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Sharing Poles In Class
I was just wondering if it is common/normal practice for studios to overbook classes to where students don’t each have a pole to themselves but have to share? My studio does this and it drives me nuts cause it cuts my time on the pole in half. So I kinda feel like I’m getting ripped off when I pay for an hour class and only get 30 min of pole time.
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18 Replies
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I think for some studios it is more common in "beginner" classes. My studio doesn't do it at all. They only allow booking for the availible amount of poles 10. But some places figure newer polers won't have the "enegery" to pole for an hour and most new polers totally do. I'm in LA, so i am sure my options are more wide- but I certainly wouldn't want to attend a studio that shares.. I am stingy with polin' and as you've said- i paid for an hour of my OWN pole.
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The studio I go to shares. There are only 3 poles, but almost always under 10 girls (sometimes as few as 2). It's a 2 hour class. We have a long warm up, then work on tricks/spins, then we each have two songs to dance to. If there's time after, we can work on whatever we want. I personally like it, but I completely understand the desire to have a pole to your own. Maybe I'm okay with this because I have a pole at home that I can practice on whenever I want. I do recall having that feeling though before I got the pole, so that's most likely why I'm okay with sharing. Sometimes I even like having a little break (I tend to get motion sickness with spins, which is just awesome).
The studio I went to before my current one had few poles too. Usually just 2 for the three students and instructor. And the instructor would grumble if she had to set up a third if more girls came to class. I thought it kinda sucked that she was almost whining over doing her job, but whatever. I don't go there anymore.
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Eek, that's kind of a bummer to pay for your time and not get it :/ The studio I go to have a strict 1 to 1 pole/girl ratio, but that being said, not all studios are quite as large are these.
That's a toughy
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Where I go, there is about 16 women and there are 7 poles so 2 – 3 people per pole.
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where I go we get each our own pole, and other studios around where I am each student has their own pole. I wouldnt want to share either i dont think its fair to either person that has to share.
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The studio I go to actually has decent size pole rooms, one of them has 8 poles and the other has 6, but yet they still feel the need to overbook by at least 4 people in every class not just beginner. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_confused.gif
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I think it depends, in a more advanced class where you're learning to invert taking turns can be great because everyone has a spotter. That assumes that the instructor has taken the time to teach you how to spot though. In that case I think it's fine, and actually safer than having 6-10 girls learning to invert all at the same time with just one instructor.
If you're expecting to have a pole to yourself than it would totally suck, expecially in a class that's only an hour long. By the time you take time for warm-up/cool-down you're not really getting that much time on the pole. 🙁 Maybe if the classes were longer, like an hour and a half, than everyone would get a better turn.
The studio I started at had too many poles for the space…no one ever had to share, but we were bumping into eachother. So, I guess you have to compromise somewhere.
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I find it interesting that you consider 2 per pole overbooked.
In our studio this is the standard. We have 4 poles and we book 6 students. Each class is 75 minutes with a 20 minute stretch and toning to warm up. The instructor has one pole and if there is an extra student (make up class) then that student shares with the instructor.
Classes can be designed diffrently. Our program does beginner through advanced with two students per pole but then our work is designed to be challenging enough that they usually could not keep up for an entire hour on the pole. The instructor winds up on the pole for the majority of the class and I have to say that some nights it kicks MY butt and I can barely keep up.
On nights where we wind up with an extra spot (someone doesnt show) I seldom have girls taking extra turns because they need that break in between dances as they can't keep up the entire class.
That's not saying you CANNOT develop a class structure that would work with one student per pole but if I did that (IF I had more poles in my studio I would) it would be a simpler choreographed class.
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I have four poles in my studio. My classes are usually eight students and always myself and another instructor. There are two students per pole. The reason for this is that it is neccessary to rest in between, just as you would rest between sets of lifting weights. It is important as we use our muscles differently and more of them with pole….it is important that my students have time for proper conditioning and strength training to prevent injury.
As a studio owner I am a stickler for safety as liability with pole is higher than say a regular gym program. So I stress proper hand placement, body alignment, and teach proper falling in the classes preparing for inversions. I came to this conclusion/decission based on my own experience when I was self teaching. Believe me, with the expense of studio rent, insurance, teacher wages, workers comp insurance, unemployment insurance, etc. my students are getting their moneys worth.
