The importance of understanding, respecting, and appreciating Pole Studio Culture.
Studio to Studio there are vast differences in everything from mood to what tricks are considered beginner to business structure. This is not entirely a bad thing, however it can make it difficult and frustrating for the consumer as well as the studio owners. My hope is that this blog helps to clarify why Pole Studio Culture varies and how understanding, respecting, and appreciating the differences in each studio can help students have better experiences when visiting or joining a 'new-to-you' Pole Studio.
Understanding Pole Studio Culture:
Developing Customs
Culture takes time to establish and Pole is still an infant in the fitness industry. There is no one Pole Studio Culture that has risen to the top and been accepted as the "industry standard", yet. There are many reasons for this, the big one being that the Pole Industry as a whole is still developing and growing. Only recently has the Pole Community at large acknowledged and accepted three different styles of Pole Dance: Sport, Artistic, and Exotic. Levels of pole dance have expanded from Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced to now adding on a fourth level of Elite. Despite the popularity and general acceptance that Pole is "a great workout" there still isn't an agreed-upon breakdown of how to teach pole.
There are factions that offer Pole Instructor Certifications (I have taken several) , there are also websites devoted to teaching Pole Moves and Tricks (123Poling is a great one), but exactly how each individual studio introduces this content to their students, lacks standardization, therefore Pole Studio Culture is widely diversified and individualized. Simply put, each Pole Studio Owner is essentially creating their own culture for their own particular studio based on the following factors:
Founders' Values and Preferences
Industry Demands and Trends
Local Consumer Expectations and Feedback
Business Goals and Values
Let's consider the general culture of Yoga. I have personally visited at least 20 yoga studios in my lifetime and in various states all over the US. Every Yoga studio has a similar feeling no matter what style of Yoga they offer. There are over 10 styles of Yoga and often instructors will mix styles together to create unique classes, however no matter the style of Yoga that is being taught the overall feeling or culture of Yoga Studios all are similar. There is a familiarity between them all that is wonderfully comfortable and expected. This culture took time to curate. Yoga Studios in the US began roughly around the 1950's, the industry has had over 5 decades to establish standards and prove which business plans work effectively. Pole Dance is still laying out its foundation, in essence, we are still learning how to crawl.
Respecting Pole Studio Culture:
Dogs Can and Will Bite
If you know me you know that I love analogies and, I also love dogs. So bear with me here for this one. I learned what respect is by being bitten by a dog. I wanted to pet our family dog Smokey, and Smokey wanted no part of my affection that day. Smokey gave me all the warning signs, my parents told me several times to let Smokey alone and I simply chose not to listen. Smokey bit me. I howled in fear and pain as my parents ran over to me. After ensuring that I was ok (which I was, it was just a nip) my Dad said, "You didn't respect Smokey's need for space. He gave you warning signs and you ignored him. You got what you deserved." As difficult as this lesson was to learn, it was an important one!
I can hear you, "Wendy, make your point..."
My point is this:
Respect is not just a feeling of deep admiration due to someone's abilities or accomplishments, it is also about regard for their feelings, rights, wishes, and traditions even when we do not agree with or understand them.
This type of respect is base-line. It's the simple "Thank You" we give a stranger when they hold a door open for us. Smokey had every right as a dog to ask for his space and I should have respected his request. Not because he had earned my respect or admiration but because it was a basic right that he deserved as a living creature.
It annoys me that in a society that so aggressively pushes an agenda of acceptance and inclusion, I feel a need to write about what respect is and how to give it, but here we go...
Pole Studio owners are business owners just like any other business and deserve base line respect for this fact alone. As we learned in section 1 of this blog, the Pole Industry is still a baby and therefore Pole Studio owners are generally operating in the dark and figuring things out as they go along. Many Pole Studio owners are in effect patch working ideas, policies, and practices from other fitness business models to create unique business models for their Pole Studio. They are having to use scheduling apps that were not designed for Pole Studios. They run into the challenge of creating curriculums and deciding which faction in the pole industry to follow. They need to address financial integrations and set pricing that is fair as well as profitable. All of these decisions are not made willy-nilly and deserve the respect of the consumer just as any other business does.
I bring this topic up about respect because recently we have had an influx of consumers become upset with our policies, practices, class structures, and class schedules. Unlike Smokey the dog, we will not bite those who push our boundaries but we will stand up tall and hold true to our convictions and the culture that we have curated over the years that works for us.
Appreciating Studio Culture:
3 Tips on how to appreciate
There is an old adage that I enjoy: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It simply means that when you are visiting a new place join in the local traditions and cultures instead of judging them as wrong or unusual. You will get more out of the experience this way.
Again, in a society that pushes the agenda of acceptance, tolerance, and appreciation it is annoying to me that I feel the need to explain how to accept the differences in Pole Studio Culture, but here we go...
Tip 1: Set Expectations Aside
Regardless if you are visiting a 'new-to-you' Pole Studio or a newbie to pole, before you walk through the doors set your previous experiences or expectations aside. Resist the urge to judge based on what you think you already know. Stay open and curious about what is being presented to you and avoid making verbal comparisons or offering unsolicited advice to the establishment or its instructors.
Tip 2: Go with The Flow
Do not misunderstand this tip. You should never, ever, be made to feel obligated or forced into doing something that you feel uncomfortable doing. Going with the flow means paying attention to the actions of the studio regulars, they will show you what the culture is like.
If you notice that no one is using their phone to video themselves during class, it might be a good idea to put your phone away. If you observe that students are encouraged to wear sexy clothes to class, you may choose to not join in the sexy clothes brigade, however, you do not need to judge or condemn those who do choose to participate.
I like to compare visiting a new-to-you Pole Studio to visiting a new friend's house, you wouldn't walk in and start telling your new friend how they are doing everything wrong, would you?
Tip 3: Look for the "Take Away"
You may not entirely enjoy every aspect of every experience in life but you can always look for a positive takeaway in every experience. For example, my instructors recently visited another Pole Studio to join a workshop. The studio was very different from ours, less intimate, big open space, large mirrors on all the walls, lots of light, and old, uneven, hardwood floors. It is human nature to be affected by our surroundings so these features stood out to them immediately, but these differences were not reported back to me as negatives. Instead, my instructors saw them as positive differences. The recount went something like this:
"The space was clean and open, and it was actually nice to have large unobstructed mirrors. The instructor was great! She made us feel really comfortable and although we were unchallenged by her warm up her choreography was beautiful and fun. The old hardwood floors were a challenge in our heels but that just made us pay closer attention to what we were doing."
I was so proud of them for finding the positives in their experience, and even more proud that they were open enough to find the beauty in something unfamiliar and different.
Final Thoughts:
different does not equal bad
One of the reasons I got into Pole was to share my positive experiences of Pole with 'normal girls'. My experiences stem from real-life applications of how to Pole, but this does not make my way of teaching Pole better or worse than another studio owner who learned how to Pole in the safety of a Pole Studio, it just makes our experiences, different.
I like to believe that every Pole Studio owner has the same wishes and desires, to share this beautifully diverse and ever-growing art/sport with whomever is brave or curious enough to walk through the doors. My wish is that those who visit 'new-to-you' Pole Studios understand that each Pole Studio is going to be different and to understand, respect, and appreciate those differences.
Comments