for fun, fitness and friendship.

My desire to learn the art of pole dancing was sparked after I had my first taste on a hen night. I’d expected to get glammed up and totter around the pole on high heels, but ten minutes into the session I’d kicked off my stilettos, scraped back my perfectly coiffed hair and smudged my mascara. Since then I’ve been hungry for more, impatient to master better moves and tricks, and after scouring the internet looking for local classes I turned up at one of Sonia Allcock’s lessons.

Over a few weeks, Sonia has transformed us from nervous, hesitant girls into sleek, toned dancers oozing confidence and dying to perfect that new move, whether it’s the scissor legs, which is like an upside down splits, or the orbit, a dizzying but impressive spin where you curl yourself around the pole sideways.

One of my personal favourites, which looks great but is actually not too difficult, is the plie into back hook, where you change direction while strutting around the pole and slide down backwards.

We’ve endured blistered hands, bruised thighs and aching abs, because the sense of satisfaction you get when you finally pull off a new stunt is worth the blood, sweat and toil. Pole dancing is certainly no easy feat, and I defy anyone who thinks it’s the bimbo’s easy escape to try it.

Sonia, 28, who lives in Wrexham and also teaches classes in North Wales and Chester, started dancing three years ago and became so hooked she wanted to devote her career to helping others see what pole dancing is really about.

Now a talented dancer who can spin, flip and climb the pole at the drop of a hat, Sonia says she used to work in the hospitality industry and was far from the fitness fanatic she is today.

“My friend said she did pole dancing, so I decided I would go along with her to see what it was like, and after the first class I decided I liked it so much I wanted my own pole and I wanted to go to as many classes as I could,” she says.

“I didn’t really want to go into stripping and the lap dancing side of pole dancing. I wanted to have a job that involved pole dancing but not in a sleazy environment, helping other people and showing what it’s really all about.”

Sonia says the benefits of pole dancing include improved fitness, muscle tone and posture, as well as better confidence and self-esteem.

She says the best part of teaching is the transformation she sees in her students, and the pride they take when they master a move they thought impossible at first.

“It’s so cool when people start class and they’ve seen moves on the internet and they think ‘I really wish I could do that’ and when they finally do it it’s a real sense of achievement for them and at the same time it gets them fit. You start to see everyone’s muscles, and everyone starts going to the gym more and doing things to get better, so it’s a motivational thing too.

“There is a stigma but I just explain to people that it’s the same as any other dance class, and it’s a private lesson with ladies of all different age and shapes and sizes enjoying themselves, and it’s nothing to do with stripping, although it did originate from that scene. I am a qualified fitness instructor and I teach for fun and fitness.

“It gives girls lots of confidence and it completely changes some people, they come to class and they are quiet any by the end of the course they love it.”

Zoe Gregory, 21, says she tried out a taster session and enjoyed it so much she took it up as a hobby. Two months on she’s dying to learn more advanced moves.

36 year-old Laura Griffiths juggles pole dancing with being a mum to two daughters, aged four and two.

“I think all the other mums think it’s good and interesting, but they are a bit scared to try it out,” she says.

“It’s good to get fit again after having my children, and it’s such a good laugh as well. I spend all day at home with the kids, so it’s something I do that makes time for myself.”

Angela Gregory, 32, also took up pole dancing for fitness, but still has to set the record straight among friends.

“They mistake pole dancing for lap dancing, and my boyfriend thinks it’s really amusing, and all my friends think it’s more risqué than it actually is.”

Now I’ve completed my intermediate course of lessons, I’m eagerly waiting to start the advanced course, to learn even more difficult moves and poses, although I’m prepared to put in some hard work and effort.

Although I love pole dancing, you won’t catch me giving up the day job, because this is something I am doing for me, and only me. I’m hoping to get stronger, fitter and able to pull even more impressive shapes on the pole.

It’s safe to say I’m pretty hooked. But is that front hook, or back hook?

To find out more about Shropshire pole dancing classes, contact Sonia on 07909 710997 or visit www.sharp-shooters.co.uk