Research Methods Learning diary 3

And then there was light!!!!
After many sleepless nights and driving myself mad about a title/subject for my project I can proudly say after much deliberation and a little help from my friends I have finally decided to go with my initial thoughts about the subject of Pole Dancing.

I have decided to base my project around Pole Dancing as I have been Pole dancing since April 2009 at Radcliffe Civic Hall and have just finished my training to teach the beginners class on Tuesday nights and I love it. I used to be a gymnast and was always intrigued with how the body is physically capable of holding lines and shapes whilst suspended in the air and now I am re-living my childhood passion just on a vertical bar not at horizontal one!

The first time I Pole Danced was for a hen party and it was so much fun. It was great for my friend who lacks a lot in confidence over her body and not to mention a great way to get the girls together and do something new. I loved it and of course being a trained dancer had its advantages not only making it look nice but been musical and confident. It was months later when I came across a poster about a taster lesson for Pole Confessions Pole classes where you could have a spin, a climb and sign up for a 6 week course which was great as after a nasty fall on my wrist that lead to surgery where I now consequently have screws in my wrist was the ideal fun way to get my strength back in my arms and upper body.

Claire my instructor/manager is great and advertises her classes as a way for women to come and keep fit the fun way, build confidence, make friends in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere. I have enjoyed every moment of it and from a physical side it has changed the strength of my body dramatically over the last 9 months and since teaching it I have enjoyed the class go home happy when they have had a good class.

So, to the nitty gritty bit. The reason I want to research Pole Dancing is because as a dancer I have no problem letting people know I teach people to Pole dance or that I Pole dance at home/in work however, those who don’t know me and a small percentage of those who do always lift their eyebrow or look at me with an “Oh really” face. I know what they think and I always feel like I have to justify it or explain that my class is in a civic hall not a club and that I teach it to all ages of women to keep fit and build confidence. Why should I explain these facts? Because some of the general public believe that Pole dancing is a disgrace and that it’s degrading to women. Yes its seen in men’s clubs and it has sexual connotations and I understand that naturally people would think that Pole Dancing for a man in a sexual manner is a nasty degrading thing to do HOWEVER personally I think that this is slightly unfair as come on its the 21st century and it’s become a new modern way to keep fit and increase strength.

Something that has interested me more is it has triggered a petition to give Pole Dancing a place in the Olympics. Yes I said Olympics!! I’m unsure how I feel about it personally however one thing I am sure about is don’t judge something until you have tried it because it really isn’t as easy as it looks or as degrading as you might think.