In 2004, after completing her Pole Dance Instructor Certification, Cally Crabtree opened Pole at Play and began offering pole dancing classes in downtown Olympia.
Her vision was to create a playful "slutopia"-- a space where kindred spirits could revel in their raunchiness, connect with their sensual selves, and wiggle, jiggle, and gyrate free from judgment.
She is an extroverted, sex-positive, inclusive feminist who believes that feminine sensual/sexual expression is one of the most powerful forces on the planet!
Her main objectives as your instructor are to keep you safe, encourage and support you in your pole endeavors, and create a positive, accepting, caring, and compassionate space in which you are free to let your hair down, let your guard down, explore movement and make mistakes.
Her classes and workshops are irreverent, playful, and laid back. She encourages laughter and believes it is an integral part of what makes her classes so fun and effective. Plus- being able to laugh at one's self makes it easier to persevere through the awkward stages of pole dancing and/or learning new moves.
Cally Crabtree
Community is very important to her and she believes that we all need a diverse, healthy, caring community in order to thrive both personally and collectively. The ever-growing, constantly evolving Pole at Play community is built on a foundation of compassion, friendship, camaraderie, and personal growth. She wants every student to feel they are a part of the community from the moment they step into the studio for their first class.
Cally loves creating performance opportunities that give her students the creative liberty to express themselves and their own unique style through the art of pole dance in front of a live audience. Pole at Play's showcases are salaciously silly, charmingly cheeky, brazenly bawdy and include group and solo pole dance performances choreographed by students! You can find out more about Pole at Play's past and upcoming events here!
About Your Instructors
Lauren
(AKA Alexa After Dark)
Pole at Play is thrilled to welcome Lauren (AKA Alexa After Dark) on board to teach advanced pole classes!
Lauren was no stranger to dance when she began her pole journey. In 2013, after having spent over a decade training in Ballet as well as jazz, contemporary, and hip hop, she attended her first pole class and fell head over stripper heels with the uniquely freeing and body positive nature of pole, how it connected her to her body and inspired her own feminine power.
Lauren credits pole dancing with helping awaken her confidence, sexual expression, and fostering within her a deep sense of self-love. And after 9 years on the pole, she is excited to share these incredible gifts with her students.
As an instructor, she strives to create a fun and accepting environment where each of her students can explore their unique style and strength. Lauren strongly believes that there is no wrong way to express yourself through dance and that movement can be incredibly healing and therapeutic. She welcomes all people of all body sizes and fitness levels to join our loving and diverse community, explore pole and discover how it can enrich their lives.
What is "Erotic Pole Dancing"?
Pole dancing has gone through a multitude of changes over the last century. What began in sexy sideshow circus tents during the Great Depression and evolved in gentlemen’s clubs in the decades that followed, is now a globally recognized sport, form of exercise and artistic expression!
One of the coolest things about pole dancing is its versatility. Each person who takes it up brings to it their own unique style, experience, talents and interests. Pole enthusiasts draw their inspiration from many sources. The influences of ballet, gymnastics, figure skating, volleyball, belly dancing, martial arts, hip hop, and circus arts (to name a few) are evident in many pole moves and styles.
Currently, the most popular styles of pole dancing are pole sport/pole fitness, theatrical, artistic, flow and classic/erotic (stripper style, formerly called exotic). Though all styles are represented to some degree in our moves, warm-ups and conditioning exercises, Pole at Play’s style is predominantly erotic. We have found erotic pole dance, and the sensual expression that defines it, to be uniquely therapeutic and beneficial.
Erotic Pole Dancing focuses heavily on fluidity, sensuality, & hyper-feminine movements. Sinuous serpentines seamlessly transition into slow, deliberate hip movements, creating curvy silhouettes periodically interrupted by attention demanding heel clacks. The moves range from flirty & coy to fierce and assertive, slow & graceful to suggestive & raunchy.
Erotic pole dancing helps build strength, flexibility, improves coordination and increases body awareness. In order to confidently linger in the overt sensuality inherent in many of erotic pole dance moves, students must overcome self-consciousness and connect with their sensual selves. As students discover the strength and the power in this form of expression & begin to challenge their preconceived notions about femininity, sexuality, and vulnerability, they also begin to experience the most profound benefits Erotic Pole Dancing has to offer-- increased self-confidence, self-acceptance, and a healthier body image. This is true for all students, regardless of gender identity.
Erotic pole dance students are welcome (encouraged) to wear “stripper heels” as many of the moves make use of them with clacks, pivots, slides, kips and leggy silhouettes. However, your safety and comfort are paramount, and we will always offer modifications and alternate moves for those who choose to forgo the heels, opting to dance barefoot instead. For more info on what to wear to your erotic pole dance class, click on the link below...
Before
Pole at Play