I deliver quality for their benefit and no one complains. If a student wants more time on the pole they can attend open pole or transfer to private sessions. I do what best for all concerned. This is my passion and livelyhood. I want to deliver the best!
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It truly depends on how you have your class structured and what the class focus is. We teach 2 to a pole and everyone loves it. We also have an empahsis on pole dancing and freestyle dance. So the girls like to watch the other girls to get spin and transition ideas. We also do a 10 minute warm up and 15 minute ab work as a whole class. My girls always leave tired and feel that they got a great well rounded workout.
Sharing poles is important to help prevent injury or overuse. Many people move way too fast and think in the beginning "I can handle this". But 6 months down the line they are at the doctor b/c of an overuse injury. I also think more pole classes should include some kind of just overall body conditioning which truly helps with getting pole moves.
Also if the class is just tricks based just for an hour you can get away with one to a pole. But if you have a dance and tricks focus, when you have a lot of poles crammed into a small room you can not extend properly which causes your pole tricks to have bad body lines and then you are constantly hitting people which is annoying. and then you truly cant "get into your dance".
but i think it truly comes down to the focus of the class and how it is structured.
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I have to agree with some of those who are pro-sharing. I'm in L.A. and go to a wonderful studio in the Santa Monica area. There are five poles, 3 stationary, and 2 rotating and the classes are booked at no more than 10, although the further the classes progress the number usually drops as students drop the class. I have had the opportunity a handful of times now to have a pole of my own, and honestly I prefer to share. There are two main reasons for this.
1) My class is super intensive. The class is 1.5 hours long – with a heavy emphasis on a 45 minute warm-up, stretching, and strength and toning exercises…specifically in abs and upper arms. 45 minutes on the pole for me (espeically with the current content of the class) is just far to long to be hauling my ass over my head over and over.
2) We are taught a lot of tricks that I am uncomfortable performing alone for the first few times. In classes were we had enough poles for each girl to have one, we ended up teaming up in twos for spotting anyhow.
I also think that one of the great things about my pole studio is that a class levels together. We always have the same instructor, the same time slot, and the same girls in our class. We do our 8 weeks together and move to the next level together. This has allowed our small group of women to become really close with each other, and very supportive, even outside of class. So I guess for me, I cheerfully share because it's a chance for me to cheer on a fellow classmate, learn from them and sometimes help them learn something, and to be supported and spotted by a classmate I have grown close with and trust, an important factor to me when trying new flying tricks.
Besides all that, at the end of class we split up into smaller groups – usually 2 or 3 and have the opportunity to free dance to a song of the groups choice while the other groups cheer on. We have the chance to get out of our head and be a star in our own show without worrying about be in someone else's space.
I adore our class set-up and wouldn't change it for the world.
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@briannabohannah…we do levels as well 🙂 i love it. you do develop closeness and its great to see the ladies progress together and celebrate each other's accomplishments. on the last day of each 8 week series…we do graduation and everyone dresses up and dances individually to their song of choice. i have seen so many of my students make so many friends in the levels inside and outside of the studio. its great to witness as an instructor.
levels are not for everyone…but it works for some people. i think people who enjoy levels enjoy the journey vs. the destination 😉
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We have 4 poles and do not have more than 3 to a pole, our classes are 1,5 hrs long. We do levels 1 – 3 in one session and levels 4 + in the later session, we get less girls in the later sessions, but more because we teach mixed levels if that makes sense. The girls seem to like it, I don't have an instructor pole, I just demo on whatever pole is available..
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I attend a studio that has two rooms, one with 8 poles and a smaller one with 6 poles. Most of my classes have been in the smaller studio with an average of 8 women and classes are 90 mins. However they also have open pole 3 times a week so you can go in and practice and there’s an instructor there to help with questions.
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the one I attend there are 20 poles – 1 for the instructor, 19 for students. They dont overbook, but you have to call ahead to reserve a spot, esp if your taking a beginner class. As you get into the advanced classes, alot of us dont reserve since it hardly fills up. The class is 50min.
Its great to have that many poles and have one per girl but the downside is some of my friends are tall and have very long legs. They have a habit of hitting each other during a spin. I always thought if I opened my own studio I would only have 11 poles and plenty of space to for tall ladies to spin and not worry about hitting someone.
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