Sept. 10--Instructor Kimberly Kerr reached her right hand above her head and gripped a stainless-steel pole.
Christina Aguilera's song "Dirty" blared throughout Kerr's pistachio green studio. Her long, brown hair swayed as the 36-year-old slowly walked around the pole. Dressed in a hot-pink athletic skirt, she wrapped her left leg around the bar before spinning to the ground in a classic move called "The Fireman."
Seven women then tried to mimic her move during an Intro to Pole class inside the Manchester Township studio.
Pole dancing exercise class is one of the latest workout trends to hit York County and southcentral Pennsylvania, though it's still underground in the local fitness scene.
Amiah "Mimi" Nicks, who owns Addicted to the Pole in Steelton, Dauphin County, said women are yearning for something new.
"They're looking for fun," Nicks said. "They're looking for something that's going to make them feel empowered."
She said the classes hit gyms in California in 2003 and trickled throughout the country. She took her first class in 2009 in Philadelphia and opened her studio in April.
Nicks and Kerr taught themselves. Nicks said there's no certification for the class.
Kerr mostly learned by watching videos online, and she attended a few classes at a pole convention last year in West Palm Beach, Fla. She opened Pole Zen Fitness in May after teaching some classes at a local gym.
Kerr said some people think pole fitness is a class to teach women how to strip, which isn't true. She said the activity builds arm and core strength, and makes women feel more confident. Her 45-minute intro class includes some dancing and a few spins.
"People who work out are definitely going to catch on quicker," she said.
So for beginners, don't be discouraged: Your first spin around the pole might not look all that graceful.
During Kerr's intro class, women ranging in age from 20s to 40s kept a close eye on Kerr as they aimed to execute each step and swing, often failing with jagged motions.
"You don't have to be perfect," she told them.
Jennifer Pitts, 41, of Springettsbury Township usually does yoga and Zumba, and heard pole fitness was good exercise. When Pitts told her teenage daughter that she was going to the class, she told her mother she shared too much information.
"I thought it was pretty cool," Pitts said. "I'm pretty open-minded."
Beth Giffen, 45, of Springettsbury Township said she learned about the class through a friend who's an instructor at Pole Zen Fitness. She wants to build upper-body strength.
Participants usually take several levels of classes, working their way up to advanced. When women make it through Kerr's six-week program, she allows
them to dance in heels. She doesn't let them wear heels when they first start the classes to prevent injuries.
Kerr said she enjoys the challenge of the workout and learning new moves.
"There's always stuff you can add to it," she said.
Nicks said her classes specialize in "getting your sexy back," and that she's obsessed with the art and beauty of pole dance and fitness.
"A lot of women walk in here and say, 'I haven't felt sexy in years,'" she said.
Nicks said she loves watchingher clients work their way through her program and seeing their results. She said many want to spice up their relationships and build self-esteem, which often happens after they take her classes.
The mom of three said she weighed 220 pounds before she started learning to pole dance and now weighs
140 pounds -- a size 14 to a size 6. She said she lost the weight from pole dancing.
"It's the sexiness you get out of it," Nicks said.
Feel like dancing?
Pole Zen Fitness, 2474 N. George St. in Manchester Township, 717-487-1234, polezenfitness.com.
Addicted to the Pole Dance Studio, 19 N. Front St. in Steelton, Dauphin County, 717-608-3240
Xpose Fitness, 1700 Joan Ave. in Parkville, Baltimore County, Md., 410-661-1301, xposefitness.com.
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