Club Kitten doesn’t discriminate.
You don’t have to be thin, flexible, or pretty to be a pole dancer.
You just have to be willing to sweat.
At Club Kitten, there are dancers who are petite, who are overweight, who are curvy, who are athletic, who are young, and who are old. Each class is completely mixed and no two dancers are completely alike. This is one of my favorite things about the studio.
I enter the main lobby and Paige scans my membership card. A lot of dancers choose to pay per-class, but I bought the monthly membership, so I can take unlimited classes. For me, this is great motivation to make sure I actually get up and get to class on time.
“Morning, Kasey,” she says with a grin.
“Girl, how are you even awake right now?”
“I might be on my second cup of coffee. Or third.”
“I should have gotten one before class,” I groan, wishing I had stopped at the coffee shop next door. It’s actually where Bailey works, but she’s not there today because she’s on her honeymoon instead.
“Too late now,” Paige says with a shrug, and motions for me to head back to the studio while she checks in the next person.
Moving down the hall, I skip the locker room and head straight for the pole classroom. There are two classrooms at Club Kitten. One is specifically for pole dancing and one is for other classes, like aerobic dance or sexy dance or stretching classes. While I like taking the other classes, as well, pole is where my heart is.
The feeling of the pole in my hands makes me feel like I’m unstoppable.
“What’s up, sexy?” Piper greets me with a big smile. She’s the only one in the classroom right now.
“Hey, honey,” I give her a hug, then join her in warming up. It’s amazing how many different ways you can use a dance pole to get the right stretches you need to dance. When I first started pole dancing, I didn’t know anything about fitness. I’d joined a gym once before, but didn’t really know much about getting in shape. Mainly, I stuck to the treadmills. When I signed up for Club Kitten, I found out just how much I’d been missing out on.
“Are you teaching today?” I ask Piper. She’s been coming to Club Kitten as long as I have, but recently started teaching classes. In addition to getting a sweet employee discount (meanin
g she gets to dance for free), she also gets paid for teaching.
Before she can teach completely on her own, though, Piper has to take some extra classes on campus to learn about physical fitness. As a dance instructor, she has to know all of the dance moves, but she also has to be able to help other dancers learn the moves. Most importantly, she needs to make sure she’s watching each of her students. If someone tries a dance move incorrectly, they could get seriously hurt. It’s a lot of responsibility.
Responsibility I’m not sure I could handle, if it was me.
Piper’s been working toward becoming an instructor for weeks now. I’m hoping she’ll get to teach and I’ll get to see her in action.
“I am,” she squeaks. “Sassy and I are leading together today.”
“Really?” Sassy McMittens owns Club Kitten. I don’t know what her real name is. Most people call her Professor or just Sassy.
Piper sometimes calls her the Evil Bitch Queen of Club Kitten because her workouts are pure hell.
Sassy has no qualms when it comes to making girls sweat. In fact, she gets off on it, I swear. I don’t take too many of her classes just because she really does bring the pain and to be honest, I can’t always take it.
“Really.” Piper grips the pole with one hand and places both feet on the same side. Then she lets her body fall toward the side while she hangs on. This gives a good, deep shoulder stretch and if Piper is stretching like that, I know today’s workout is going to be tough.
“Am I going to be cursing your name for days to come?” I ask Piper. She just laughs and shrugs.
“You never know with me,” she winks. A few dancers stroll into the room and start stretching. A quick glance at the clock tells me class is about to begin. “Showtime,” Piper says, and heads to the front of the room.
After a moment, Sassy comes in. Her presence is intense, dominating. She looks so sleek and strong. No matter what Sassy does, I feel like she can’t fail. She’s got long dark hair and these deep eyes that basically pierce your soul.
I’m not in love with her or anything, but if I was ever intimate with a woman, it would be with someone like Sassy.
“Get ready, dancers,” Sassy grins as she struts over to the speakers. She pulls out her phone and hooks it up, then starts the music for today’s class. “Piper is going to be leading the class today. Let’s give her a warm welcome.” Everyone cheers and Piper blushes. I know how hard she’s worked to get to where she is. Teaching isn’t for everyone, but I’m glad Piper is doing what she loves.
“If you need anything,” I hear Sassy murmur to Piper. “You just let me know. You’ve got this, honey.” I like that Sassy is a badass with a heart of gold. Then she takes the pole next to me, and I cringe. She’s going to be watching my every move. I should be thrilled about this, but it makes me nervous. Sassy is the best dancer I’ve ever met. I don’t want to disappoint her.