The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

SINCE opening its doors in February, the Girl on Pole Dance Studio has blossomed into a unique haven for women seeking to relieve stress after a hard day’s work, to relax and learn something new, all while getting fit at the same time.

The studio’s owner, Raphaleta “Raphy” Adderley, said 2015 has been an awesome year for her and her team.

Located on Dowdeswell Street, the establishment offers pole dance lessons, pole parties and stretch and flexibility classes. It currently has more than 9,000 followers on social media.

Raphy said her goal is to not change people’s perceptions of pole dancing, it is simply to teach it as a form of fitness.

The studio, she said, is also where pole poses, tricks and techniques are taught in a professional and safe way.

Travelling to pole studios all over the world, even as far as Milan, Italy, Raphy has seen first-hand how pole exercises can relax a person. It was at a pole convention abroad at which she became certified as an instructor. She describes the feeling she gets from pole exercises as nothing short of amazing.

“With pole, you kind of get a bang for your buck. It’s like cardio with weight lifting; doing it all with confidence and strength. I don’t think any other sport gives you that. I think what’s most fascinating to me is going in the gym for so long and not seeing one particular muscle improvement, and going on a pole for like a week and you can already see a change in your body,” said Raphy.

In an effort to further promote the idea of pole dancing and its health and fitness benefits, Raphy’s Girl On Pole team hosted their first production entitled “The Carnal Release” last Friday.

The event was a 45-minute dance show, followed by an after party to celebrate the birthdays of Raphy and her dance partner Danielle.

“There were six movements in this show and I am movement three,” Raphy said.

“ ‘Say you love me’, my dance, was centered around the actuality of having to ask someone for love. So I display humility, sincerity, passion, hurt, love and everything someone should feel who has to ask for love. It’s a pretty big part for me and pulls a lot from me in the dance world. I literally have to tap into my emotions to evoke the reaction from the audience. I’m really a full on dancer, but this movement requested simplicity and strength from me, which took me a while to get, but hey, I got it and it wasn’t easy. The entire show was a crescendo into what people affiliate pole with – ‘sexy dancing’. We split the movements into contemporary versus sexy so viewers can see the variety of dance styles, starting off with contemporary and exploding into sexy.”

The initial inspiration for the show came from one of the studio’s instructors, Katie.

“She’s been inspiring and dropping hints all year long. When we taught students she’d make mention of who she thought could possibly be a part of a show. So months and hours of dance lessons later we are finally putting on a show just like she wanted,” said Raphy.

She believes the event had a positive effect on the people who attended because they got to see what the dance studio offers – a form of art and good visual stimulation and entertainment.

Raphy said it is her mission to showcase what is taught at Girl On Pole. To see her students dance, and dance fluently, is an achievement for her and more importantly, Girl On Pole, she said.

“This show will let onlookers know exactly what we are about and what we do here. This has been so fun putting this all together, so we are prepared to keep this show going. We are now preparing for another show in February,” Raphy said.

“We have to come bigger and better. I am planning to teach lyra classes and possibly introduce aerial silks. We’d also like to host more shows and events, possibly bringing in some of my teachers from abroad to perform as well.”