PDC approved pole dance school Emily's Pole Fitness expands!

Emily's Pole Fitness is run by our Level 2 approved pole dancing instructor Emily Smith and is supported by PDC approved Level 1 instructor Leila White who also teaches at Emily's Pole Fitness (EPF). EPF has now upgraded to a bigger and better new pole dance studio!

Emily has been teaching pole dancing classes for around 4 and a half years and decided to set up her own school in April 2010. Emily started in a pub function room and after only 10 weeks moved to her first studio with 3 poles. As Emily’s classes are so popular she decided it was time to upgrade and open a bigger and better pole dance studio which she has successfully achieved and is now based in BSS House in Cheney Manor Industrial Estate in Swindon. Emily’s new studio has 8 X-poles in total, 6 of them are 12ft high poles fixed to the ceiling and the floor, the other 2 poles are X-stage poles.

Emily held an Open Day on Saturday 16th July which was a huge success. Many pole dancers came to visit Emily’s studio and try out the new poles. A few people who have never tried pole dancing for fitness came to see what it was all about and were so inspired they have decided to start Emily’s classes.

“I have worked so hard to get to where I am today. I love teaching pole dancing for fitness, seeing my students progress and become more confident is what it is all about. I set up regular shows for my students to perform in and we have our Halloween Show coming up next. It is such a buzz watching my students perform, complete beginners and advanced students, girls who never thought they would be able to do anything like it have now got the confidence to get up on stage and dance to an audience, it is such a huge achievement.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me; I wouldn’t be in this situation if I didn’t have such amazing friends and family!” – Emily Smith

We spoke to Emily to find out more:

How did you find the new studio?

I wanted to be in the same area so I had a look around the same industrial estate as my old studio as it is in a perfect location. I was lucky enough to find a place literally around the corner called BSS House, a company called BIZSPACE owns it and help out small businesses by renting out units at affordable costs for people like me.

Had you been looking for long?

As soon as I saw the unit I am in now I wanted it, I was only looking for about 2 months but I had a gut feeling and just went for it. I signed the paperwork before even applying for a bank loan... oh and there was NO ceiling or anyway to fix poles so there was a lot to do. People thought I was crazy, maybe I am!

How long did it take you to get the studio ready for your open day?

I was quite cheeky and asked for loads of time to do up the studio before paying rent, work started in May and lessons started beginning of July. There were so many issues with the ceiling and finding someone reliable to do the job. So many contractors were worried about being sued if they fixed the poles and one came down... luckily I found an awesome builders called Glue It & Screw It in Swindon, they put a ceiling up and a beam for aerial hoops and trapeze etc without any problems at all, they did the job in about a week and a half . It took around 2 months to get everything ready, I was painting a day before lessons started but it was all worth it!

What reaction have you had from your students?

The reaction from my students has been ace, they were all so amazed at the 'upgrade'. We went from a small studio with only 3 poles to a huge studio with 8 poles, they love it! I only taught up to 6 in my old studio but now teach up to 10, it is so much fun having 10 in a class, everyone's energy bouncing off each other, definitely loving the new studio. They are all a bit nervous on the X-Stage Lites but who isn't to start with ha ha.

Were there any funny moments from the open day?

Yes, we all had a wicked time trying out new moves. The best for me was when we all had a go at a front hook spin with an elbow grip on spinny pole, it kills me! Robyn Rooke (PDC approved pole dancing instructor from 360 Pole dancing) makes it look so easy, she showed us how to do it and we all had a go, we all pulled some funny pole faces ha ha. Leila White, my instructor managed it no problem though!

Was it just your students who attended the open day?

It was a nice mix of my students, friends, girls from Bristol, and there were a few who had never tried pole dancing before who popped by to see what it was all about. They were really inspired and will be started lessons soon which is great.

How is it having all that extra height compared to your last studio?

The height makes all the difference! We love it! Well... the students do love the height but I make them work even harder now as they can't escape climbing to the top over and over again. It is good practise for competitions too, as I am 5'10", in my old studio I didn't need to do much to be up to the ceiling, now I can work on more advanced climbs, drops and different combos which were really hard to work on in the old studio with poles at around 9ft high.

What are your plans for the future?

I have so many ideas running through my head, it is hard for me to do one thing at a time! For now we are going to keep putting on our shows, next one being our Halloween Show in October.

I am also a photographer but haven't really done much since setting up my own pole school so I am thinking about setting up regular photo shoots for my students once I have all the equipment. Also, I am training on aerial hoop and am hoping to be teaching next year once I have had the training and am ready to teach, this is really exciting as there is no circus training in Swindon that I have found so I would like to introduce aerial hoop, trapeze and silks... one thing at a time!

Now I have a studio big enough I am really looking forward to hosting Master-classes, I think our first class will be with Donna Gant in September, dates and info needs to be confirmed. I have invited Anna from Berkshire Alternative Dance to hold her amazing stretching workshops too.

Lots of exciting things ahead!

I would like to say a huge thanks to all who have been so supportive and encouraging. Special thanks to my boyfriend Nick who is always there for me and my mum, Helen Jackson, who told me to quit the day job and enjoy life doing something I enjoy! If it wasn't for my mum I wouldn't be in this situation, I am lucky enough to live at home with her paying very cheap rent to help me set up my own business.

To find out more about Emily’s Pole Fitness, please visit her website or contact Emily on 07833 192079.