Portland Pole + Dance

"Pole and Dance has changed my life!! I first went to this studio almost two years ago and didn’t expect to fall in love with pole dancing, but it’s become such an incredible experience. Every instructor here is amazing. I frequently take Melodies L2 and heels choreo, and she has really helped me connect to my body and develop my own movement style. I also love taking classes from Kat. I credit all my core strength to her! I’ve had such wonderful experiences learning from Iris, Sarah, and Amy! This studio has given me a community in portland that I am so grateful for."

"I don’t go to this studio regularly, but I’ve taken Melody’s heels class a handful of times, and a kip workshop once with Amy. I felt very welcomed and loved both instructor’s teaching styles. PP&D was the only studio that was accessible to me in my final year of nursing school and I’m grateful for that. Plus, the space is ethereal and moody with the lights at night & skylights during the day :)"

"I posted a full review on yelp. I did not have a positive experience at this pole dance studio and I do not think that it is a friendly or inclusive place for strippers. My first class I was told that I wouldn’t be needing my heels. Confusing but OK. All I had seen online and in their advertising was how inclusive this place was for sex workers aka strippers. So I was pretty surprised when I came in to my first class and the teacher made it clear she wasn’t into the overtly sexy style of dancing and told me to first put away my heels and that I could put them on later in class… But then there was never a time for that. Barefoot it was I guess. If you don’t want people wearing heels you really just need to say so and I would have no problem with it. It was complete mixed messaging. To my knowledge there was absolutely nothing descriptive about this class that should’ve led me to believe I shouldn’t wear heels. In fact everything I had seen leading up to my first class at the studio told me the opposite… That I should be wearing heels and expecting a great class catered to the Portland sex worker community. I had the exact opposite experience of what they advertised. Which is part of the only reason my experience was so annoying. If you hadn’t made such a point about being inclusive to Stripper‘s and having zero follow through on that I would have nothing bad to say. I also would’ve never gone to your studio in the first place. But I was very excited to try this out… And it was a total disappointment. My second class the teacher Melody told me that I didn’t need to be there. Verbatim to my face. It was a beginner level class and at the beginning of class she has everyone share their experience with pole dance. When I said that I was a stripper that apparently meant that I shouldn’t be in a beginner level class. I cannot emphasize enough that she verbatim told me to my face that I did not need to be there. It was my second class in the studio. I hadn’t taken a Pole Dance class in over six years. Not only did I need to go back to the basics and make sure I have all the foundations correct, I didn’t really feel comfortable in a pole dance class, so I needed to get back in the groove of things. I dance in a club. Never practice outside of work and I barely even stretch. I was taking a beginner level class to be safe, responsible and prevent injury. I was also checking out your studio to see where I stand in terms of my ability as a student. Melody then went out of her way the rest of class to give the other students attention and completely ignore me. She was incredibly rude. She also couldn’t seem to make eye contact with me which was very offputting and felt personal. I cannot stress enough that she literally told me I didn’t need to be there. A great way to make someone feel unwelcome is to tell them that they don’t need to be in your class. It’s the first time I’ve ever taken a class from you… Maybe not a good idea. Pole dancing is an extreme sport… If I’ve never met you and I try death defying tricks that risk serious injury and death in your class … I’m going to make sure that I feel comfortable with you as an instructor because until I get to know you in class you’re a complete stranger. If I injure myself in a pole class I can’t work. I was being safe and careful by taking a beginner level class and again I was told that I didn’t need to be there. If I hadn’t mentioned that I was a stripper or had experience I am certain I would’ve gotten just the same treatment as everyone else in class which was all smiles. And for reference I grew up doing dance team, and dance companies and taking dance classes. I did competitive dance for 10 years before I ever started stripping. I don’t have ANYTHING against dance studios but I do have something against horrible customer service. I also took the $500 teacher training course and I left after the warm-up of the second day because it was completely unprofessional and very disappointing. I do not recommend this pole dance studio for strippers in Portland. -Alexa Nova"

"I booked my fist private group lesson for a Bachelorette party for the 4 of us. Our instructor was AMAZING! She started out by getting to know us. She made us feel so comfortable becsuse we were nervous of our abilites to actually do this. She made it work for us and she was super funny! I highly recommend Liz as your instructor! It was so fun that I want to go back again someday!"