The art of pole and how it empowers women in Lafayette

(KLFY)-- Pole fitness has become a popular art form that not only allows women to step into their power, but also gives them the opportunity to break the stereotypes placed on this sport. 

Scott-native Magnolia Love, founder of Magnolia’s Playground in Downtown Lafayette, mentioned some people may view pole artistry as hypersexual or only for attention-seekers, but she made it her mission when she opened her studio five years ago to change the conversation. 

“It's more about feeling that confidence as a woman,” Love said. 

When she was 20 years old, right before relocating to Texas for college, Love invested in her first pole and taught herself by using YouTube videos. After moving, she was able to learn more about the art form once she started going to different pole studios in the state and understanding the type of environment they had created. Love received mentorship from the pole instructors in Texas, and when she decided to move back to Louisiana around 2019, her mentors encouraged her to take what she’s learned and teach. 

Love discovered a lack of pole studios when she returned to Scott, which made her take her mentors’ advice and open a business for women to practice the sport.

“That encouragement is what allowed me to feel comfortable coming to Acadiana and breaking the norm and the stigma,” Love said. 

For many pole dancers, their journeys started with that initial fascination with seeing people create shapes and do movements with their bodies, and from there, the interest transformed into action with taking that first step into signing up for a pole class. Everyone has their own reasons for pursuing pole; whether it’s to reclaim their power after being constantly controlled to the point of self-offending or to find a place that allows them to embrace their sensual side and be comfortable in their skin while being surrounded by like-minded people, women choose to embark on a journey of strength building and personal development.

Physical strength 

The art of pole work has invited women to explore their stamina and flexibility by giving them the chance to use parts of their bodies they might not use often; according to a report from National Center for Biotechnology Information, women who participate in this sport have been able to develop greater body control. 

Anna Cain from Lafayette wanted to try a new activity and was curious about the strength behind pole fitness. She is a new student at Magnolia’s and was very active in the yoga world before coming to the studio, but after the two classes she’s taken so far, she’s seen what it takes to even just climb the pole. 

“The first time I pulled myself up [on the pole], I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this takes so much more, and immediately, I could feel my body working different muscles that like I had never worked before,” Cain said. 

Cain mentioned how the confirming moment she needed to keep going with this sport was when she completed a fireman’s spin on the pole. 

“I came in and was able to have my first moment just up on the pole and give it a twirl,” Cain said. “I was dizzy, but it was still something I've never done.”

In the pole world, nothing is more rewarding than mastering a move that you might’ve seen someone else do initially or you might’ve seen done elsewhere. It gives women the confidence to try new pole tricks. With some women already having reservations about the sport, that validation from completing pole moves like an inversion, corkscrew can be the defining moment they need to keep going with the fitness. 

At Magnolia’s studio, they use the term “variation” to emphasize the versatile ways a move can be done. 

“You're actually not doing it wrong,” Love said. “Your body is just trying to do it differently, so follow that. We're not built the same, so we're not going to have the same journey.”

Pole students come from all walks of life, each with unique sets of traits that can prove to be a benefit to their personal pole objectives. Love individualizes the students to push positive reinforcement, get them out of any negative headspace despite what they may have going on in their lives and remind them of who they are. 

Understanding the struggles that each student may have to bring into the pole space is what Love does in order to help them become aware of their worth so they can convert their hardships into triumphant pole accomplishments. Love, like other pole studios, aims to create an inclusive space for people to appreciate their body’s capabilities rather than compare it to other women’s. 

Mental health

Slidell-native Kelci Daniels has been practicing pole at Magnolia’s since August 2022, and she now teaches at the studio. She sought pole dance after she realized she couldn’t explore her sensual side at the gym, and regular workouts were serving her.

Mastering challenging moves through her journey and progressing from student to teacher has opened Daniels’ world to not only more moves, but to the mental toughness it takes to combat the sources that could be blocking some women from thriving in the pole space, even if that source is the person herself.  

“I do believe that in order to actually feel powerful, you have to come to the realization that your mind is putting constraints on yourself,” Daniels said. “You have to defeat that in this environment.”

Already some women may be battling with their ego stopping them from fully engaging in the sport or the frightening thoughts of what others may think if they reveal they do pole dance. That’s why a pole sisterhood is what can keep a student’s mental afloat and gives women the opportunity to hold each other accountable, even when it gets to be difficult.  

There’s been a resurgence of women supporting women through the art of pole, which can be beneficial for reassurance for some women when it comes to their feelings, thoughts and even physical potential. An article from the HuffPost shares how women need those “I have your back” and “I believe in you” moments with other women. 

Maria Espinosa Morilla is from Spain and moved to Lafayette in September 2023. She discovered pole six years ago while she was living in Scotland and was determined when she got to Lafayette to train until she reached a level where she could teach and even compete because pole dance gives her purpose. Unfortunately, Morilla was missing that social component that would make her even more committed to pole, especially after recently moving to a new place, so she sought Magnolia’s and was able to see her confidence grow from the sisterhood, but also her mental health when it came to fully dedicating to pole. 

“The very first moment I came here, I felt very welcomed. It changed my mood and attitude," Morilla said. "The space provides an environment where you can just be yourself. You're not judged by anyone."

Love credits pole dance to how she’s improved her self-love. Until she was in her late 20s, Love had been fighting an internal battle that resulted in low self-esteem and confusion on who she was as a woman. 

“Building this community, I just continued to get to know who I was, and learn more about me,” Love said. 

Pole dance can be a free-flowing activity used for expression without words, but having intention with the movements can open up emotional wounds for some women that need healing. 

Emotional breakthroughs 

The pole practice is not only a method of self-expression, but it also can initiate those avoided conversations women may need to have with themselves about their suppressed emotions. 

In a Netflix documentary called "Strip Down, Rise Up," Sheila Kelly, founder of the pole dance brand known as the S factor , was hosting a 6-month program for women to help them reconnect with their bodies through sensual movement. In the documentary, one program participant who lost her husband was sobbing in one of the sessions and Kelly instructed her on how to release those emotions through movement; the woman was able to transmute that sadness into something powerful.

It's unclear sometimes what people may be dealing with emotionally, and sports like pole give them an outlet for emotional liberation. In the documentary, women were sharing their stories related to sexual assault, cultural isolation, grief, sexuality comfortability, chronic illness, and more; the documentary showed how some women are rebuilding what someone might've tried to destroy or are learning how to navigate through possible social ostracization, but pole can give them the hope they need and initiate that time for rebirth.

Love said she teaches and dances based on emotions and anything she may be going through in life, she lets it go as she's on the pole. Daniels and Love have witnessed firsthand as pole teachers how these women undergo a transformative phase in their lives after introducing pole into their lives.

"It's a really beautiful and emotional journey. A lot of the women here will tell you, they get emotional when they start talking about that journey," Love said.

"I see myself in a lot of these students," Daniels said. "I see like, where I started, where they're starting, and I know how far they can take it."

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