The Fireman, the Upside-Down-Straddle, the Bow-and-Arrow. No, these aren’t the names of drinks. They’re pole-dance skills. That’s right — pole dancing.

Most people hate the treadmill, and those aerobics videos can be even worse. So what does a woman have to do to get a workout without boring herself to death? One word: Poise.

 

A tiny space inside Pennsport Mall, 234-A Moore St., Poise Dance Studio describes itself as “for real women, by real women.” And that it is. With two classes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, women of all ages (currently ranging from low-20s to mid-40s) get to break a sweat and learn some really cool moves on 7-foot poles.

 

On a typical Monday, Poise looks homey, with sheer white curtains, twinkling lights in the windows and comfy leather sofas lining the dance floor. Fifteen minutes before the first class begins, owner/instructor Jamie Capaldi-Gargani — who has trained in everything from jazz to hip-hop to ballet — sits casually in one of her soft chairs sporting a loose, purple T-shirt, printed shorts and thick, cotton leg warmers. Slowly, the women trickle in. One hurries across the floor in a smart maroon skirt-suit, another heads to the changing room in jeans and a sweatshirt. They’re just regular women, coming to blow off some steam after a hard day.

Then, the music starts. “All right ladies, get on your heels,” Capaldi-Gargani announced after a brief, run-of-the-mill warm-up of crunches, pushups and stretching. The students lace up their 4-inch (minimum) patent-leather, platform boots, some thigh-high and jet-black, others, bright silver. Capaldi-Gargani’s are white knee-highs with flames curling up the toes. “I have them in red too,” she said with a laugh.

 

Although pole dancing has been labeled a stripper’s move, the form has come into its own over the past few years. The women who go to Poise aren’t exotic dancers, in fact, not one of the regulars has ever been a stripper. (One came once, a student said, but she felt out of place and never came back.)

Since Capaldi-Gargani has an eight-student-per-class limit, the sessions are intimate and hard-core. Climbing to the top of a metal rod, hooking one leg while the other is extended, and then slowly, gracefully, maneuvering into beautiful shapes is difficult and requires extreme strength and practice. These women spot each other on upside-down moves and do tiring repetitions.

 

To Capaldi-Gargani, pole dancing isn’t sexual, “it’s elegant, adult and feminine.” Those who come, stay with it. Most attend at least once a week to learn a new spin or handstand. But there’s no exclusivity either, and the regulars get excited when a new person’s face lights up after doing her first Back Slide.

 

Along with classes, Poise offers bachelorette parties, where women learn a few skills, take some pictures and then usually hit the city for a girls’ night out.

After showing the class a move she just invented — the Bicycle — Capaldi-Gargani turns down the lights, and each dancer showcases the skills they learned.

 

“Most girls get really into it,” a student said after the night’s class. “I even have my own pole at my apartment. Once you start, you’re hooked.”

Just don’t forget to bring high heels.

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