Aradia Fitness Pole Dancing Bachelorette Party Las Vegas

Pole dancing as a form of exercise has been steadily increasing in popularity for the last 7 years. When Aradia Fitness started teaching in 2003 there were only a few pole dancing studios to choose from in North America. As more and more women discover the exhilaration of learning how to maneuver around a pole, change their bodies, and connect with other like minded women we have seen an explosion of pole dancing studios popping up in every city; and with that, a rush of studios offering “Pole Dancing Certifications” in an effort to try and capitalize on tuition fees and expand their business.

Being a pole dancing instructor is a very rewarding experience. Certification or training with experienced teachers adds legitimacy within the industry and will give you the tools to have a long and successful career. When choosing a school to certify with consider the following guidelines to help you make your choice:

•Length of certification process. Be aware of companies that are selling certifications of levels 1-3, 1-4, 1-5 etc in 1-3 days or learn 30 tricks in one day! Unless you are an already very experienced pole dancer it is impossible to learn the tricks yourself, learn how to safely break them down, learn how to talk students through the trick, and learn how to spot errors and make corrections in a day or two and expect to be able to be a proficient teacher right away. Learning to be a pole dancing teacher takes lots of training and practice; you wouldn’t expect to be a gymnastics coach in a day would you? There are plenty of schools that will accept your hard earned money and simply show you their routine without actually teaching you how to be a teacher. This method is not going to make you a proficient instructor and it’s not safe for your students!

• Money, Money, Money. Reports are emerging that some pole dancing schools are demanding deposit money or even full payment from prospective certification clients on the first phone call. If the studios main concern is taking your money before you have had time to review their information packet and ask questions about the program you should have reservations about working with them.

•False Representation. The internet is a marvelous invention; it is very easy to make your business or experience level appear to be more than it really is. It has been reported by a growing number of ladies shopping for a school to certify with that misrepresentations are being made by some pole dancing schools. The most recent report is a school misrepresenting who they currently train or have trained in the past, falsely claiming to be the exclusive teacher of well known pole dancing personalities in the hopes of selling a certification. The bottom line is: go with your gut. Ask lots of questions over the phone and compare that with the information on the website. Some questions to ask:

-How long has the school been in business?
-How did they learn pole dancing?
-Do they have an injury free track record?
-How many certifications have they done? You may want to follow up with these people.
-Do they provide after training service?
-What’s included with the certification? Will you receive training materials?
-Will you learn how to actually teach and talk through tricks?
-Will you have the opportunity to practice teaching during the certification?
-Who will be performing the certification and what is their experience level?
-Different schools have different styles of teaching, look for ones that align with your likes. Some schools teach more sensual side of pole dancing and others focus on the more extreme acrobatic style of pole dancing.
-How many people will be in the certification class with you? A large class may mean you will not get the personal attention you need.

It can be a challenge to work though fast talk and a flashy website but a legitimate school will gladly be an open book for you and will not try to do a fast sell.

Unfortunately not all certification programs are created the same. As an instructor with 7 years teaching experience and 6 years experience in certifying over 200 instructors, I have seen some interesting trends in pole dancing certifications and the best advice we give to potential instructors is to find a company that will actually teach you the technique of how to be a proficient pole dancing teacher and not just show you their routine.

Recently many alarming reports have been emerging from ladies who have recently certified or are shopping for a school to certify with. I have had many experiences recently with wonderful ladies who have “certified” at schools in their city up to “advanced” levels and yet cannot perform simple tricks. One of the most alarming scenarios was a studio owner who did an “advanced certification” with a well known school and was not able to do a basic inversion**; legs were swinging, and spine stability was at risk, she was not able to get upside down and yet she was teaching this move to her students. It was concerning to know that a certification was given out before the client could perform the trick or talk through it properly. It made me think that the company doing the certifying was more concerned about collecting money than ensuring they put their name behind a well trained instructor. What was even more alarming was being told that this “certified” studio owner was turning around and “certifying” her own instructors using the same methods. This one experience means countless numbers of pole dancing students are being put at serious risk for injury. This is a trend I see being repeated over and over again across America.

Reports are also being leaked from ladies shopping for a certification program of schools flat out asking the student to give them another studios training information packet and training materials. Competition is healthy and necessary for the advancement of the pole dancing industry or any other form of business, if there wasn’t competition there would be no pole dancing industry! It is however disturbing to think that a school would stoop to the level of trying to obtain another businesses proprietary material that they worked hard to produce, and yet it is a scenario I have had reported to me many times. If a school cannot produce their own training materials they may want to rethink their career choice. If a school is asking you to participate in obtaining competitors internal information for them you may want to look for another certification option.

It is reported in the news that Crunch gym in NYC has just been sued by a pole dancing student for instructor in-attention. The student informed the instructor that she could not flip upside down by herself however the instructor did not assist her. The client fell to the floor and seriously injured both shoulders. As pole dancing instructors we all have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our students as best as we can. Many in the industry have worked long and hard to push through stereo types and barriers so that pole dancing could be accepted as a legitimate form of fitness. It will only take a few injuries and some bad press to put the industry back to square one. It is essential to look for a certification program that will teach you how to know when people are ready to attempt more advanced moves, how to build their strength for those moves, how to spot and make corrections safely.

Bottom line: A little research and shopping around will go a long way in preparing you for a very rewarding career in the pole dancing for fitness industry. This is a career choice that will give you many years of satisfaction as you connect with one student at a time. A strong foundation of training with a company that suits you will make sure you start out on the right foot.

Keep Dancing!

**Basic inverting does not mean it is a beginner or easy trick. No student should be taught to invert until they are physically ready to do so.